Information on Web Site Essentials
ADBO® Consulting provides the following information to help people with design considerations, development, types of web sites and deployment of their web site.
The information provided here is intended to help with the design and development of a web site. Included is information on design considerations, development considerations, reference material sources, types of web sites with considerations for each type. Also available is a color table palate that shows the basic web colors that are available to all browsers.
Design Considerations
An important consideration is navigation of the web site. The design of the web page can enhance the ease of navigation and has a definitive affect on the look and feel of the site. The use of buttons is very popular. It is recommended that buttons only be used for sites that are fairly static. They are a graphic so if additional graphics will be used on the page there may be some load time issues. It is also easier to add pages and change navigation when there are no buttons to consider. However buttons make the site look more unique. Many web layout software programs available today will create the button for you in which case buttons are not difficult to manage.
Another consideration is the color palate of the site. A page showing the Basic Color Palate is available online for you to view. This table is compatible with most browser color palates which means these colors display true in all browsers. Other colors are adapted by the browser as the closest fit. For more information on this topic the following books by David S. Siegel are recommended (simply click the book title to order the book from Amazon.com):
- Secrets of Successful Web Sites, by David Siegal - good for overall design information
- The Web Design WOW! Book, by Jack Davis, Susan Merritt
- Web Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites, Second Edition, by Patrick J. Lynch, Sarah Horton
Another way to enhance a web site is to add JavaScript. JavaScript can be used to edit fields on forms, change button colors when the mouse moves over them, and to create other interesting effects. To learn JavaScript the following book is recommended: JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, by David Flanagan or Beginning JavaScript, by Paul Wilton.
Other books that help with web site design and creation are: HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide, Fifth Edition, by Chuck Musciano, Bill Kennedy and Designing Web Graphics.3 (3rd Edition), by Lynda Weinman.
A full list of possible books is available on the ADBO Books page, or The Computer Top 50 at Amazon USA.
Types of Web Sites
There are several reasons why people/organizations may want to have a web site which will determine which type of site is best. Listed below are the main types of web sites and some considerations for each. The type of site desired will have a direct affect on the cost of deployment and maintenance.
- Online Brochure - having an online brochure is one of the least expensive ways of enhancing your advertising. For individuals, home based and small businesses this is imperative with today's online oriented consumer. Paper advertising is limiting because of the high costs. If a web site address can be added to the paper material then the prospective customer can then get additional information and the paper cost is kept to a minimum. Today more and more people are looking to the Internet to find what they need.
These sites are can be only a few pages or hundreds of pages and .can be static of dynamic. Development and Maintenance costs are minimal for small static sites. If the site is large (over 50 pages) and the content is dynamic then site management software and/or content management software will make this task easier. Many ISP's now offer site management tools. If you can afford it, ADBO Consulting recommends Dreamweaver MX 2004. It has the ability to manage the design, the content (separately if desired) and to check links and code issues.
- Information Site - these sites are typical for government, civic organizations, universities, churches, and similar organizations. Some small business also provide information sites in order to draw people to their site and find new clients/customers. It can more expensive to develop and maintain than an online brochure since it is generally larger and the information needs to be kept up to date and/or enhanced periodically so that people will return to the site.
The navigation of the site needs to be designed so that people can get to the information they are looking for as quickly as possible with as little reading as possible. Load time is important, so is the ability of as many different types of visitors (in terms of software compatibility and browsers) to visit is possible without having problems viewing the site. Drill downs should also be minimal. Studies have shown that for each drill down you lose 10% of the visitors. Sites like Amazon.com have done studies that show the easier it is to get to the information they are looking for the longer people will stay at a site.
- E-Commerce - Electronic commerce sites that cater to the end consumer need to have some "draw" appeal. They need to entice people to the site (i.e. many use contests) and there needs to be some sense of excitement tempered with a sense of trust and stability. Business to Business (BtoB) e-Commerce needs to look and feel professional, be easy to navigate and load quickly.
Some people think that if they put up a web site, people will come. this is not true. With millions of web sites being added globally every month the chances of a site even showing up on the first few pages of a search engine like Google is slim. You will need a marketing plan and advertising to get people to you site.
When creating this type of site It is important to collect demographic, order and payment information so the use of JavaScript at a minimum is recommended. SSL is also recommended if credit cards are to be used for the transaction so that the credit card number is not visible across the Internet. As a result these sites cost more to develop and to maintain. Some ISP's offer shopping carts that can be added to your site for a monthly fee, some organizations will manage the e-commerce transactions for you and organizations like PayPal will provide the buttons to add to your site and manage the money for you.
- Support Site - some companies save millions of dollars a year in support costs by having online web sites. Their customers can register their purchases, download updated versions of software, ask questions (either e-mail or via Chat Rooms), and provide frequently asked questions (FAQ's) pages for the ones that are most commonly asked.
The considerations of support sites are a combination of information sites and electronic commerce sites.
- Entertainment - these sites need to be "flashy" and have a gimmick. Maybe a free area and an area that one must be a member to enter. The navigation can be a fun experience or it can be straightforward depending on the purpose of the site.
The considerations for this site might be specific for member only areas. If specific software or browsers are needed they can be made available for download and the site designed for those specific tools. You will need a good web site design house for this type of site.
Thank you for visiting ADBO Consulting.