Basic Rules of Web Design

Users are the ultimate judge

To users, easy site navigation remains the #1 rated feature. Ensure that you know your audience and their needs. Site logs may provide information on what information your audience is choosing to look at. Other tools to assist you in determining your user needs are feedback forms, site evaluations, customer surveys. Talk to your users!

Keep it simple

Just because you can use the latest technology to create "cool stuff does not mean you should. Often, adding technology elements (eg. video streaming) can hinder the performance of a website and possibly frustrate users. Ask yourself, "does the technology add value to the website or is it being inserted just as a technological novelty? It all depends on the audience that you are catering to! Do they have powerful tools, the knowledge,...

Develop a solid Website Strategy and follow the Plan

Corporate websites are not built on the fly! They are the result of a well thought-out strategy that will be implemented over the course of a set period. A Web Strategy defines the target audience and their needs. As part of the website strategy, the Web developer will assist in creating a site infrastructure that is built for expansion. Ensure that deliverable are identified for site development phases, project implementation and also for on-going site maintenance.

Ensure that your site is built so that everyone can access the site and view things in a similar way

Web developers normally test the viewing of your website across different platforms (Windows, Mac, Unix), using different internet speeds (dial-up, high-speed, wireless), at different screen resolutions (800 x 600, 1024 x 768, 1280 x 800) and on different browsers (Explorer, Firefox, Netscape). There are instances when the site may not be viewed exactly the same for all users. Your Web Designer will assist you in minimizing the site viewing variations among users.

More so, you Web Designer will assist you in making your site accessible to all minorities by inserting code that is bult in accordance with Web Accessibility Standards and with other W3C standards.

Present a well balanced site properly reflecting your Corporate image

Things to consider when building your site are Aesthetics, how professional the site looks and feels, Usability, how quickly and easily a user finds and processes information, and Functionality, how your site can be used to create an information database business tool. Find a good balance that properly reflects the image of your Corporation.