10 secrets of a successful web site

1. when you are considering a look and feel for your web site, the first thing you should look at is what your competition is doing. you've got to know what you are up against. begin with the overall style and then move toward specific issues like layout (sidebar or no sidebar?), spinning logos, and the color scheme.
   
   once you've done your research, it's up to your tech guy who "knows" photoshop (hopefully you haven't hired a real web/graphic designer...they are far too expensive and are always whining about the client not appreciating their art) to build a site that looks pretty much like your competitors' sites. after all, if the work is already done, why should you need to do it again?
   
   now, i'm not talking about stealing here...that's illegal and dishonest. i'm talking about borrowing the best elements (e.g. beveled buttons that light up when rolled over) of the various designs and making them your own. copy one site's color scheme, take another's sidebar style, and that third site's illustration style on the splash page would look quite nice on your splash page. it's really quite easy and saves a lot of development time that could be utilized playing quake.
2. a fresh, hip look
   
   is your web site tired and played out? time for a new style? all you need to do is ask yourself one question: "what are the kids doing today?" the answer: they're snowboardin', extreme inline skatin', skateboardin', talkin' funny, and wearing their airwalk footwear.
   
   and they're not being very quiet about it. all their gear (kidspeak for sports equipment, clothing, footwear, etc.) is brightly colored and emblazoned with all sorts of stripes and oval logos and futuristic typefaces.
   
   now just think for a moment...if you were to design your web site to look like, say, the top side of a snowboard, you could attract all sorts of cool kids to your web site as well as tie into the latest design trend.
3. sidebars aren't just for court anymore
   
   the sidebar, the newest rage in web site design. if you don't have one, your site sucks. plain and simple. some sites nowadays (like wired news and c|net) are really kickass; they have two sidebars.
   
   sidebars are pretty easy to do as well. just follow the advice offered in tip #1; find a sidebar that you like and make one just like it. the c|net sidebar is especially popular...be sure to take that yellow along too. no sense in wasting such a neat color.
   
   to make your sidebar choice even easier, i've compiled a little slideshow of some of the web's most popular and visible sidebars. use it wisely.
   
   some additional sidebar tips:
   
   + the wider the better. screen real estate doesn't matter all that much.
   
   + the sidebar/beveled buttons combo works well.
   
   + put your logo at the top of your sidebar...putting it anywhere else would be silly and pointless
   
   + cram as much information as you can into your sidebar...provide links to everything in your site.
4. 3D logos. pixar pulls it off, why can't i?
   
   exactly right. with today's high end power mac 7200s and 486 pcs, one can create beautifully rendered animated 3D art that rivals the likes of that produced by pixar and industrial light and magic. why have a two dimensional logo when three dimensions are available? the extra dimension will make your logo stand out from those of your competition.
5. grunge...now in technicolor.
   
   designing effective web sites is all about trends. you need to see what others are doing before you make your move. one of the hottest trends right now in typography (or fontography for the more cultured among us) is taking those grimy, dirty grunge fonts and sprucing them up a bit. kind of a hotwired meets raygun meets june cleaver approach.
   
   implementation is quite simple: pick your favorite grunge font (the messier the better - if it is nearly unreadable, great), choose a fairly large point size, and then add the dayglow color of your choice. bright reds, oranges, yellows, and greens are especially popular right now.
6. cdrom on the web
   
   in the three years the web has existed, the web design community as a whole has discovered the one great truth: developing for the web is just like developing for a cdrom. you've probably heard different, but that's just propaganda from all the techies that are mad because people no longer develop text-only pages.
   
   the truth is that people enjoy the long downloads of cdrom-type graphics and sound, implementation of complex director-style animations, transitions, and rollovers across multiple platforms is now quite simple, and content updates, although not needed in a cdrom environment, are easily handled. in short, if you have developed for cdrom in the past, designing for the web is a snap.
7. counters and chasing and other things you need.
   
   there are several universally acknowledged elements that a web site must have in order to be deemed complete. to make it easy for you, i've compiled a little checklist of these elements. enjoy:
   
   
   • a sidebar: i've discussed this elsewhere already so i'll just leave it to that.
   • a counter: those high-end, high-priced stats packages are vastly overrated. a simple cgi counter is the only effective way to keep track of how many people have been to your site.
   • a web ring: this element works for personal sites, but can add that extra professional touch to your commercial web site. check around a little...the right web ring is out there for you. there are star trek rings, goth rings, x-files rings, sports rings, porn rings, and "i love teddy bears" rings. get your ring today.
   • netscape and internet explorer banners: it is important that you support these two products on your web site...otherwise no one is ever going to use them. award banners: put them on your front page and make them big...the larger the better. again, this element is mainly for
   • personal sites, but the effect will be just as great when used on commercial web sites. employee pictures and email addresses: visitors to your web site want to see the smiling faces of your employees. all of them. and make the pictures big...it's a good use of bandwidth. more importantly, people want to be able to contact all your employees via email...you never know when someone is going to have an urgent need to reach ed bailey, your assistant janitor.
   • a photo of the company headquarters: this one is a no brainer. how can people possibly feel comfortable dealing with a company whose building they have never seen. i mean, really.
   • an animated logo: you need to draw as much attention away from the content of the site as you possibly can. the content isn't all that important anyway...if visitors remember the logo, your job is done.
8. make the logo bigger
   
   when dealing with a web site, especially a corporate web site, branding is the most important thing. therefore, the logo has to be the most visible element on the site. that means it has to be on every page, preferably in the upper lefthand corner of the page. the logo must also be large...set your screen to 640x480 resolution and make sure the logo takes up a quarter of your browser window. of course, this means that the content will be pushed down the page a little. don't worry, content isn't that important and people will find it if they really want to.
   
   and again, if you can animate or make your logo 3D, that will increase its impact even more.
9. the customer knows best
   
   the customer (or client) is always correct. always.
   
   if they don't like a color, change it. the site will look much better with an off-white background...you just haven't realized it yet. bet you didn't realize your client was a professional graphic designer.
   
   if your client tells you "something about that font really bugs me. could you change it?" they really mean, "increase the kerning of the type and switch to a sans serif face." your client just didn't want to show off their mastery of typography...sorry, fontography. the type change will dramatically increase the readability and usability of the site.
   
   if a client tells you to change something and then change it back to the way it was originally, don't get upset at having to do the extra work. after all, you've learned something important...the customer is always right...even when they initially appear not to be.
10. the bevel means click
    
    beveled buttons are the staple of any gui-based application...you click them and they do things. people are comfortable with them. therefore, you should use them on your web site as a navigation tool...preferably in combination with a sidebar of some sort. here are a few additional tips:
    
    the bigger the bevel, the more important the button is. grey is a good color for buttons.
    
    oval or buttons with rounded corners are cool and good for a change of pace, but might confuse users because they are not rectangular.
    
    the javascript rollover technique works quite well with beveled buttons...you can change the color of the button when the user rolls over it with their mouse. that way, the user knows that their mouse is actually on the button.

© 2008 Podline - Do not copy this article.