There are many different types of web design, from those created using website templates and “make your own” website building apps, to complex content-driven Website design Gold Coast and e-commerce web designs such as those, which are used by big brands like Amazon, eBay, and Tesco. Some companies, even well-known companies, have unprofessional-looking and poorly designed websites. Some have amazing-looking websites, but due to their high graphic content and minimal text content, they can take time to load, are not user friendly, and do not deliver what the visitor wants.
Good website design
While many aspects of website design differ from site to site, many things remain the same on most websites on the Internet. First of all, it is navigation or menu. The way a website menu works and looks is very important as website visitors are ultimately looking for certain criteria that will make them either stay and interact or leave. This ability of a website to keep visitors interested is sometimes referred to as stickiness. Visitors want a compelling visually immersive experience, but perhaps more importantly, they want “ease of use.” Website usability is a key factor for websites that want their visitors to linger, make inquiries, and eventually complete a transaction and order a product or service.
Easy to use web design
Internet users tend to prefer easy-to-use websites because they don’t want to learn how to use a website every time they find a new one. They should be able to use the website in just a few seconds of browsing the home page, if more, they will leave and browse elsewhere. The need for fast user interaction is vital and therefore having a fast loading website is also essential to the success of a website. Even with faster internet connections like broadband, internet users don’t want to wait.
Just imagine if you walk into a high street store and are completely ignored by the salespeople at the counter for 5 minutes, even after you have made it clear that you need help. There is a correlation here with how an Internet user might feel when they land on a website that is poorly designed, difficult to use, unfriendly, and slow to load. Making sure a website is well thought out and designed with the user in mind, displays the company’s unique strengths in easily recognizable, compelling calls to action, and has a clear, easy-to-use menu is the key to its success.
Flash web design
Recent advances in web design, such as the introduction of Flash animation and high-definition video content, have created impressive websites that take advantage of a much higher level of visuals and interaction. However, this “high-end” web design comes at a price, more often than not, web designs that rely heavily on Flash content are often ridiculously slow to load. They often have a progress bar that moves slowly through the web browser to show when the website has finished loading.
This is very similar to the progress bars you might be familiar with if you’re using video editing or 3D rendering software, or if you’re using game consoles, where they’re displayed while you’re waiting for games to load. Internet users in general don’t want to wait 3-5 minutes for a web page to load, even if it contains high resolution images, animation or video. They want fast informative websites with rich content. If they wanted to watch animation or video, they watched TV.
Good web design in Flash
This does not mean that Flash animation is bad news and should not be used in web design. If used subtly and in small amounts, it can make a website more visually appealing without slowing down loading times too much. Suitable uses of Flash animation in web design are things like; Flash banners, Flash videos and interactive Flash forms for online surveys or business presentations.
However, using Flash for all website design is not such a good idea. This slows down the user experience because they have to wait for their items to load. In addition, sites developed entirely in Flash tend to use unfamiliar menu structures and functions. This can be confusing for visitors who just want to quickly interact with a website and not be surprised by how the menu animates. Just because you can do these things in Flash doesn’t mean they have a real practical cost.
Flash web design and SEO
Another argument against using Flash to create an entire website is that it drastically reduces the effectiveness of your website’s search engine optimization. Flash web design consists of one main file on a web page, which is difficult for search engines to index. This is because the text inside them is usually graphical text and is therefore usually not available to search engines. Some recent developments allow some text to be displayed for search engines on Flash websites, but this is nowhere near as efficient as text content on traditional HTML-based websites.
Don’t write off Flash in web design
While Flash has its limitations, it also has its upsides if used correctly. For example; Flash animations are usually smaller in file size than traditional gif animations, and because of the way they are made, the animation flows more smoothly than gif animations. Having said that, I would recommend using Flash only in small areas of the site to complement the other images that make up the overall design. Finding a balance between the minimum number of graphics, images, Flash and informative, good quality text is the key to a successful, user-friendly website. This doesn’t mean web design has to be boring. By working with quality web design companies, there is no reason why you couldn’t have a visually appealing, well-designed, easy-to-use, and successful website.
Visually stimulating web design
When visitors first visit a website, they want to be impressed and engaged with what the website has to offer. This will be determined by how the web designer has placed the text, images, and features of the website. Arranging elements such as images, text, graphics, flash, and video in a way that keeps the visitor interested in the website is the key to good web design. If a website is poorly designed and doesn’t grab the visitor’s attention in the first few seconds, then it may very well be rejected as a normal website. Ultimately, this means that the visitor will go elsewhere to spend their time and, more importantly, money.
Nice web design layout
A lot of time and money is spent on getting the right elements of websites in the right places. Companies spend large amounts of money researching how Internet users use their websites. This type of web design shows what their visitors’ eyes are most focused on, which website elements they click on first, and in general, how they interact and use their websites. Most internet users will look primarily from the top left either through a page or down the left side of a web page through an internet browser through a computer, mobile phone or TV.
I would venture to guess that they are looking for a company name or logo, their main benefits or slogans, and then what the website has to offer in terms of what is on the menu. After that, their eyes are likely to be drawn to the content of the page and to the right side. Successful web design usually takes this into account and ultimately influences the look and feel of the website.