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Top 5 Must-Haves on Every Web Page
By Jason OConnor © 2003 http://www.oakwebworks.com
There are 5 elements that every page of every Web site must have. They are standard, and expected by Web users. When one of them is missing, it screams to a viewer that it’s an amateur site. If a few or all of them are missing, don’t expect anyone to linger for very long.
These 5 elements make site visitors’ life easier and saves them time, two extremely important characteristics of an effective Web site.
1)Consistent colors, fonts, and look & feel.
This is a basic tenant of Web design. If you ran a traditional ad campaign that used three different creative ads, would each one look totally different? The answer is ‘no’. Using same fonts, same colors and keeping general look & feel consistent is fundamental to presenting a unified, dependable, and congruent image. If your look & feel is all over place, your potential customers may think you are all over place.
Try for one main font throughout and maybe a secondary font. Two primary colors are best with a third as a secondary color. A shade of one of two primary colors works well for secondary color.
2)Consistent navigation and a ‘Home’ link.
If you present a navigational scheme on your homepage, then your users immediately start to learn where to find all ways to locate elements of your site minute they arrive. If you then place same links in different spots on other pages you are making it unnecessarily difficult for your viewers. It is unconsciously annoying to users, and gives impression once again that you and your company are inconsistent and undependable. Don’t make users work harder than they have to get information from your site.
