The guidelines below will help you to create web sites that are user-friendly and will be well received.

1. Content, content, content! The single most important element in any successful web site is good content. You must have content that is:

* interesting;

* informative; and

* regularly updated.

Without this, it will be difficult to convince people to visit your site again and again. Lots of flashy colours and animated images may look fun first time, but it's not enough to keep people coming back to your site. Only good content can do that.

2. Don't overuse character styles such as bold face and italics as this can make your site seem amateurish. Also, underlining should be avoided at all costs as visitors will mistake underlined text for a clickable link.

Similarly, don't wildly vary size of your type unless you have good reason.

3. Don't abuse your colours. Too many colours, or overly garish colours, are one of easiest ways to spot amateur web sites. Also make sure that you choose a readable colour scheme. White text on a black background may look cool, but it's tough to read, particularly with small text.

We suggest that you start a journal that will contain your thoughts, notes, and ideas for your Web site design. You can use a standard manila file folder and loose-leaf paper or you may want to create a folder on your computer and use a text editor such as Microsoft Word for your pages. Label your folder "My Web Site". You will need six pages. Label each page as follows:

1.Purpose and Goals 2.Target Audience 3.What I Like 4.What I Don't Like 5.Site Map 6.Other Thoughts/Ideas

Or feel free to visit http://www.mountevansdesigns.com/worksheets.html to download worksheets we use. (This is also page we use when customers hire us. Please look beyond information and deposit sections. The worksheet you need is starts with question "What is purpose of your site?")

1. Purpose and Goals What is purpose of your Web site? What do you hope to achieve with it? What are your goals? Is your purpose to attract a larger audience through search engines? Or to provide information to your current customer base? Jot down your thoughts on your "Purpose and Goals" worksheet. This will help keep you focused on working towards and achieving goals you set for your Web site.

2. Target Audience Take some time to think about who your target audience is. What is their age group? Their gender? Most importantly, what sort of a Web design interface is going to appeal to them?

What do you plan to say to them? Do you have a good idea of how to communicate with your target customer through your Web site copy? Consider what their problems are and how you plan to offers solutions to those problems through your product or service. Write down your thoughts on your "Target Audience" worksheet.

3. What You Like Spend time browsing Web. Take note of Web sites that appeal to you. What is it you like about them? The layout? The colors? The navigation? The fonts?

Layout Think about how you would like your Web site layout to look. Write down URL's of several Web sites that have a layout similar to what you would like to have on your Web site. Add notes on what you like about layout to your "What I Like" worksheet.

Navigation What kind of navigation links would you like for your site? Buttons? Tabs? Text links? Drop down menu? A combination? Again, take note of URL's of several Web sites that have navigation links that you like.

Colors Carefully choose your colors. We can't emphasize enough how important colors are. Keep your target audience in mind - what would appeal to them? Remember that colors represent emotions and perceptions. ·Elegant, business-like colors include dark colors such as navy blue and burgundy. ·Fresh, healthy colors include bright colors such as pale yellows, blues and greens. ·Loud, high-impact colors include vibrant colors such as red and bright shades of yellow, blue, orange and purple and black.