Curse you Google!

Nothing drives away a visitor like being introduced to a website, only to see a horde of advertisements blowing in their faces. Think of yourself. Always remember that if you don’t like your website, chances are the average person won’t, and nobody likes seeing a website with an excess amount of advertising. We all know you have to make money somehow, but people are less likely to stay (thus not having a chance to click your adverts) if you bloat your website with adverts.

Use advertisements sparingly, like salt. A sort of digital salt, if you will.

Remember to use a modern design, as opposed to something like above

It is no secret that it is no longer the 90s, yet some people seem to feel the need to design as if it is. The web has became a mature information machine, and presenting that information in the nicest way possible can give you an edge against your competitors.

Remember, your website’s design is the first impression your visitor has of your website. If they like it, they’re more likely to stay around for a little while longer.

It’s important to have good spacing on your website. A cluttered website may cause the user to become confused. Only display the information which is required, rather than a bunch of stuff that is just there to fill space. Alternatively you can increase the spacing, making it feel as if the website is less cluttered.

This elaborate diagram explains spacing.

Overall, the only reason the person is visiting your website is to gain information. If anything the internet can be seen as a sort of information exchange system. Users visit websites to gain the information that other people are willing to give to them. If your information is of high quality and interesting, the user may decide to visit your website again, or stay for a bit longer to learn more interesting facts.

Lets face it, humans are creatures of habit. We thrive on routine and consistancy. This applies to your website as well. Don’t start a website about gadgets, and then the following week find yourself talking about flower arrangement. It’s better to be the connoisseur who specialises in one field, than the jack of all trades.

Writing style is a very important element of anything that is written. It’s important to keep your tone excited and enthusiastic about what you’re writing, as to not bore the reader. Make sure you don’t go over the top though, and use words that your average reader couldn’t understand. You need to suit your writing style to your audience.

Remember, it’s okay to use a bit of humour from time to time, and this will often engage the reader in your article. Read up on writing techniques, and learn how to engage your reader in an article or piece of writing.

Interactivity is an important element on many websites. Through the use of AJAX and javascript, some websites have eliminated the need to refresh your browser. This has its cons though, such as making the back button not work correctly, or as the user wants it to work. It isn’t necessary to have interactivity, and generally it is down to the type of site you are running. For instance, on a blog, you may not have any need for interactivity, whereas on a website such as yahoo or google, it may become more useful. Users want to have the best experience possible when viewing your website, and it’s down to you to decide when to use interactivity. Use it sparingly, however, in most cases.

Friend or Foe?

In most cases I would advocate not using flash to make websites, and it is definitely a bad idea to make a website completely from flash, especially if it’s a blog or something along those lines. However, more recently I have noticed some sucessfully created, flash based, promotional websites, such as Hotel626. If you must make a website from flash, I would suggest providing a HTML version of the site. Certainly however, it is okay to make certain elements from flash, such as games, etc.

Chances are if your website isn’t tech related in any way, the majority of your visitors are going to be using Internet Explorer (For the time being). Every professional web designer/developer knows that Internet Explorer is awful when it comes to W3 Standards. However, your users do not know this, and they use Internet Explorer. Even if you have a personal vendetta against IE (or any browser for that matter), never allow this hatred to spread to your web design. It’s important that your website is compatible with the most popular options. If your website doesn’t work in a browser, the average user is going to blame the website, not the browser.

Nobody likes a horizontal scroll bar (usually anyway)

The same goes for screen resolutions. Yes, your new 1900×1200 monitor is impressive, but the average user is still stuck behind a meager 1024×768. Remember to optimize your website for that resolution, as opposed to a larger size. Also, considering how the smart phone market has exploded in recent times, I would suggest maybe considering designing mobile versions of your website, if you start to notice a lot of people using their iPhone to view your website.