Is your website design current
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The document discusses essential factors for effective website design, including on-page SEO, accessibility, and graphical elements. It highlights the importance of navigation, alt-tags, and compliance with web standards to enhance user experience and avoid legal issues. Additionally, it emphasizes the need for a refreshing and dynamic visual representation of the brand to engage users.
Is your website design current
- 1. Is your website design current? Some niggly but critical bits you may not have previously considered…
- 2. What I hope to cover… • On page SEO – Alt tags, navigation, text etc • Accessibility & Compliance – Cross platform usability, how not to get sued, simple bits you can do yourself • Graphical elements of website design – The integration of marketing into design
- 3. An Introduction… • I’m John – I work in the Web Design team at Generate UK – I have previously built newsletters, blogs, we bsites, posters and much more – I understand the effect of marketing on design
- 4. On-page SEO Making pages search engine friendly • Ensure all of you pages are linked! – If the user cannot find it, neither will the search engines – Navigation must be easy to use – Drop down menus and Flash: BAD
- 5. On-page SEO Making pages search engine friendly • Alt-tags – Images might mean 1000 words to you or I – In image free browsers, slow Internet connections #- images are of no use. – Good for Search Engines – Good for text readers – Has further accessibility implications
- 6. On-page SEO Making pages search engine friendly • Web standards – The W3C, for a universally accessible resource – Site has not been updated recently? you can be left behind – Implications for SEO and accessibility – Free W3C validator!
- 7. On-page SEO Making pages search engine friendly • Accessibility – Website accessibility is a legal requirement. • ramada.com, priceline.com and the Australian Olympic committee were sued – Up to 48% of your audience could be affected. – Cater for Lynx, Screen readers, screen magnifiers, differing resolutions, slow connections, flash, java, alt-tags for images as well as including subtitles where necessary
- 8. Graphics & Design • Is it current? – Does it look a little basic? Grainy? Boring? – Visual representation of your business – It needs to WOW the user – No visible effort? Why should they go to the trouble of buying it?
- 9. Graphics & Design • How can I improve on this? – Refresh your website, updated – Interactivity -social media, blogs etc – Includes videos, audio, animations – Adds a dynamic feel
- 10. Designing a Structure Create a list of key factors your site must achieve For example: 1) Promote the brand 2) Highlight our biggest product 3) Capture details through enquiries 4) Promote secondary products 5) Encourage direct contact
- 11. Site Structure Example 1 4 2 5 3 6 7
- 12. Layout Options What is this and what are the options? • Fixed Width - restricted for larger screens • Flexible Width - width expands to browser width • Expanding Width - site increases in all dimensions to allow growth of text
- 13. Branding Best use of your Corporate Identity • Is your corporate ID well represented? • How much space does it require? • Corporate colours are key to visual integration
- 14. Banner Does your banner carry the right message? • How big should your banner be? • What will the content be? • Should it be static or dynamic? • Should it be minimal or more dramatic?
- 15. Teasers / Call To Action • Retain / Interest • Left / Right columns are the best locations • Best incorporated on the home page • Minimised throughout the site
- 16. Example 1
- 17. Example 2
- 18. Example 3
- 19. Example 4
- 20. Tying it all together – Before building your pages, consider the on-page SEO – Ensure the design and multimedia is accessible – Make sure you stand out