Website design has come a very long way since the Internet first reached the general public. However, there are some tried-and-true tropes of the trade that will guarantee you a great looking website that is easily accessible. Here are five of the top rules to follow when designing a website, no matter the industry or business type that you are designing for.
First, be sure to Streamline your Website.
There is nothing worse than a web designer who likes to show off by putting every new technological advancement into a website. This does not serve the business owner or the audience of the website very well. Make sure that you do not put your ego into your website design. Focus on what works best for the client.
Second, make sure that the Website Code is Optimized.
The true art of website design is creating a great looking site in the most streamlined code possible. Every line that you can delete from your code ensures a faster running time for the website. This will in turn give that website a better chance of maximizing its search engine ranking, as the major search engines view websites speed as a very important metric.
Third, start your Website from an Original Theme.
There are more free website templates online than anyone could ever go through. If you start your website design from one of these templates, you are sure to be found out eventually. In some of the worst case scenarios, different website designers have created similar websites from the same template for two different businesses in the same industry. You can bet that these designers did not get a great deal of business in the future.
It is quite acceptable to begin the design of your website from three assets as long as you pick them with care. A better option is to subscribe to a top-quality photo website so that you can have access to highly professional images and backgrounds to begin your site design from.
Fourth, stay away from Flash.
Even if a client insists on it, you must inform them that the declining yet still prevalent Flash is an antiquated technology. HTML 5 has far outpaced its rival in aesthetics as well as in functionality. On top of this, Flash cannot be indexed by the major search engines at all. No Flash website will be able to sustain itself for very long if business is the final goal of the site.
Lastly, make sure the Website is Fully responsive.
Any website that does not have the capability to modify its structure for mobile platforms will not be long for the scrapheap. As commerce moves into the mobile arena, business owners will need to present just as effective of a front on an iPhone as they do on a laptop. Creating a responsive website is much less technically involved than one might think; there are coding templates for responsive websites readily available for free all over the World Wide Web.
Of course, you can leave the designing to the professionals. 360 Online Marketing is an internet marketing firm in Boulder, CO specializing in PPC advertising, SEO and web design. Visit their site here: www.360onlinemarketing.com