10 Principles of Good Web Design

Anyone can build a Web site. The point is to make a good Web site. Here are 10 principles to guide you through the process:

1. Own your domain name

Whenever we take on a new client the first thing I do is investigate the domain name. What you need is a location on the web to manage your domain name and an username and password to access it. If you don't have it, you need to get it. Look at the domain name on the whois database. There is an email of record. If you can't receive that email your job is a lot tougher. Do what you have to do - beg, cajole, pay, whatever you need to do to get access to the name. Having access means knowing where the management console is and having access to it. If you don't have it, you have work to do.         

2. Get your domain name first and then name the business

If you're starting out you're probably brainstorming about business names. Forget it. You're wasting your time. Start your search at Go Daddy. See what's available. If you do it the other way around you'll be disappointed. All the obvious names are gone. You'll see that as soon as you start looking. The search for a business name is predicated on what's available now. It's challenge enough to find a domain name that works. You don't need to complicate it with having a preconceived idea about what you'd like to have.

3. The domain name of your Web site matters

People on the Internet move in schools like fish. If you expect to do business with your site, drop your line into a school of fish. The ego-centered notion that you can drop your line wherever and attract people to it will not work. Before you commit $$$ to your site check out Google's keyword finder tool. Look and see how many searches per month are going on for what you sell. When you find a term with high search volume (over 5000 per month) buy the dot com version of those exact words. Chances are it will be gone. If you have to, add a dash or buy the dot net version. Keep looking until you find something good. Make sure it matches. Don't use acronyms or abbreviations. No one searches on that stuff.

4. Don't overlook html

When designing a site the first thing most people do is abandon traditional html and go for maximum bells and whistles. They build a ridiculously complicated monstrosity that no one can maintain. Then they hit the slightest problem, like it displays differently in different browsers, and the whole thing collapses. People like traditional sites with pictures and words and real information. They shun fancy sites. They abhor flash sites. They aren't interested in technological achievement in the least. They want to find what they are looking for. If they don't see it - and I mean immediately - they are out of there. Don't hit them with progress bars. It's the kiss of death.

5. Make your site organization clear

The human mind processes lists with 3 to 8 items. Any less is too few. Any more is too many. Users should be able to glance at your main page and see exactly how the site is organized. Users will not dig and hunt through a Web site. Why would they? There are millions of them. Your Web site must be intuitive. The "next move" should be apparent. Browsing web pages is work and users are impatient. Users must see what they need and to go directly to it. Make sure your site is clearly organized into menus of 3 to 8 options that is easy to navigate. Two small menus are better than one big one.

6. Check your site with a Google site map

Roll over and flip out menus are all the rage. Man, they look great. There's just one problem - Google can't crawl them. When you run a Google site map against your site (there are dozens of web sites offering them) you'll find it only sees your main page and nothing else. If the site map can't crawl them, Google can't either. Add text links to the bottom of your pages allowing spiders to get to all the pages of your site. Rerun the site map to insure that Google can see all your pages.

7. Use Flash but use it sparingly

Adding a little motion to your site has its place. A static site can be boring. When we use Flash we use restraint. Less is more definitely applies:

a. Use Flash as you would use an image. Place it on the page. Don't commit the entire site to it. If you do, you've built a black hole. No one will ever find it because Google can't see it.

b. When you publish, downgrade it a little bit. Shoot for maximum readership. Don't use the latest functions with the latest version because not everyone has the player.

c. Make it small enough to load quickly. You can do a lot with flash and still keep the file under 150K or so. Check the size of the file when you upload it. Don't start the site with a heavy download.

8. The entire world is not Microsoft Internet Explorer

Microsoft aficionados would like to believe it is but it's not true. Internet Explorer has been slipping lately. Microsoft has its own functions and its own coding. I don't recommend developing in Frontpage for this reason. It fills the page with Microsoft specific functions and code that don't apply in other browsers. I recommend getting an Adobe product like Dreamweaver.

9. Know your size

Web site size is based on computer monitors. It has to fit. If you make it too small it looks tiny. If you make it too big people can't navigate the site without moving side to side. That's even worse. Today's monitors are getting bigger. They're going wide screen. If you do this professionally you have to know your client's monitor. What looks proportionate on your big monitor will look ridiculous on their small monitor. A site that is 780 pixels wide (built for an 800 pixel wide monitor with a 20 pixel scroll bar) is small by today's standards. You can be pretty safe going 900 pixels wide. In some cases you can go 1000 or more.

10. Sign up to Google Webmaster and adhere to their guidelines

Google is the name of the game. Without Google you have nothing. When you finish your site, sign it up with Google. There are a few things Google wants:

1. Google insists on unique page titles. Go through the site and make sure that every page has a unique page title (located in the head tag) and the title is appropriate for the content on the page.

2. Google likes the written word. You don't want to hit your users with a wall of words but you don't want the site devoid of information either. Google wants to see relevant information.

3. Google hates duplicate content. Don't clone. They hate that. Make sure every page is unique. If you duplicate a site or use content from somewhere else, make sure you rewrite it. If they catch you using duplicate content you'll never get ranked.

I could go on for days about Web design. That's because I do it all the time. There is a lot to it and no one knows it all. However if you follow these 10 principles of good Web design you'll be off to a good start.