Dos and Don'ts in Web Design - part 2 (content)

Do know your audience

It's important to know your audience. If you write for a site that sells toys you'll use other words, colors, images etc. compared to a site for online banking. Write and design with your visitors in mind. Don't get tempted to write for yourself.

Don't use meaningless words

Do you have a cool site with hot subjects? Or a hot site with cool subjects? On some hype-sensitive sites these kind of words might be useful but on most sites you'd better refrain from meaningless words.

Do write about the subject

Write about the subject. Saying: This page is about breeding goldfish talks about the page. Instead, start right away with the subject. Breeding goldfish is a popular hobby....

Don't use jargon

Avoid jargon. That goes for Internet jargon but also for jargon for any other subject. Only if your site is focused on a selective group of specialists jargon might make sense.

Do use short sentences

Use short sentences. The World Wide Web is fast. Your visitors want to get your info in a snap. So read and reread your text. Then cut out as many unnecessary words as possible.

Don't write technical

Don't write technical. Your visitors don't care how you created your site and that you prefer Perl over TCL/TK (or the other way around). Instead write about your subject.

Do use correct spelling

OK, this one will turn against me.... Use correct English or whatever language your site is written in. As a standard routine use a spelling checker but don't rely completely on it. Human proof reading is necessary. This can be difficult - especially if you're not native speaking English.

Don't show any page under contruction

Don't publish a page that's under contruction. People will hate you if you do. If the page isn't finished, it's not ready to be published. In a sense most pages are always under contruction because they are updated (more or less) frequently.

Do use the first screen

Be sure to put important text on the first part of your page, the part that will show up first on a screen.

Do present the issues right away

Your visitor wants to know immediately what she/he can find on your site. Keep that in mind when designing your site. Present the important issue(s) of your site on the first page.

Do use a descriptive title

The text for the tag TITLE should be descriptive. The title shows up in the results of search engines. A descriptive title makes clear what people can expect on your site. The title is also shown in the history list of browsers.

Do use small pages

The World Wide Web is not a book. People don't read it sequentially. They want to select a small piece of info and decide what info they want to read next. So you should provide small pages. Cut long pages in pieces and connect them through hyperlinks.

Do use implicit text for your links

Phrases like Click here or Check this link distract from the content and are to be avoided. Try to write your text in such a way that a link is a natural part of the sentence. Instead of writing: Ezine Article Submission - Submit Your Best Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints Click here to visit it; try to write something like: Ezine Article Submission - Submit Your Best Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints

Do update your pages

Be sure to check your pages on a regular base and to update them if necessary.

Do show date of update

You update your pages on a regular basis. Don't you? Make clear to your visitors how recent or (out-)dated your information is. Provide the date of the last update. And don't forget to change the date if you change a page...

Do ask for feedback

You can learn from your visitors. Ask for their feedback and give them an e-mail address to reach you.

Cyber Logic Host? offers Affordable web hosting, Cheap Web Hosting, Cheap Domain Registration, Budget Hosting for $1.95, Free Setup, Free domain name registration with every package!

MORE RESOURCES

People Locator find anyone in the USA

RELATED WEB SITE DESIGN ARTICLES: File Types For Icon Explained An application is not ready for use unless you have the proper icon for using into the application. Having the right icon for your application is not difficult if you have the help of a specialist or a specialized company to design the icon. Do You Own Your Web Site Design? Your web site has been up for a few months and you are making money hand over foot. While surfing sites one evening, you are shocked to find a competitor using your design. Using CCS to Eliminate Tables CSS or Cascading Style Sheets has opened up tremendous possibilities for improving web site designs, web page layouts and adding new features. The HTML code can be made shorter, cleaner and simpler by CSS resulting in faster loading of web pages, and making them more accessible to search engines. Save Time and Boost Profits with Free Content Public domain gives you a head start creating ebooks, ecourses, newsletters, teleconferences, website content and email registration incentives you need to keep in contant touch with clients and prospects.Public domain refers to information free from copyright protection. E-covers for Your Niche Market When creating an e-cover the what's the first thought that comes to mind? How do I do it? What software do I need? How much will it cost? How quickly will I have it complete?Most people will start searching for software to automatically create the cover. There are several "cookie-cutter" software packages available to create e-covers for e-books, and software boxes. A Web Site That Sells Is All One Needs To Have A Successful Online Business! There are more than billion of Web Sites, running Online Businesses, offering products and services. But only a few Web Sites manage to make any sale. Becoming A Website Designer The ability to create simple, attractive and functional web pages is a highly marketable skill. There is a huge and growing demand for websites and web content, especially for smaller organization who often can't afford to hire a full-service web design firm. The Ultimate Web Site Marketing Strategies That You Should Know Most of us know that we need to advertise our products and our services, some of us still believe we are too small to invest in a advertising campaign. Now while a full-fledged marketing effort may be too much for your operation, it is however crucial to your success that you are involved in some kind of marketing activities. The Secrets to Successfully Learning Basic HTML If you'd like to create/maintain a website, having some HTML knowledge is necessary in order to create a standard page on the web. Learning the HTML basics is easy and should take less than an hour. 5 Ways To Improve Your Website Immediately If you are reading this, I assume you either have your own website or planning to get one. Either way, these 5 tips can help you create a better business website immediately. Web Designers Beware! As a web designer, I have a personal interest in a new trend which threatens to put me and my kind out of business. That "threat" is Web Design Templates. Should You Bother Learning HTML to Build Webpages? The most popular method to build webpages today is to use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) software. Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver are prime examples of WYSIWYG software. Why Your Site Should be Developed with CSS and Semantic Markup Why your site should be developed with CSS and semantic markup. One thing that I have learned in over a decade developing web sites is that the Net is continually changing, and to keep up you need to change with it. One of the more recent developments in web design is the use of CSS and semantic markup. Tapping Into The Visual Stimulus Of Your Web Site Visitors "Oh, my eyes, my eyes! What an eye sore. Quick, click away! Click away!"Suddenly I wake up in a cold sweat. Elements of Graphic Design for Your Website We've all seen them. Poorly designed web sites that make you cringe as soon as they load. How to Create a Favicon for Your Web Site One of the simplest things you can do to give your site 'identity' and to make it stand out from other sites is to use a favicon (favorite icon). They are the little logos that go next to the website listing in your favourites folder, and pop up in other places, (depending on your browser and operating system). Is A Picture Really Worth a Thousand Words? The great debate: how much copy you should have on your site, particularly on the home page?Do you subscribe to the idea that a picture is worth a thousand words--and therefore images, not a lot of text, should be the main thrust of your home page? Or do words have more power to capture a visitor's attention and compel them to buy--meaning you should aim for powerful copy?As a graphic designer, my natural inclination is to create graphically-rich, light text websites. Since I'm focused on what a site looks like visually, I like using impressive images, bold splashes of color all over the page, and not very much copy. Why Long Web Pages are Better than Short Ones Many Internet sites that try to sell you something have very long pages. Why is that do you think? Well, it appears that long, scrolling, web pages lead to more sales than short pages. So Much About META Tags! I've written about META tags in the past, and I thought I'd help you expand your search engine optimization efforts and increase your web hits.Rule #1: META tags always go in between the HEAD tags on your website. 14 Ways to Add Content to Your Web Site - Part 2 7. Create high quality content - make clear points with each paragraph you write.