Web Design Minneapolis, Web Site Promotion, First Scribe Inc.

Design Criteria

When evaluating a web site, there are several factors that are vitally important to both the individual browsing the site and the owner of the site. Among these are speed, color, aesthetics, content, intuitiveness and other factors.

Speed: One of the fundamental design flaws with many web sites is the download time required to load each page. Faster computers don't necessarily translate into faster web sites. The speed of the communication channel is almost always the slowest link in the chain. Because most people access the internet via phone lines, the typical modem speed is 14.4, 28.8 or increasingly 56K baud. These speeds demand a high degree of attention to file size in order to optimize download times. If a site takes too long to download, visitors will simply tire and go elsewhere.

Color: Another primary design flaw in web site design is the author's deficiency in color correcting the images for web viewing. Below is an image of the master color cube.

These are the 216 common colors that browsers use. By using these colors on your web pages, you can be assured that the viewer will see your images exactly as you intended. If your site doesn't use the color cube, browsers will automatically substitute a color for you, sometimes with very unexpected and disastrous results.

Aesthetics: The graphic layout of your site is of fundamental importance from an aesthetic perspective. Experienced graphic artists know how to create web graphics and backgrounds that have a pleasing and intriguing look and feel. Often times, beginners lack the ability to keep the continuity of your site as one goes from one page to another. For a professional look and feel, all pages in your site should maintain a continuity to a theme or color set.

Content: Yes, content is still important. The internet is quickly becoming mainstreamed. Initially, having neat graphics and plenty of "eye candy" was enough to wow surfers. Today however, surfers are expecting concise and meaningful content. If you don't supply it, others will. If your site is primarily company information, it should be brief and pertinent.

Intuitiveness: You've probably experienced the agony of trying to navigate through a site that was poorly designed in terms structure. The result, the surfer gets lost, can't readily find what he/she is seeking, and soon goes to another site in frustration. This is the result of a site that lacks intuitiveness. Clearly laid out structure via menu bars and a clear navigational structure is critical to the ease of use of any site.

Other: There are other criteria that need to be considered. From keeping newsletters and what's new sections updated regularly to making forms and databases function properly, all aspects of your site will reflect on your business.