Looking Good on the Web Written by Ruth McIntyre-Williams
There's a lot of websites out there floating around in cyberspace, screaming for attention. When you cast your site out into void, will you be able to catch viewers and hold on to them? Will they click through — or click off?You have content. You have a message. You need to present it in a professional and attractive manner quickly, before viewer hits that return key. A few basic design skills will help you along. 1. The first important step is to provide a CENTER OF INTEREST to catch viewer's eye. This can be your logo, a heading graphic, a gripping photograph. This should be at top left or center of your site page. Say you have an online nursery business. You might splash a stunning photo of billowing red begonias across top of your page. Right under it you could have your logo and business name. Or, you could have logo and/or name printed right on photo, just make sure it's VERY legible. Nothing spoils a photo more than faint unrecognizable smears on it. 2. From your center of interest object, you need to make sure people quickly see/read what you think is most important for them to know. Don't put paragraphs of text. They won't bother with it, and may even leave your site. Think poster. A web page is like a poster. Present information briefly and design it so whole poster can be read quickly. To do this, you need to have EYE TRAVEL. This means planning graphics, tables, or short text snips to be placed on page in such a pattern as to lead your viewers along page to see what you want them to see without their making a conscious effort. Remember people read left to right, top to bottom. This is natural. Make use of it. And, don't be afraid of blank space!! Did you hear me? Don't be afraid of blank space! Give your text and graphics room to breathe! things apart. Make your table cells big. Put in spacers. A star in a black sky is more visible than same star in Milky Way.
| | Your Website and your BrandWritten by Dom Moreci
Don't rely on technology alone to create a great Website for you or your company. It's great to have cool technology but you need to leave a favorable impression on your user. Instill confidence and create an engaging and memorable experience for your user. Do that, and they will stick around, buy something and come back another time. Use good design to bolster great content and cool technology of your site. The user will remember way all three elements work (or fail to work) together.When designing your Website, be sure to look to established design elements for inspiration. Your Website needs to function as a part of a greater marketing and brand positioning package. USING YOUR IDENTITY: At core of any company image is brand identity system. The identity system is really a set of objectives and ideas that manifest themselves in form of a tangible piece of artwork, like a logo (the Nike swoosh, or Apple's apple symbol for example). This system includes information about company's perceived image, it's audience and their expectations, company's position and differentiation in marketplace etc. etc. etc.. The logo, corporate mark, product system, trademark, whatever you want to call it, is single most important way to identify who, what and why of a company, brand or product. Because identity itself is so vital, it becomes starting point for all other forms of brand communication. This includes, brochures, business stationary, advertising, annual reports and most recently, Websites. All of these elements need to communicate a similar if not same
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