How to Design a Website

Are you planning on creating your own website? Then read 10 of the most important steps you'll ever read!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. KEEP IT SIMPLE
   
   1. People don't like to think for themselves. Give them the information they need and don't make them think about it.

2. LAZINESS
   
   2. People are lazy. Don't make them work too much on your site. Whether it's signing up for a service or entering personal information, make it as simple as possible or the customer will lose patience.

3. ADD
   
   3. People suffer from attention deficit disorder and at times can be just plain dumb so keep your design simple and focused or you'll lose their attention before you ever have it.

4. ABC
   
   4. People let their eyes lead them. If you guide them with a preschool ABC or 123 style site then chances are, their fingers will follow their eyes and they'll be clicking through your site in no time.

5. PICTURE BOOK
   
   5. People don't like to read. If they wanted to read long paragraphs and interesting stories, they'd be at the library and not on your site. In fact, I've probably already lost anyone that started reading this. Determine what you want to say and more importantly what you want them to "hear" and then write it in the most abbreviated yet effective way.

6. KISS
   
   6. People really do enjoy simplicity. In my business we live by the acronym KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid. Keeping things clean and simple will ensure that your customers and clients reach the areas of the site you're directing them to.

7. WHITE SPACE
   
   7. People like their space so give them plenty of it...white space that is. Again, think clean and simple.

8. ROUTINE
   
   8. People like conventional. They like knowing a certain structure will apply no matter what your site is about. Remember, people are lazy and don't like to think too often so keeping the site navigation, text placement and search engines in familiar places will be another relief to your clients.

9. VISUAL LANGUAGE
   
   9. People appreciate "seeing" language. Put extra effort into your organization, text layout, font usage and other visible clues in order to draw the customers eye to the areas of your choice. Even if the customer can't understand the language, they should still be able to navigate through based on the visual language.

10. DESIGNING 101
    
    10. People are allowed to be lazy but designers aren't. Update your page frequently and test your links often. Broken links, missing images and out of date information will frustrate your client and they won't stick around for long...much less return to your site. Make extra time to maintain your site and customers will continue to come back.

[Lilfix]

on 5/20/2009 I have been thinking about creating a website so these great tips will come in handy...Thanks for sharing! RRRC5*