Rik Nilsson
Introduction
OK, you want to sell on the web, and you've decided to try your hand at web design rather than hire Waters Gulch Digital. I don't blame you, it looks easy. Believe me it isn't, even if you're planning to use a 3rd-generation design tool like the aptly-named Dreamweaver or GoLive. Don't even think of using FrontPage -- that one generates tons of page code you don't need, resulting in slow page load times. I hope you have more than that to work with. For image preparation (optimizing for the web) you'll need to get and learn how to use PhotoShop or ImageReady, and acquire some reference material -- go to Amazon.com and look up anything done by Robin Williams or Laura Lemay, or search on "teach yourself".
I won't touch on page layout or composition design, because that's really up to individual taste. No matter what tools or references you use, if you put up a reasonably attractive set of pages and adhere to these 10 basic design principles, you might be successful:
Photos and Descriptions
When I search on Google and go to a catalog, if the seller hasn't made the effort to take a picture of the item I want, I go to another site. Detailed descriptions help prospective customers make sure you and they are talking about the same thing, and help match up the customers needs with what you're selling. Don't hold out info on the mistaken assumption that they'll call for clarification -- wrong: they'll hit the "Back" button and click on another Google result.
Searchable Content
Once a visitor (they're not even close to being a customer, yet) is reading your page, you stand a much better chance of making a sale if they can narrow their search to the item they're really looking for. Building-in search functions is not within the novice web designer's realm of capabilities. For that, you really need to have your page content in a database.
Current Info and Links
Verify your published links regularly. Like, weekly. Nothing destroys confidence in your site than links that return "404 - Not found". Keep your sales items current too. Database-driven sites with content management systems (CMS) make this easy.
Remember: a home page with fresh daily content tends to keep people coming back, and may increase your Google relevancy rating in the bargain.
Composition, Accuracy and Readability
Poor spelling destroys customer confidence in the accuracy of your content. Keep a dictionary handy and make it a habit to look up any word spellings you're not sure of. Use complete sentences and keep them short. Be truthful.
Proofread your copy. Better yet, have someone else do it. Trick: read it backwards -- you can find mispelled words and missing words better that way.
Resist the temptation to use light type on a colored or dark background, or colored text or textured backgrounds. It's hard to read a lot of type that way, and visitors will remain just that -- visitors, not customers.
Remember to put the most important information in the first short paragraph. People like the ability to peruse concise lists of features, rather than verbose descriptions, too. Don't overlay images with text. Make sure your page looks right in several different web browsers and on different platforms: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, PC and Macs.
Customer-centric Content
Keep that picture of you small, and play up the stuff you want to sell. Nobody gets anything useful out of that gorgeous portrait of you on the phone with a client. Be sure your contact information is visible on the page in plain view without scrolling. Customers want to see what you have to sell.
Usable Tools and Information
Most clients are not going to be interested in a "Welcome to..." or how big your building is, or your local weather. If you sell products, properties or items that require calculations, usage restrictions or licensing, provide the calculators, usage regulations and links to licenses or applications to obtain licenses. Give customers some value on the site -- it'll bring them back.
K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple, Stupid)
Customers should be able to make out your contact information at a glance, without scrolling. Bunch your phone number, address, your operating hours and a link to a contact form in a well-defined area in plain view. Add a search blank right below that. Maybe a link to maps.yahoo.com
Don't pepper your page with flashing, animated or slow-loading graphics. Nothing shouts "amateur web designer" like a gratuitous spinning globe, rotating text or flashing bullets.
When adding content, always ask yourself, "Is this adding value for my customers?". If the answer is "not really", don't publish. Don't put up "content" just to fill space -- it just distracts viewers from more important information.
Organize
Content is worthless if customers can't find it. Group information onto successive pages which are, at most, two screens or less tall. Add search tools for listings of large numbers of products or properties. Categorize items so items can be found in two or three clicks, max. Make your main navigation links very plain, and try to get them to be the first thing to appear -- don't use images for them. Use stylesheet-controlled text. Sub-navigators on subsequent pages should be smaller, and also grouped into a block for easy navigation. A "site map" with a list of your main- and sub-navigators all on one page is a great help.
Consistant Look and Feel
Use the same colors, navigation scheme and page structure on most or all of your pages. That spares customers an extra level of hunting. Radical color or font size changes will jolt visitors away from your site. Resist artsy-fartsy layouts like alternating pictures and text paragraphs down the page. It tires the eyes.
Be Concise
Resist the urge to write a book. Inspect each sentence to see if it can be shortened or even eliminated. Write in easily digested bites. Bullet points and lists are easier to read than long, comma-separated paragraphs. Put your "welcome" or mission statement on an "About" page, not the home page.
© 2006 Rik Nilsson,
All rights reserved.
Richard H. Nilsson/January 9, 2006
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