Content and structure



It is an advantage to start off by deciding the content of

the website, i.e. what it should be about. If you are a

professional the subject is more or less already given.

What you next is to plan the structure of the site, making

a kind of scheme. The easiest way to do that is probably by

using a pen and paper.

Frames or NoFrames

There are advantages and disadvantages with both. The advantages

of using frames are however few, and in these cases really

only for the producer of the website. A definite disadvantage

of using frames is that you cannot bookmark a specific page,

something most users like to be able to do. Therefor it is

better not to use frames. That way you can bookmark that

specific page you are interested in. Another advantage with

not using frames is that the visitor can enter your website

on any page and still be able to immediately see where

he or she is on the website. This is not always the case when

you are using frames. So my tip is therefor to avoid frames.

Navigating

This is a very important part of designing a website. In order

to make it as easy and understandable as possible for the

visitor the navigation needs to very clear and most of all

consistant. The visitor should not have to guess what button

or link to click in order to get

where he or she want.

The placing of the menu is important as well. There are two

standards on where to place the menu. Either in a column to

the left, or in a row at the top of the page. If your menu

consists of graphical buttons it is a good idea to put the

same links in the form of text links at the bottom of the page.

That way you can get around on your website even if you cannot

see the graphics.

Colours

Very often you have something to work from, for instance

a company logotype. Then you can simply use the same colours

as are in the logotype. If you are creating a personal website

perhaps a favorite colour will do well. There are not really

any rules when choosing colours, it is more about using your

common sense.There are however some really good

recommendations.One is about the colour of text in relation

to background colour. To read black text on a dark

coloured or heavy patterned background is very difficult

and should be avoided. White text on black background can

be difficult as well. It could work for short pieces of text,

but should be avoided for longer texts, as it can be straining

on the eyes.

Fonts

If you want to confuse the visitor you should use as meny types

of fonts as you can. However, the best to do is to use no more

than one or two types of fonts, one for the headline and one

for the body of the text.

So which fonts should you use? The best thing to do is to use

fonts that most people have on their computers, like Verdana

or Times. Of course there are other fonts that you can use. It

is really up to you.However, my tip is to use a font like

Verdana for the text body,because it is easier to read off the

screen.With headlines, however,you can feel free to use pretty

much anyfont you like, but keep in mind that others might not

have it.

Pictures and graphics

The best tip when it comes to pictures and graphics is - do not

steel! Not only is it illegal, which is clearly stated in the

copyright law. It is also very boring.

Use your own pictures and graphics as much as you can. Then you

do not have to worry about copyrights and you can concentrate

on other things.A huge advantage by only using your own material

is that your website will be unique.

However, if you cannot or do not want to produce your own

picturesand graphics, you can always turn to so called free

graphics.There are a number of websites and companies on the

Internetoffering just that,for instance Microsoft.

Key words

Consistency - this is very important. No matter which page

on your website a visitor is on, it should be clear on what

website he or she is.Simplicity - a website with an extreme

amount of content, and perhaps some animated graphics,

could easily be considered to be messy.This could cause

visitors to give up searching your website and instead leave

it for another website.Uniqueness - try to be unique, to create

your own graphics and pictures. Do not steal. Having a

unique website increases the chanses for returning visitors.

written by Jorgen Brostrom.