Web design insider tips

16/10/09 posted by Liz Niland

Web design is fast becoming a make-or-break part of business. Not just for global corporations, it’s incredibly important that your organisation, whatever its size, has a presence on the internet. While representing just the tip of the very large web design iceberg, these are vital points to consider when creating a website.

Define a purpose
When it comes to web design that can help grow your business, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve through your website. Are you looking to sell products? Or do you want to educate users about a specific topic? Knowing the answer to these sort of questions can help you and your web designer make the most of your investment.

Informative web design vs. Web design for retail

Web design with relevance
When defining the purpose for your site, the audience you wish to target should also be considered. Flashy graphics, neon fonts and cutting-edge layout styles might work for a Generation Y clientele but you can be assured they won’t be so effective on Baby Boomer prospects. One of the most important things to remember with web design is that your potential audience is not just seeking a pretty landing page - they will come to your site to find specific content about a certain item or idea. Make it too hard for visitors to get what they want and, before you know it, you’ll be gone in the click of a mouse.

Baby Boomer web design vs. Generation Y web design

Beautiful, unique web design
You don’t need something wild and garish to stand out from the pack. In fact, the easiest way to achieve beautiful, unique web design is by using the good old KIS method - Keep It Simple. Adequate use of white space and a fairly conventional layout will ensure elegant web design that is accessible to many - regardless of their browser, age or particular tastes.

Be browser friendly
There’s nothing worse than sitting and waiting for a website to load, only to find that it doesn’t contain what you’re actually looking for anyway. Even with decent broadband speed, a site with less than quality web design can still cause problems for some browsers. It can be hard to avoid problems like these if you aren’t quite up on the ins and outs of web design but play it safe with optimised-for-web images, conventional URLs and, better yet, advice from a fully-fledged web designer.