Many small website owners rely nearly completely on themselves or their web developer to develop a good site style without them in fact understanding exactly what great website design is. Based upon my 8 years experience in site design and optimization for visitors and search engines, I can state with a good deal of assurance, numerous web developers have no idea what excellent web design is either.
My views are based on the detailed evaluation of numerous websites which oftentimes look great on the surface to the inexperienced eye, however when assessed more closely, are either average to badly designed websites, bad websites, or just simply draw.
After all, anybody can call themselves a website designer after simply creating one site, either their own or for a good friend or relative. A lot of website designers are self-taught and have no qualifications of any kind that relate to the job. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with being self-taught, however a lot depends on where and from whom you learn and what length of apprenticeship you serve in website design.
Bestwebgallery.com a display site common of numerous showcase websites for good site styles has actually specified what quality design is to them (according to the declaration on their site):.
Quality web design = Visual + Technical + Creativity.
The problem with a definition like this is it concentrates on the creative and visual aspects of style which is truly only of interest to other site designers aspiring to develop something that pushes the limits even further in the same direction. It also entirely neglects whether the website is fit for the function for which it need to have been created. A lot of sites do not have to be amazingly lovely to serve a function and they don’t need to be “technical” either.
Lots of web developers think they have to be “innovative” and set out to develop a website never ever seen prior to, or one that behaves in an entirely brand-new and original method. This often leads to an overly graphical and in some cases technically complex site design with a non-traditional design and navigation, that in fact develops more problems than it fixes.
All these “web design oman” features may impress another designer, but it typically wins no prizes or favours from the general public site visitors who usually do not pertain to a site to appreciate the style. Numerous web developers appear intent on re-inventing the wheel instead of observing the recognized design conventions that visitors to a site recognize with. They also seem to have actually forgotten the fundamental K.I.S.S. rule of design which is Keep It Simple Dumb.
So, having stated quality or excellent website design is not about Visual, Technical or Imagination just what should it be?
Great Website design = Gratifying Visitors.
There are two unique groups of visitors to a site that an excellent website design has to satisfy and they are individuals and search engines. Some site designers will argue that creating a website for the online search engine is not essential, or a waste of time. Although I choose to develop websites with online search engine in mind, I do not have a problem if other web designers do not, providing they have an alternative plan.
If a web designer does not develop for the online search engine, then they have to have an alternative plan to obtain traffic to the website and they need to explain this strategy to the site owner. There is no point in creating the best website ever, if there are no means for bring in visitors to the site.
A good website design likewise needs to satisfy individuals who go to the site. If a web designer produces a website that draws in visitors through search engine optimization (SEO) or other techniques, this will be squandered if the website fails to satisfy enough of those visitors when they show up.
By satisfying visitors, I mean supplying visitors with the info, services or products they pertained to the site trying to find and doing it in way that is satisfying to the visitor. If the website is meant to offer products and/or services the design ought to likewise be designed to transform enough visitors into sales or results in satisfy the website owner.
If it does not do all this then it’s NOT good website style!
When deciding what is, or is bad website design, I utilize two lists. One checklist is for assessing a web page and the other list is for evaluating the entire website. The websites examination list takes a look at over 150 aspects of good page design and the website checklist analyzes over 120 elements of great website style.
In an effort to find some good quality website styles in 2011, that meet my standards for good website design, I released a good website design award with a $500 reward for the winning entry.