There are of course many concerns in building a new website or blog but here we have listed 5 basic considerations to get you started.
1 – Easiest to guess: idea. A good idea is almost 100% success. If you think best graphics or animations are the keys, you are wrong. People come to you because you’ve got the information they want. Think about it: should you build another site with the same content or build a site with original content? Don’t you want to be first? Don’t you want to give something new to potential customers? Find your niche and be the one in it. Make people want to come to you.
2 – First look – very important. If I enter a site which has dark colors I’m out and never get back. OK, I might return if that site sells or promotes some kind of dark movie or horror books etc. i like or search for. But using a dark background isn’t good idea for ordinary sites. People don’t typically want to look at black sites because it often turns them off. People want to look at bright sites with inviting colors but not overly aggressive to them.
3 – Animations – irritating or not? Yes. Some people still like sites with flash animations but be very careful to not make them too aggressive and not in full screen mode hiding the rest of site. If you choose to utilize flash, I prefer a small amount of animations. They should be tiny and integral parts of site. Also they must have a “skip” button to pass into and get to the proper site. Of course animations can be huge but only if they have some photos of products you sell or promote or maybe a video demonstration. Interactive catalogs are good but a flying dog chasing a cat isn’t good even if you sell pet accessories…
4 – Navigation – where’s my hotel? People don’t want to have to search for anything else they’re looking for. Where’s the navigation bar? Where’s the sitemap? Where’s the coolest window cleaner I’m looking for? How can I buy it? Hello?! … and they never get back to you. The answer for that is simple: give him/her a search-box, FAQ, instructions “how to find”, “how to buy”, “how to search” etc. Think that the customers don’t want to think about what, where, how etc. and you have to give them an answer to their hands. Maybe this is rude to say: “people don’t like to think” but that’s a fact: they are lazy and don’t want to search more they are have to…
5 – Functionality – how big is a link? Every site must be functional. Several links and no FAQ? I’m out. Be your first customer who’s entering your site. What do you see? Can you easily find everything, what, where, how? What do you do if your shopping cart is full? What if you didn’t find what you looking for? Is there a wishlist? Or mail-contact? Or online service? Think about it. Maybe you’ll find there are many things to change, maybe not. Be a YourSite.com beta tester today to avoid mistakes and build better functionality.
What do you think? What other factors do you consider essential to a well-designed website? Add your comments or tips below.
