How the Look & Feel of your website contributes to its success ...

... or its failure.

Website usability expert Vincent Flanders says: “Great web design is an art and occurs when design and content are seamless and you don't notice its greatness. With great web design, it's easy to find the information you need. The content makes you want to return again and again and, most importantly, great design gives credibility to the company/organization.”

I talk elsewhere about the great content needed on your website. 

For now let's discuss the design of the website, or its Look & Feel.

A perfect analogy to use is that of an offline business such as a shop or a store. The decor of the shop should be warm, confidence-inspiring, appropriate to the business and easy to make your way around. The shop staff should be knowledable and helpful, and that's analogous to the words you use on your website. For now we're talking about the physical location. And in a metaphorical but still very real way, a website is a physical location. So:

1. Above all, the Look & Feel should reflect your business accurately.
   
   So for example, a solicitor might have a navy-and-cream colour scheme and straight lines.
   
   A crèche might have orange and bright blue as its colour theme, with cartoony pictures.
   
      
2. Easy navigation leads to trustworthiness too. The website visitor feels safe and comfortable on your website, and so will stay there. Make it easy for them. If they have to work hard to find out the information, they most likely won’t bother. The Back Button beckons.
   
   In practice easy navigation usually means clearly labelled navigation buttons on a left-hand panel, or across the top. Don’t try to be clever. Designers like to be clever, because they get bored doing the same thing. But your website isn’t there to satisfy designers’ needs, it’s there to satisfy your visitors’ needs (so that it can ultimately satisfy your needs). And your visitor likes predictability.
   
     
3. Try to keep to a three-tier navigation, as that also makes it easier on your visitor. (I acknowledge that I have four-tiers here; it isn't always possible to stick to three. But it's good to aim for.)
   
   Your first tier is your home page.
   
   Your second tier is the pages indicated on the navigation bar. So on this website pages such as Website Marketing, Relationship Marketing and Copywriting are second-tier pages.
   
   Your third tier is all pages that link to first-tier or second-tier pages, e.g. this page.
   
    
4. Make sure there’s lots of white space. Too much text tires the reader’s eyes, even on a printed page. White space is even more important on screen which is much harder to read than paper.
   
   
5. Don’t make the header too big. It needs to be there as part of the website, but the top half of the screen is the most valuable and shouldn’t be all used up on the header. The header is after all, about YOU, not about the visitor.
   
      
6. Try to make any images tell a story, and so earn their keep. This website has a picture of a sail filled with wind. The subliminal message is that of movement and power being provided - which is what Massive Action Marketing is all about. 
     
7. Another good image to have is your own picture. People do business with people, and seeing what you look like is very valuable indeed. You might even consider having your photo as your header. Certainly have it on your 'About Me' page.
   
      
8. Make the font big enough. You’ve as much space as you need; there’s no need to be stingy with it. Big fonts are easier to read.
   
      
9. Avoid fancy flash moving images. They’re annoying and they take up too much memory which makes the website slow to load.
   
      
10. Don’t have an Enter button on your main URL page, forcing the website visitor to click again. Just don’t.
    
      
11. Don’t forget to K.I.S.S.: Keep It Simple. Seriously. The medium (i.e. the website) is NOT the message.   The message is the message.