How to design a Web site
Most of you already know how to create a web site, but how many of you really know how to design one? Of course, we had a class in Hyper Text Markup Language, but nobody said anything about a real web site, the kind that people actually w 636s186g ant to see.
Our task is to give you a few insides on how to make something worth putting on the Net. So we gather some advices from lets say "pro's" and compiled them into one, hopefully, not too boring presentation.
The pen and paper.
Ok, we have a high-tech, state of the art computer. What is the first thing we should do? Pick up the old pen and paper. Why? Well, the initial planning works better on paper than, let's say, in Macromedia Dreamweaver. The most important thing I have to say is that your reason for making a site should be very clear. Think well about it, even ask your friends' opinion on it and write down any ideas you find interesting.
You can even draw a sketch of the site like it should look and than use the annoying friends once more.
You should also know your target area, that is the kind of people that would visit such a site. Play a little Sherlock Holmes and try to make a portrait of the ideal visitor. Think about his age, job, if he has permanent access to the Internet and how long does he stay online, what kind of TV shows he likes, what kind of books he reads (if any), what is his income, if he has friends and so on. The better you do this, the easier it is for you to get his attention and hopefully keep him tied up to the computer enjoying your great work and even more, convincing his friends to visit your site. Don't forget to put yourself in his skin to guess what is good or bad about your creation.
Time.
You also have to think about how often you are going to update your site. This indeed boring task can be done daily, weekly or monthly. But the more often you update it, the more up-to-date it will be, so it will be seen better by your visitors who otherwise will seek a "fresher" one (you have all searched for something on Google, haven't you?).
Ergonomics
The next tasks are simpler: find an editor (Dreamweaver and Flash for instance), find a host (free or. call your friends) and you're ready to. do some more thinking. You should think about the "weight" of the site. They may look good to the naked eye, but too many of them can make loading the site a living inferno, especially in a country where most surfers use the expensive dial-up link.
Now it's the time to think about an essential characteristic, although scarcely found in Romanian web sites: ergonomics. This term can be defined as a balance between the effort and the gain. Applied here, this translates into being able to access any important area of the site using just the mouse from the main page or even from the other pages. This means: use some sort of a menu on each page. We hope it is useless to mention the importance of a "Home" button on each page in an accessible location.
It's good to know that every page has a "magic corner". This is the upper-left corner of the screen, which draws the eye of the visitor since the first sight. This is because we read from up to down and from left to right. So this is a very good place to display a well-designed logo followed by some fancy motto.
Structure
The site must be well organized and structured. Remember that the visitors want maximum of information in a small number of steps. Also remember that long articles are often read offline. So the main page should be clear and concise and the major section should be represented by a resume and a hyper-link to the main body of the article. Also don't overload the main page with extensive information, as you also want your visitors to admire you artistic talent.
When you first lay your eyes on something, the first thing you distinguish is a mass of forms and colors. So you should really think about the graphical elements you are going to use so that it doesn't bother the eyes (the contrast between the background and the foreground should be to strong and so on.).
As the first impression is often the most important, the site should attract the visitors by design and graphics and especially by the easy way in which they can find what they are looking for. If the visitors don't accept the design, they will just leave even before they get a chance to actually read something.
If this is a commercial site, a contact and maybe a guestbook section are compulsory.
A little trick is to create a poll, that is a special interactive section where the visitors can express their likes, dislikes, questions, ideas and so on.
By carefully planning your site you can make a good start in the web-developing world. Add a few extra features that guarantee originality like imagination and personality and your site has all the chances to become a www elite.
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