Do's and Don'ts of Web Design Things to remember when planning your web pages
DO:
Always remember that your competition is just a mouse click away!
Know what your goals are for your web site
Content Is King!
Make your site "sticky"
Make it as easy as possible for visitors to find what they are looking on your site
Take advantage of the full potential of the web
Use the concept of "branding"
Make your site "NIF"ty:
Navigation that's easy
Interactive content
Feedback opportunities
Get a domain name. It says you are serious about your business. Try one out here!
Make it easy for customers to contact you. Give your physical address and telephone number as well as your e-mail address.
DON'T
Add so much flash that the content is lost. Scrolling text and dancing figures are cute when you first see them, but they can be annoying when you are trying to read the content.
Use large pictures or large files of animation indiscriminately-they take too long to load and customers may leave your site in frustration before they read your content.
View your web pages only on one browser. At the least, view using Internet Explorer and Netscape.
Use colors that are not browser safe-or your beautifully coordinated color scheme can come out clashing or unreadable if the browser doesn't support the colors.
Design the site so that your best features require plug-ins.
Stop at just putting up a web site. Market it!
Don't put up something you cannot maintain. For example, don't promise weekly "specials" if you don't have a plan for updating your site each week.