6 Steps For Consistent Web Layouts: Part 1
Web page design is often a challenging process, due in part to the rapid advances in technology. Below are some tips to help you with the design process.
1. Create a Storyboard. The first step to building a successful Web site is to create a flow chart on paper, similar to the process of storyboarding for movies and animation. If you run into problems, they’re much easier to fix here than during the process of building your Web site.
2. Viewing Size. This depends on whether the browser uses toolbars, extensions, etc. and can fluctuate widely depending on the size of the viewing area and whether the browser is maximized or not. According to some online research, it’s recommended that you design your Web pages for a maximum viewing size of 776×424 pixels in order to reach 95% of visitors.
3. Ease of Design. It’s both easy and tempting to get seduced by complexity. The reality is that a simple, uncluttered site is better, partly because your message will clear and obvious.
4. Consistency. A big problem with Web site design is a lack of consistency. To fix the problem, consider using templates. In many cases, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and effort.
5. Slicing Images. Quite often image graphics can become quite large. While this looks great on the screen it can become quite cumbersome, especially if the user has a slow connection. The solution is slice the image into pieces that load one at a time. This gives the user the understanding that more is to come. The user is more likely to wait for the full image to load in this case.
6. Targeting Your Audience. Before you even begin to build a Web site, consider your audience. Before you spend a lot of time and effort, do some research to see if the users will want your product or service. Here, market research is essential and an important step is seeing what keywords are used in searches. One service I recommend for this purpose is WordTracker.
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