With traditional media having been overtaken by the internet when it comes to advertising an event or business, one of the most important things to do when implementing your own website is taking some extra time to think of how it's going to look. If you're a business, you may have some of the best products on the market, but if a potential customer is scared away by a cluttered and difficult to use website, then all the advertising in the world isn't going to win that sale. Therefore, having an effective web design is crucial.

The good thing is that this can be achieved with just some simple forethought before publishing your website to the Internet. One of the first things you should take into consideration is the overall look of your website. Research has shown that a website that is too cluttered will often put people off from investigating it further. At the same time, make it too simple and you may give off the wrong impression. So, what you should be considering in is the effectiveness your web design has in letting people know what your website offers, and how easy it is to navigate to specific pages of interest.

Many people often make the mistake of thinking that a lot of graphics and flash animations will look attractive. While this can certainly be true if done properly, the downside is that these types of websites can be difficult for people to look at if they don't have the latest computer or graphic software installed. If this is the case, it can slow down the computer of the person visiting your site, and once again, make them unlikely to return to your site in future.

With advances in both computer and Internet technology, the way that a monitor shows a web page can change dramatically. What may once have been an easily viewable page or site before can possibly be taking over more than a new monitor will allow. Therefore, a key piece in ensuring your web design is used at its most effective is to allow your website to be 'scaleable', which in simple terms means that the design you use can easily be altered as technology changes.

Another quick and easy way to ensure your website design is effective is in what web browsers its compatible with. With there being so many different providers out there, there are now a host of different methods you can use to access the Internet, including cell phones and videogame systems. Therefore, you'll want to make sure that you're compatible with the most popular:

Mozilla Firefox 1.0

Internet Explorer 5+

Netscape Navigator 6+

Opera 7.0

These four browsers alone make up 95% of all Internet web browsers, so if you support them, the more access you will allow to your site, and the more access you have, the more visitors will come.