Creating A Quality Web Site Design!

In this article, I will attempt to cover the basics of creating a great quality web design template for your site. Now it's a known fact that the layout or "eye candy" as I put it will determine whether your visitors will stay more than 15 seconds or they will just become another statistic.

That's right, if you don't catch your visitors attention right away, statistics shows us that your visitors will come and go within 15 seconds or less.

That doesn't leave you with a lot of time to grab someone's attention!

Some of you may be asking yourself:

Well why does this happen????

See when you think about it, 15 seconds to the "browsing eye" is like an eternity. In other words, it takes about 15 seconds for the average person to browse your main page and determine whether they will explore your site further!

So with that being said;

How do we grab your visitors attention????

Every new client of mine is asked to perform the same tasks. I ask them to explore their competitor's web sites and look for specific triggers that would make them want to click on or buy right away. More times than none, my clients will notice specific "Headlines" or "Graphics" that really peek their interest. In doing this, you'll have 1st hand knowledge on what you expect your visitors will see and possibly expect themselves.

Step 2, I'll ask my clients to do one more process just like the previous one. I'll ask them to make a list of all the "eye candy" that really caught their attention and write me a little note as to why it caught their attention. In doing this, it will give your web designer a 1st hand knowledge on what to implement within your site!!!

With these great tasks, you've made your job and the job of your web designer a lot easier to target your audience.

Sites that sell "Web Site Templates" :

You may have seen some sites that sell your the right for a specific "Template Style". There are 100's of resources out there. I need to clarify something for you, these templates are targeted at web designers only!!! Reason being, the files that you receive will no doubt require some expensive and time consuming software just to open them.

Now being a designer, I'm not about to "knock" pre-made templates but there's a couple of things you may want to consider:

1) Although the templates you may encounter are very impressive, you will be sharing your layout template with 100's, maybe 1000's of other sites. The reason why they are so cheat is because those "specific templates" are sold and re-sold as much as possible!

2) I've noticed that many template examples out there on the web are extremely "Graphic Driven". This will result in "slow loading times". I'm sure we've all come across a site that seemed to take FOREVER to load!! How long did you actually wait for the site to load????

The best way to get a template is to have someone professional design your web site layout for you! This will ensure that your template is uniquely designed for your business. It will be easier for you to make changes in the future. Typically, a template may cost you between $0-$500 depending on the intensity and added features!

Now, we've talked about "Slow loading pages". I've found a good "norm" to stick with when it comes to size and speed: Web sites are compiled of 2 elements:

1) Graphics & Layouts

2) Programming & Pages

Both of them require memory from your computer when downloading them. If one or the other is too large then this may result in negative results for your visitors.

Here's a good norm to stick with, either you or your web designer should stick with these specs:

1) Graphic Design Layout: Should be no more than: 30-50K in size

2) Programming Pages: Shouldn't be more than: 10-30k in size

Giving your entire web page no more than 40k-80k in size. Anything drastically more will result in the loss of many visitors from slow downloading pages.

Animation: Last but not least, making "some" aspects of you page stand out by adding small size animations. PLEASE NOTE: DO NOT overkill your site with graphics and animation!!! I can't stress this enough, your visitors will most likely get a head ache from it and won't be coming back very soon.

Instead, try targeting specific promotions or services you wish to attract your visitors to right away! Many sites exchange "animated banners" with other sites to exchange traffic. I personally NEVER take part in adding ANY banners on my site. I honestly feel that banners only take away from the design, not add to it! A typical "Banner Dimensions" is 468px x 60px. There are many other sizes!

What I will usually take part in, if any, is smaller, more unique banners that are geared to complimenting an article or text with it. This is much more effective because study shows us that "Content (text)" accompanied by a "graphic image" is more likely to be read by our visitors than just text on its own.

That about wraps it up to having an effective web site template. Please look for my "continued" issues related to this article.

About The Author

Martin R. Lemieux

President

Smartads Information Centre

Advertising, Marketing Resources & Web Design

http://www.smartads.info

Webmasters Playground

Webmaster Awards & Web Design Resources

http://www.flyinggelatingames.com

WANT TO REPRINT THIS ARTICLE ?

You may use this article on your site as is but you MUST send me a note support@smartads.info Thank You!

---

The Most Important Question To Ask About Your Web Site!

When you design a website how do you start ?Do... Read More

Effective Web Design Usability Principles

Website Design Usability Tips1. Getting to know about audience membersYou... Read More

Why Ugly Sites Sell More Than Pretty Ones

What the heck is going on lately? Most internet websites... Read More

12 Essential Web Site Design Tips

1. What's the purpose?The most fundamental thing to do before... Read More

Web Site Turn Ons

When you develop a sales brochure, you have a mental... Read More

Flash - To Use Or Not To Use?

Out there in the WWW there are thousands sites using... Read More

Web Coach Tip: The Single Most Important and CRUCIAL Element of Your Web Site

Here's the single most important part of your website: YOUR... Read More

Why Use Professional Web Site Designers For Your Next Web Development Project?

Probably you know someone who has created a web site... Read More

How Not to be Ripped Off by Your Website Designer

As web designer my self, I have had the unfortunate... Read More

Why Do Images Disappear from a Webpage?

In learning webpage design, I encountered many problems that took... Read More

How To Use Unsafe Web Colors With Minimum And Safety And Maximum And Profit

Do you want to use unsafe web colors without offending... Read More

Love at First Site: Giving Your Website Visitors the right Impression

Think of the people who visit your site as blind... Read More

Dont Lose The Sale In The Internets Last Three Feet

In retailing there is a saying that sales are made... Read More

How to Hire The Right Web Design Firm

Regardless whether you manage a small business, charitable organization, or... Read More

How to Create a Great Landing Page for Your Website

The landing page or entry page of your visitors is... Read More

Eight Website Pitfalls, and How to Avoid Them

Clutter: Too much noise, too much text, and too little... Read More

How to save money on a website

Know what you wantMake sure you know why you... Read More

Web Design: How To Get Your Visitors To Stay

Remember the famous line from the movie Field of Dreams,... Read More

How to Build Your Own Website - More Steps

To build a website, there are four methods to choose... Read More

Graphic Terms- The Basics Part I

You're almost set. The content of your website, e-book, or... Read More

What Is Your Websites Most Wanted Response?

You spend time and money promoting your website; but what... Read More

Eliciting Constructive Website Feedback

"It's good.""You've done a nice job.""I don't like it."At some... Read More

Successful Websites Don?t Set Out To Sell

What are websites? Are they sales tools for vendors and... Read More

Great E-Cover Creation in 5 Steps

There are several graphic software packages available to help you... Read More

Web-Safe Fonts for Your Site

Choosing the right typeface for your website copy is important,... Read More

Color Scheme for Your Website?

Yes, in a world that is obsessed with makeover madness,... Read More

10 Tips for Killer Website Design

Does website design make a difference in how long people... Read More

Web Site Professionalism? What Is It?

Your web site should be-visitor friendly to navigatesearch engine friendly... Read More

Web Templates: Replacing Designers?

I've seen articles (and websites) that suggest you can buy... Read More

Developing Your Winning Web Site Strategy

Your web site is the key to your success on... Read More

How to Chose Stock Photography for your Web Site

So you've decided to take the plunge. You know that... Read More

Appropriate Key Words Choice

What do the key words represent?Key words - these are... Read More

Why You Want to Include an FAQ In Your Site

Congratulations! You've got a brand new site and it's doing... Read More