6 Principles To Create A Winning Web site

There are a few straight-forward rules that you can follow as a web designer that will help you develop a web site that is a pleasure to use. Most of them are common sense but it is amazing how many pro website designers will overlook them. If you follow the advise in this guide you will produce better sites that your visitors will adore. In short, it will be a winning web site.

1. Don't make customers think!

This is the 1st rule in making sure a web site performs. Put simply, it means that when you look at your site it should be self-evident, obvious and self-explanatory.

Everybody should "get it" without having to think about it.
How self-evident? Well, your acquaintance who can hardly use a computer system should be able to look at your website's homepage and say "Oh it's a ________________ website!"

Visitors should spend their time on your website seeing what services you give. They can't afford to spend their time wondering about things like:

- Where am I on the web site?
- Where should I get started?
- Where is?
- What are the most essential things on this page?
- Why did they call it that?

Using a website that doesn't make users think about irrelevant things makes its use painless. Puzzling over things that don't matter tends to sap energy, enthusiasm and time. Don't make your viewers think!

2. Keep it simple

Make sure your web page works in a way that allows a person of average (or even below average) ability and experience to use it without getting hopelessly annoyed.

Sound like common sense? It is. But like a lot of common-sense it is not necessarily apparent until after someone points it out.

You are better off keeping your web site straight-forward and focusing on your marketing strategy and your content than tying to make it clever, advanced and different.

3. Site visitors don't read pages, they skim them

It is a well-documented fact that customers spend minimal time reading most articles. They scan or skim them. This is because:

- Visitors are usually in a rush.
- Using the internet is meant to save time.
- Site visitors don't need to understand everything. They are just looking for the bits that assist them with the process at hand.

As a consequence, if your web pages are going to be successful, they have to function at a glance.

4. Site visitors don't make the best option, they pick the first reasonable selection

When constructing a page you may expect that visitors will scan the entire article, consider all the choices and pick the ideal one.

In reality, most don't select the best option - they select the first reasonable selection. As soon as they find a link that may lead to what they fancy they click it. This is because:

- They are in a hurry.
- There is no penalty for guessing badly.
- Contemplating options before selecting does not help on a badly made web site so they don't do it on any site.
- Guessing is more interesting and may lead to something amazing and wonderful.

Make sure your information is interconnected in such a way that site visitors will be able to keep on clicking on other subject areas so they find what they require.

5. Website visitors don't figure it out, they muddle through

You would be astonished at the amount of people who use things all the time without appreciating how they operate, or with improper beliefs about how they operate.

People don't have time to learn directions; instead they forge ahead and muddle through. This applies to pretty much all modern technology.
The simple fact is, many customers to web sites get things done that way. Studies show a lot of customers use software and website effectively in ways that are absolutely nothing like the designers planned.

This occurs because:

- Site visitors don't think it is important to figure it out.
- If something works, they stick to it.

So if people muddle through is there any point in them "getting it"? Indeed! Muddling through may succeed but it is inefficient and error prone. On the other hand if they "get it":

- There is a greater likelihood they will discover what they are searching for.
- There is a better chance they will understand the full spectrum of items or services on your web site.
- You have a better chance of steering them to the bits of the site you want them to check out.
- They will feel in control and will come back to stop by again.

Try to make it hassle-free for customers to "get it".

6. Use a trustworthy design firm

You can save a lot of time and cash by speaking to a respected design agency. A good company will take the time to find out about your business, your objectives and your target market and give recommendations based on their expertise. They will also create a design based around your company brand. Not only will this method give you a website that looks the part, it will also keep your design fees low in future.