Website Design - 27 Jul 2015

4 Learned Lessons for Websites That Work

Websites have been in existence for many years now; in fact, the very first website entitled “World Wide Web” landed in the digital world 24 years ago. This initial website, which was created by a computer scientist by the name of Tim Berners-Lee, consisted of information pertaining to the internet, such as its conception and its history, along with suggestions on how improvements could be made.

With two decades now having come and gone since the first ever website was launched, there have been a number of growing pains and hard learned lessons for designers of websites when their designs did not work well.

Here are 4 learned lessons for websites that do in fact work effectively:

1. Function Over Design

For any website to actually work, online users need to be able to use it. Elements to consider for website usability are site load speed, browser compatibility, responsive design, and limiting heavy design elements such as Flash and JavaScript.

2. Suitable Typography

When it comes to poor website design, using fonts that are too small or too large make it a chore for online viewers to read content. In addition, too many variations of fonts can make a website look chaotic, messy and amateurish. Nowadays, there are lists of Web friendly fonts that work with most browsers, making it easier for Web designers to instill a consistent look and enhance readability for viewers.

3. Well Structured Navigation

Nothing could be more frustrating for website visitors than having to search from one area of the site to another with no real organized layout to get at the information they require. Mapping out a well-laid-out navigation structure by keeping navigation links in one area and ensuring to provide links to the most important information first, with fly out menus for sub information, will ensure solid navigation structure.

4. Limiting Link Usage

Websites which are littered with links can only offer visual confusion for online users and subsequently, website visitors will click elsewhere to other sites noted on the search engines. Striking a balance by incorporating necessary links and visual appeal are now best practice when it comes to good web design.