Professional Website design is becoming increasingly more important as an increasing number of internet users are viewing an increasing number of web pages online.

 

  

Another very important aspect of web design is the loading speed. Many websites contain Flash graphics that, when used properly, can load quickly and render a site very attractive with good interactivity, but that can also be very slow and sluggish to load up if installed by an inexperienced web designer or webmaster.

 

professional website design, then, involves more than just using pretty colors and graphics, but an overall appreciation of how the components of the site interact with each other to provide the visitor with a good online experience that will keep them on your website. Here are some  website design tips covering the more important of these components, to which you should pay special attention:

 

1.  CONTENT

The content of each web page must be optimized for the keyword that the page relates to.  A keyword is another word for the search term that a search engine user enters into their browser when seeking information. A search engine such as Google will calculate how relevant each page on the world wide web is to that search term, and a large part of that calculation is based upon the content of your page, the use of the keyword or search term within it, and also how the other vocabulary on the page relates to that keyword.

Website design will target the keyword without over-using it by means of semantically related vocabulary, and make absolutely clear what the content of the page is about.  A commonly used example is German shepherd:  is it a dog or a Hanoverian that looks after sheep The only way to tell is not by the keyword ‘german shepherd’, but from the other text used on the page.

 

Google has an algorithm to do this termed ‘latent semantic indexing’ or LSI, and the meaning of the words you use is a very important part of content design.

 

2.  USABILITY

A well designed website should be user-friendly, and easy to read.  The text should not be too large or too small, and should be written in bite-size pieces. Long paragraphs will result in the visitor clicking away, and paragraphs should be of no more than two or three sentences (such as on this page). Use bullets where possible, and break up the page using paragraph headings.

 

The navigation should be easy to use, and in the same place on every page in the site.  The visitor should be able to return to the home page from every other page, and should not be given so many options to click on that they get confused.

 

3.  APPEARANCE

The appearance of each page should be consistent, and the graphics relevant to the topic. Never try to make each page different in the hope that the visitor will be entertained - they won’t be.  They will just be confused.  Your site should be consistent throughout, and the colors neither too dull not too garish.  Use a template for each page.

 

4.  VISIBILITY

You can have the best website design in the world, but if people can’t find it, you won’t get visitors. You should follow all the basic SEO rules to ensure that your web pages have a good chance of getting a high search engine listing, and steer clear of duplicating content.  Never copy content from other sites, and always use fresh content on each of your web pages.

 

5.  KEEP IT FRESH

Web design involves maintaining your site by adding new content regularly.  Add a new page at least weekly to keep the search engines interested, with each page devoted to a specific keyword or search term based upon intelligent use of keyword research.  A good choice of keyword is one with a high demand but low supply by other web pages, although these are getting harder to find.

 

Finally, a well designed website can make the difference between the success and failure of a site, whether it is intended for fun and information or a commercial site that sells products. You can either try designing your own website or have a professional do it for you. 

 

Many opt for the middle road, however, and seek website design tips and recommendations for tools that can make designing your website significantly easier, and keep you up with modern internet developments in professional website design and content generation.