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About UsWeb sites text needs to be easy to read
Your visitor should not need a map and compass to navigate a web site
Web sites should be designed, not painted
People need to find web sites easily
Web sites text needs to be easy to read
Select text and background colours very carefully. Certain colours and shades camouflage each other. Font selection needs to come from a narrow collection of ‘system fonts’. These are the fonts already on your computer. They vary between users, although there is a core of about fifteen fonts which are on just about every computer and these are known as system fonts.
Some fonts can be a little tricky to make out. Broadly speaking, serif fonts like Times or Verdana (i.e. with little ‘flicks’ on the ends of the uprights) are easier to read. Dark-coloured fonts against a light background also tend to be easier to read. These are only rules of thumb, our own website being a case in point.
Text size is an issue. Obviously small sizes are difficult to read and large sizes tend to be a bit ‘in your face’. It is not a precise science; every individual user has the ability to set their screen resolution to a range of settings all of which render text differently, but large enough to read easily with headings emphasised slightly either through colour, size or styling (e.g. bold).
People do not, by and large, sit down to read a good website. They go, get information and get out. Bullet points are hateful things in brochures and on PowerPoint, but they are effective on websites. Small paragraphs are good. Chunked up information, made up of self-contained points each making sense on its own or as part of a greater weight of prose, is good – almost modular in structure. Highlighted content allows visitors to do what they are already trying to do i.e. scan the screen, pick up words and phrases that resonate and then read around those phrases.
Your visitor should not need a map and compass to navigate a web site
Your site should have what we call ‘information architecture’. That is a structure that makes sense and can be put in place before you start building. There is an 80 : 20 rule with websites. 80% of what your visitors need to know will be available to then within 20% of the content of your website. The key thing is to make that 20% easy to find.
Your users should set this agenda. What they buy is not necessarily what you think you are selling and why they buy it is usually not a given.
In general terms, make sure that your links are clear. Make sure that your labelling is descriptive and make sure your structure is straightforward.
Buttons or Tabs can be used to highlight certain levels of links, and smaller links can be used for more general stuff.
They say three clicks is the optimum – if it is important then getting there in one click is essential. Secondary information can be a click or two further away.
Web sites should be designed, not painted
Web sites are communication tools. In most instances, a web site works best as a simple platform for displaying information, goods and services. If it tries to be a work of art, science, wonderment or magic it will fail as a communication tool and instead of looking impressive or clever, you will come across as self-indulgent.
Presentation is important and the skills of a creative graphics and interaction designer are essential. A good designer will recognise the imperative and channel their creativity in support of the objectives.
Images can and do say more than words. Typography is an important aspect as it layout, user journey and creating a sticky site that people want to stay on. These are elements of design which are absolutely essential to a website.
In general a consistency of design throughout the site is professional and also maintains the same standards and protocols of hierarchy, navigation, links and presentation.
People need to find web sites easily
Everyone has developed an obsession with Google. Search for something like ‘tee shirts’ in Google will return over 5 million responses. Everyone selling tee shirts wants to be on page one, preferably at position one. Dream on!
You can do it against a more focussed search like tee shirts in nilsville (or wherever you live) and you might get to the top of that search (in fact I suspect that this page will do it against that exact search).
Before you get featured on Google, you need to get on to Google and start reading about how to get up the rankings. We will be publishing one of our free guides on the website in due course.
Web sites should also be promoted offline through the usual marketing channels. The web is usually seen as a great way to access loads of new people from all over the world. Well maybe, but not immediately. At the outset, it is a great way to make a second, third, fourth, etc., sale to existing customers. These are the people who already know you, already like your things and have little resistance. The first ting you should do is write, email, phone, send leaflets and post cards to existing contacts. You should include your web address in your other marketing materials, from letterheads to brochures to TV. While all this is going on, you should put some effort into search engine optimisation. I suggest you do what you can yourself 9through your designer) before going engaging a professional SEO firm.
