It seems many people are making changes to their web sites. That is good; it is a sign that big picture marketing is coming back into the forefront. But as you shake down your web site, there are some design basics you should keep in mind. Web design has become so complicated with options these days, that it seems everyone has their own opinions on aesthetics.
It is great that you can have a site look any way you want and animate any way you want but there are some basics you should keep in mind. Here are three common design squabbles that we see. In each case, these should be reflected on your web site.
1) Screen resolution should be sized at 1024 x 768. The majority of web users view the web at this size or larger. If you do not, you are in the minority and the trend is moving away from you. So, do not handcuff your site because you are viewing the web smaller than the growing majority. You don’t want your site to appear small and this is a sure fire way of doing that if you don’t listen to your designer. If you want some data to back up this trend, click here.
2) Know how browsers work. You cannot control what we call “local conditions.” This is what happens on the viewer’s end. It includes connection speed, browser type, browser configuration, monitor size and viewing preferences. Each of these affects how the end user views web sites. We work with trends and try to stay in the majority but there is no accounting for how people prefer to surf the web. So, there are some standards we use to help eliminate some visibility issues. For instance, with a browser, if the web site is larger than the size of the browser window, the browser loads the site so the upper left corner is visible. This is one reason why designers place ID, call to action and phone numbers in the upper left hand corner. Don’t overrule a designer who is using this rule of thumb just for aesthetic reasons.
3) Know about web safe fonts. If you think your fonts are not exciting enough, you need to consider how fonts work on the web. There are six web safe fonts (Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, Verdana, Times, Courier) These are fonts that can be read on any browser. There are other ways of coding fonts into your web site but these will only be visible on some browsers. True web safety is a lowest common denominator that is visible on all browsers. If you see other fonts, they are graphics or embedded in Flash. In other words, they are not code which can be crawled by search engine spiders. So, if you body copy is not sexy enough font-wise, consider that your web designer is trying to give you readable text that is also search engine friendly. And, a little postscript on this point: These fonts are generally considered among the easiest to read in all mediums and since there are serif and san serif choices, they combine well with any font selection. Good designers can fold these in easily.
BONUS TIP: Listen to your designer. Cosmetic surgeons and dentists have a great sense of aesthetic however, most are not formally trained in the finer points of design. Anything coming from Dog Star Media comes from a professional with a degree in design or fine arts. If you are working with a professional designer, then you should defer to their sense of aesthetic. If you are working with an experienced web designer, listen that person about what is intuitive. Some people can do this and, in the case of our portfolio, these are the ones that are routinely sited as examples of what people want. Best advice I have when it comes to design. Let the designer do their job.
For more on web site design, please contact me today at donald@dogstarmedia.com
