High-quality, interesting content is the key to a successful website. Quality is more important than Quantity. Simple, concise content is easer to digest than volumes of information. The sites that have good content are the ones that make you laugh, think, get upset, get motivated, become informed, satisfy a need and bring the reader back for more. Review your Purpose Statement (You do have a Purpose Statement don’t you?). Try to format the content to fit the purpose of your site and then use only the best of what material you have. Remember that content is more than words and pictures. Elements such as guest books, forums, multi-media presentations, catalogs, headlines, poles, games and galleries can contribute to content.
Selecting a look
The look and feel of a website can mean the difference between success and failure of your site. Browse the web and look at sites that have similar content to the site you are creating. Websites can be very contemporary or traditional and the mood you wish to set is controlled by the first impression. Notice that some sites tend to have dark backgrounds while others use light or pastel backgrounds. Select a background you like and feel comfortable with. Several links on this page have templates (some free!) that you can download to use as a basis for your site. Microsoft FrontPage also has several theme formats that you can use as a starting point.
Organizing content
There are several ways of organizing content on a website. A single page website may have all the content on one page that scrolls on forever. Splitting a website into several pages helps organize the site. Multi-page websites require a menu system on the first page to assist your visitors in navigating the site and help inform them of the content. The menu should be intuitive and user friendly. Menus that are overly complex can confuse the user and “turn off “visitors. Menus should also inform the visitor as to what content they will go to when they click the link.
Links, Tables and Frames
The HTML (Hyper-Text Markup Language) has many tools for developing and enhancing the look of a webpage. Some of the elements that a webpage owner needs to become familiar with are Links, Tables and Frames. Links are the way one webpage calls another webpage. The called link may be part of the original website or on another website. Using links adds the dynamics of having a website rather than a webpage. Tables allow a page to be divided into rows or columns to assist in arranging the page. Frames, like Tables, divide the screen into several parts, but each part of the screen can show a different webpage. JED.WEB uses separate frames for the header at the top, the menu on the left side and the body that you are reading. The body is divided into tables, with a text area on the left and a link area on the right.
Using graphics
Creative use of graphics can enhance or detract from the purpose of the site. Graphics should emphasize the areas of a page that you want the user to notice. Don’t place graphics on a page just to have some color or movement. Let the graphics do the work. Use graphics for logos, bullets and Buttons. The adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” is true, but words load faster. Remember, the more graphics the slower the page load time. The “GRAPHICS” page of this site will expand on the types and use of graphics. Finding or creating graphic elements can be time consuming and costly.
Enhancements
There are many types of enhancements to improve the content of a website. Guest books, Links, Forms, Surveys, Forums, Galleries, Chat rooms, Maps, Cartoons, Headlines, Weather, Searches and Hit counters are just a few enhancements that designers can add to a website. Choosing what enhancements fit the purpose of your site can be a daunting task. Remember the “ Purpose Statement ” when selecting enhancements. Beware of free enhancements, as most of them come with popup ads or other invasive hooks.
Counters and Stats
Monitoring traffic to your site is essential if you are going to be a success at web design. Choosing a simple counter or one with statistics depends on what your needs are. If you are selling a product or promoting your website through several search engines, you will need statistics to determine the success of your efforts. When selecting a counter or statistic provider be aware that most want you to pay for the service or suffer through popup adds. Two free services that we have had good experence with are StatCounter and Extreme Tracking.
