Welcome To Ray's Web Studio Web Design Talk Section
Web Design Talk
from Rays Web Studio
Web site design and management specialists
CSS - XHTML tailored Websites
for New or Small to Medium Sized Businesses needing a search engine optimised, smart,
functional and affordable Internet presence.
Starting your design.
Consider a trip to a book store.
Honestly
explore what made you pick a particular book.
What made you notice the book and then pull it off the shelf?
Why did you ignore other similar type titles?
Finally, ask why you settled on 'that' book?
Explore the feelings involved.
To get a good design that works for you, you have to be able to visualise the image you wish to project, and to convey those ideas to your web designer.
Good Websites.
We considered book buying. What made you buy one book over all the others of a similar subject?
The simple question is, Why did you like it?
Quite often it is the book cover design, or the way it approaches a subject; sometimes it is the layout, or the language style or maybe it was the illustrations which drew your attention?
Website appeal works in a similar way to the emotions involved in choosing a book.
Then ask, what enviroment can you provide for your visitors that will make them want to return to you again and again?
Using Stock Photographs.
Use of stock photo's can greatly enhance a page but posed 'welcoming' type photo's can appear to be obvious fakes.
Consider using images of your own staff?
Good stock shots can add weight to a page but consider possible hidden messages.
Header Ideas
The message within the headings should be crisp, to the point and ideally never span down to 2 lines, or more! If it does then is it really a heading?
Navigational links are a form of heading also. Very quickly they act as sign posts to your content and show the visitor what is available.
Links should always stand out from your normal text, the decision then is always how to achieve that within the design of your page.
JavaScript Use
This wonderful script language can be used to produce almost magical effects and arguably most sites these days utilise the language.
This page uses javascript to display the different sections when a link at the bottom of the page is clicked. Many websites will use javascript to run their galleries or image viewers.
There are downsides to Javascript. The most obvious being that not all visitors will have Javescript enabled within their browsers. This means that your wonderful effects won't work, so use Javascript with care.
To start a design you need to have planned the content of your message and the intention of your message. Initially, most visitors to a web page do not 'read the page', instead they skim.
Your message and image needs to be conveyed to your visitor within those important first few seconds.
If the first 3 to 5 second glance seems 'right' then the visitors will stay.
How your site opens - the time taken - and the first view obtained by your visitors are the most important moments in the life of your web page.
Design is about trying to produce within your visitor feelings of well being or comfort; or perceptions of new knowledge; or 'that is what they want' plus a sense of trust and security.
Colours, page layout and the placement of strategic headings are important page factors. Clear ideas and objectives make for a more user friendly design.
Further reading: Design - Sites you like - Images - Headings - JavaScript (Plus simple gallery)
Ignore the fact that a website carries the products that you like at the prices you like. Ask yourself why you like a particular website? What made you trust them?
What made you comfortable being there. Was it the images? The style of writing, the text layout, the ease of navigation, the colour scheme?
What feelings within you does a website invoke?
www.reflectionchauffeurs.com/
We thank ECS for bringing this website to our attention. The main image has been well thoughtout and conveys the company's image well. (It is an Istock stock photo)
Images and headings can be powerful visual tools.
Be prepared to pay for good images. Research websites you like or dislike and consider why.
Finally, Always check out your competitors sites. Valuable lessons can be learnt.
Further reading: Design - Sites you like - Images - Headings - JavaScript
Good images convey more about you, your website and trading image than words ever will.
Time and money must be spent on your images. For a successful website do not short cut this part of the design process.
We are happy to mock up artwork, but if we feel - which can happen sometimes - unable to produce a high quality finish we will suggest that you take the mock up to a graphics company to have the artwork completed.
What might be interesting snaps for your scrapbook may produce the wrong impression if placed on your website. Be judgemental about your images, and consider the message they convey. Mhay to the right? She's wonderful, but is this image suitable?
Images used should be clear, sharp, colourful, to the point, interesting, serve a specific purpose and compliment your image ansd message. Make your images work for you, to your good.
Further reading: Design - Sites you like - Images - Headings - JavaScript
Good use of headings, in both styling and content are essential. Visitors scan pages before settling in to read a section, if they like what they see, they stay!
Headings are an important part of a webpage design. Headings provide a logical structure to a webpage while quickly helping the visitor to understand the message within your page.
s mentioned in our Text Ideas section there are limits to the type of font that are safely useable so headings can be produced as images; see our 'web font' example to the left. or view exm1 exm2 exm3 exm3
Text / Font size. This must balance with the rest of the page. Large text can cheapen the look of a page, too small and you defeat the object of headings. It is a question of balance and what suits the design.
Text / Font style. While the style of heading font can differ from the body text style, the style used must balance with the page, or be so dynamically opposite that it makes a statement on its own behalf.
Further reading: Design - Sites you like - Images - Headings - JavaScript
