How do you make a web site more appealing to the eyes and how do you make it load faster so that your visitors don’t click away to some other site? Usually the determining factors are information content, page layout and design. A web designer or a prospective web designer has to be familiar with the underlying technology. Knowledge of HTML, image optimizig techniques, Java and Java Script are very useful.( I know only HTML and Painst shop Pro and am trying to get a hold of java script and then will begin on my page. You will see my page soon!). The web designer should understand the function rather than decoration should be the main objective. The design should help the surfer get related information at faster speeds. The aesthetics of the site should develop from the function of the site. So here are a few tips for a good site.
1) * Use Flat Colours * - The PSP pallete has millions of colours. But the maximum number of colours that can be uniformally recognized by all browsers are 216- the rest are seen differently by different browsers. Hence a’Web Safe Pallete’ has been developed. You can download this from abode.com .
2) * Use Optimized Images * - Unoptimized images increase the time of download of the file and this slows browsong of your site. To make your pages download faster use optimized images. They can be optimized in the form of gif89a or jpeg format. Abode image ready and Paint Shop Pro can be used to optimize images for the internet.
3) * Use Frames * - Frames are a combination of HTML pages which can be arranged in a specific order to facilitate navigation within a HTML page. An example of this is Netaddress.Frames make navigation easier and enable faster page download. The frame can be constant and need not be loaded for every page.
4) * Use HTML * - Though you might think using WYSIWYG( what you see is what you get) editors like dreamweaver and frontpage is easy, it is not advisable. Because these editord generate unnecesarry HTML tags that could create errors. Frontpage generates Web-Bots which are not recognized by some browsers. You should have a good knwledge of HTML and you can tweak your web page to perfection.
5) * The Look and the Content * - Reduce the number of elements, increase the empty space between and around the elements. Ensure that the page is not cluttered and is neat. Avoid overloading your site with special effects like Shockwave Flash movies or Dyanamic HTML etc. Use them only where it’s presence is justified. Use proper fonts and colour schemes and test your page several times.
’Content is King’ is a oft-heard statement and is very true. let the surfer know what your site is all about and let him know that in the first line of your page.A surfer will stick to your site if he sees what he needs in the first 5 seconds or so. So use that time. Aviod that’Welcome’ and’hello’ crap Stick to the matter to what your site is about. Don’t stray away to any other topic. Don’t give links to unnecessary sites.
So hope u have found my advice useful and here’s to a great site from you . Cheers!