Content is everything! Well-designed websites focus on content first.
Well-organization content and properly designed navigation
will clearly communicate
to your clients, and search engines like google.com, the
information needed to purchase your business's goods and services.
Kauai Web Solutions is committed to using the best design practices.
Below is a list of some of the most important practices.
They all involve presenting your content to your visitors
and search engines with efficiency.
Content
Poor Design
Anything that limits the readability of the content of your site is bad.
This includes crowded pages, the use of distracting backgrounds,
very small text, poor color choices, too many and improperly placed
ads and sidebars, and anything else that makes the text difficult to read
or makes the important content difficult to find.
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Good Design
Focus the style of writing on the target audience.
Place the most important content on main page.
Be realistic with regards to content that needs to be maintained. For example,
do not include a calendar of events unless you are committed to keeping it
updated. Out-dated content looks unprofessional.
Organized content makes for a well-design website.
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Graphics
Poor Design
The inappropriate use of graphics can be problematic.
The use of images to add shadows and other style to text other than a
logo effectively hides that content from search engines and limits accessibility.
Overuse of graphics especially animated graphics should be avoided.
Flash splash screen or "Enter Here" intro pages hide content by forcing
visitors to click through. These are only appropriate for sites with
sensitive content in which the visitor needs to be pre-warned.
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Good Design
Images and video can be an effective and powerful way to deliver
content to visitors when used appropriately.
Images should support and enhance the content.
If you cannot answer the question, "what information does this provide
to our visitors?" then its use is suspect.
All images should be given accurate text descriptions so that search engines
and persons with disabilities are aware of the content.
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Navigation
Poor Design
The Internet is still a relatively new technology. Many popular and
widely-accepted design techniques are considered poor design principles
today because of what we have learn about how users use the Internet.
Use of frames, flash, and pop up windows all break the navigation
behaviors that user have come to expect. Use of any technique that breaks
the browser 'back' button is considered taboo. The use of javascript for
drop-down submenus hides important content and simply will not work
with javascript disabled.
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Good Design
Navigation should clearly communicate to the visitor where to get the
information they are searching for.
Avoid links labeled 'click here' and use clear descriptions.
If necessary, separate navigation menus into primary and secondary navigation
to avoid too many choices.
The use of text navigation at the bottom of each page allows visitors to
navigate the site quickly without having to scroll back to the top.
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Accessibility
Poor Design
Accessibility is not just for visitors with disabilities.
There is a lot of overlap with search engine optimization. Hiding
content in images or flash, lack clear descriptions of images, and
disorganized content, limits the accessibility of your site content
not only to visitors with disabilities, as well as search engines.
Search engine technology is constantly changing.
Techniques that designers used to 'fool' search engines in the
past are no longer effective.
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Good Design
Search engine algorithms have become incredibly complex.
Although, adding well-form meta tags, registering with search engines, increasing
external links, site maps, keeping a structure that has existed long-term are all
still helpful techniques, organizing your content with a solid structure,
enforcing consistency across your pages, and
separating content from style is the best way of
making content more accessible to both visitors with disabilities
as well as search engines.
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Errors
Poor Design
Errors on your website are like error on your resume!
Spelling errors, poor grammar, missing graphics, broken links,
outdated information, pages that do not validate, and any other
errors may give the visitor the impression that your business is less
than reputable.
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Good Design
Error free content! The following should be performed on every website page...
- Spell Check
- Validate all HTML and CSS code
- Verify layout with multiple browsers
- Check for accessibility
- Check for invalid links
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