Elements of good web design

We believe that good web design is a result of excellent execution and balance between the following areas:

- Aesthetics (overall look and feel)
- Site structure (ie, navigation and flow of information)


The harsh reality of everyday life is that people still make judgements based on appearance. Websites are no exclusion to this rule. Given that websites are frequently the first point of contact for a potential customer, establishing a good first impression is paramount to capturing and retaining business prospects.

If you have ever been to a website and closed the first window in under 10 seconds because you didn't like the way it looked, then you wouldn't be the first. It may sound trivial but that could mean a potential loss of a customer to that business. It is amazing how many large and succesfful businesses are content with leaving their web design to the CEO's 15 year old son, or their secretary. The result is often a generic looking website, or something that has all the colours of a pizza on the front page.

We believe that good design is characterised by judicious use of colours, that compliment each other and create an ambience or mood to reflect your business. Careless use of colours which do not blend can have a distracting and unsettling effect on the user. The colours can also cause the user to focus their attention on elements of the page which have less relevance than other more important features, such as sale items, or important announcements.

Along with colours, the layout of the site is also a key factor. Through our experience the most succesful websites we have implemented are those which use the "less is more" approach to their layout. This doesn't mean that they have very little substance, it just means that the information is cleverly dispersed throughout the website rather than having a huge blob of content on the front page. Many businesses fall into the trap of having 50% or more of their total website content on their front page. The downside of this is the overwhelming effect it can have on people, and often puts them off. The whole experience of "browsing the web" is exactly that - BROWSING - not reading lengthy essays. Aside from making it hard to keep track of what you are reading when scrolling a never-ending page, it is also boring.

Our experiences have shown that clear, concise, and consistent navigation schemes and layouts encourage users to browser deeper into the website, and thus learn more about the business. Just think of it as trying to consume a meal in several small bites rather than trying to eat it all in one go. Analysis of website statistics shows a clear relationship between the total time spent at a website and the overall layout of a website.


Note:
This information is provided in good faith with no warranty. Pie Software & Design is exlcluded from liability from any claims resulting from actions taken as a result of reading this material.