The design of the majority of websites focuses on functionality and/or design, but in order for a website to be a success, other aspects must be taken into consideration.
These factors include:
- Usability: Is your audience able to locate what they are looking for?
- Functionality: How efficient is your website operation?
- Appearance/Brand Image: Is the website accurately & attractively reflecting the business brand?
- SEO: How much visibility does your website possess in terms of search engines?
Is the Site Easy to Use?
Usability is a term related to the ability of audiences to locate what they are seeking on your website. When a user has to spend too much time and thought on how to maneuver around a website, they will become frustrated and will not stay there long. All users will want the answer to a question, and they should have that answer within moments.
Questions that are commonly not dealt with clearly on e-commerce sites include those that have to do with finding contact information, purchasing procedures and hours of operation. During the design of the website, these easy questions are frequently overlooked, but they can have a strong bearing on how useful users find a website to be and how much credibility the site has.
How well does the site function?
Functionality refers to the efficiency of a website’s performance. Examples of functionality problems include pages and media content that load sluggishly, inoperable links and error pages. The majority of users have broadband options available to them, but in rural areas, it is not always available. If media files are unusually large, advise the user that loading the media may take a bit longer, or make different versions available so that users can select the file that they wish to see.
Browser compatibility is something else that needs to be addressed. A site may not present itself as it should if you are using a browser that needs updating. Designs should be compatible with previous browser versions and a number of browsers, including Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Be sure to always keep in mind your target viewers, and make an effort to factor in technical variations.
Is the Brand Reflected on the Site?
Two important factors in developing a sense of credibility and in maintaining consistency in all marketing endeavors are aesthetics and branding. When designing a site, make certain that you take into consideration your desired audience demographic. For instance, if senior citizens are your target audience, make the site appealing to them by making links easy to find and by permitting the re-sizing of fonts.
When marketing to people in their 20’s play with visually stimulating interactive and social media. Keep the site simple, or it may become too frustrating to the user. The visitor should know when they get to the site where they are and who they are visiting every time. The logo should be clearly displayed on every page.
Is your website properly “optimized”?
You shouldn’t overlook the importance of search engine optimization. SEO is a method of configuring a website so that it can be found and indexed correctly by major search engines, such as Yahoo and Google. If your website is indexed appropriately, the odds of it being seen by web searchers using search engines is nearly 50%! A professional usually provides SEO, though basic information can be provided by the books and resources that are available.
Successful Website Design
A completed website is likely to be a success if the web designer concentrates on usability, functionality, aesthetics/brand and SEO. A website is considered a success if it can be found by search engines, attracts the target audience, keeps the audience’s attention for a fairly long time, simplifies the tasks of locating information and making purchases, and fosters a feeling of credibility and confidence.
About the Author
Stephen Grisham, Sr. is a copy writer for InfoServe Media, LLC. InfoServe Media is a web design and web hosting company. Or if you just need a few changes to an existing site, InfoServe Media also offers website maintenance. Fast and Affordable.
(ArticlesBase SC #3016800)
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – A Brilliant Approach in Web Design
