The fundamental step involved in building a website is website designing. Website designing includes important steps such as deciding the website layout, a background color or picture for the web pages, the navigation links, the placement of website widgets, the inbound and outbound linking to and from the website, a correct format of content display, categorizing the content, and most importantly the style of presentation of the content.
Website Planning: The First Step to a Successful Website Designing
Website planning is the first step taken towards successful website designing. It becomes simple to design the layout and link the website to other similar websites. Read the article, Website Planning, before knowing the principles of Website design.
The Importance of a Good Website Layout in Website Designing
A good website layout is essential because it will provide the first impression about the website to its readers. Some websites rank good in search results for sometime and are able to bring in visitors but not all of them are able to make the readers ‘like’ the website. A good website is well arranged i.e. readers are able to read the website with ease. The primary goal of website designing is to make a reader friendly website.
Use of a Uniform Color Theme
It is an established fact that colors have a psychological effect on humans. Choose a color that goes well with the theme of the website. Colors can make readers revisit your website if used in proper context. An article titled Color and Custom Web Design published in NewHarvest Design on 9th March, 2010, provides useful information about the effects that different colors have on the reader.
Also, it is advisory to maintain the same background color for all the web pages of the website. This helps bring uniformity to the website. Having different colors on different web pages can mislead the visitors into believing that the web page is not a part of the website. In fact, many visitors will remember a website only through its layout and background color.
Use of Background Images
There are some websites that can look better if a background image is added to its web pages. A website discussing computer technology can look better if a related image such as an image of a computer is used as a background image or in the header to the website’s pages.
How do Font Family and Font Sizes effect Website Designing
As discussed earlier, the primary objective of website designing is making the website easy to read. Having extraordinarily big or small font sizes hinders the flow of reading. The goal of a webmaster is to make the the stay of a reader on the website as comfortable as possible. Choose a font that is easy to read. The font need not be very stylish and also select an appropriate font size.
Website Navigation
A good website always provides an excellent navigation system to its readers. Provide links to each and every web page that is included in the website. If the website contains a lot of web pages, it is always good to include a sitemap on the home page of the website. It lets the readers navigate easily through the website.
Most of the time, a reader would like additional information on a particular topic he/she is searching for. A website will always have related web pages. Provide links to all related pages from a web page having similar content. This helps in letting the reader stay on the website for a longer duration. Read more about Website navigation.
Categorizing the Content
It is a good practice to arrange the pages of a website as one would arrange files in folders in a personal computer, i.e., provide separate categories to the website readers. A website related to sports can have categories for football, formula-1, cricket, badminton, and many more. It again increases the readability of the website. Here, the aim is to minimize the effort that a user has to put in, to have access to the information he is looking for.
Website Speed and Loading Time
Loading time is the time a website takes to load in the web browser in which it has been opened. Slow websites take more time to load. Design a layout that does not take too much time to load as readers are less likely to stay and wait for the website to show up. Use of images must be restricted to usefulness and relevance.
Style of Writing the Content
Unless very necessary, use of informal language to address readers must be avoided. The use of professional language brings a sense of authority to the website. Sticking to facts is necessary. Present only relevant information as content. Factually correct information makes the readers trust the website.
Displaying Necessary Information on the Website: Requisites of Website Designing
Some information must necessarily be displayed on every website to increase its legitimacy.
- Contact Information: There must be a link on all web pages of the website that helps the readers contact the website owner or the administrator.
- Privacy Policy: Design a privacy policy for the website. This becomes essential in case the website asks the readers to perform actions that include submitting their email address or other confidential information into forms on the web pages.
- Search Box: Most websites have more than a single page of information. Hence, it is useful to add a search box that enables users to search information on the website.
PPC Keyword Research
The next step to building a successful website after having completed its designing, is keyword research. Keyword research is important for the search engine optimization of a website. Keywords help search engines guide visitors to the website by analyzing its content and finding ‘keywords’ from it. To know more, read the article, PPC Keyword Research.
Website Designing Importance
Website designing is the most essential part of building a website. Good planning leads to an effective and fruitful website design which further results in a good performing website.