Key Points to building a Website
Key 4 Should you design and build your own
This is an important concern for your web site it can mean the differance between a site that
costs a very minimal monthly or yearly cost to a large outlay of cash upfront and every year
thereafter. Depending on your knowledge of computers and the internet you can see through
the site that say it is easy and you can have a site up in minutes. For an example a site with
a recent article in PC WORLD is Homestead checking through over 2000 sites to make into your
own design may sound easy and checking through over 250,000 pictures may be faster for you
than me but if you know exactly what you want maybe that is the way to go and gee they will
help you through it for $595.99 per half hour of consultation or $999.99 for a full hour of their time
CREATE A GREAT WEBSITE IN 5 MINUTES at CITYMAX one of the reasons you can build a
fast web site is because they have narrowed it down to only 25 generic types to choose from
no bothering with your own logo or pictures from your own camera or a vast array of pictures
oops they through in 1500 themes and numerious tools and ways to handle shopping carts
choose fast 25 X 1500 = 37500 choices in 300
seconds you figure how fast you will have to
be never mind choosing your domain name and signing the agreement for their terms all
written by a lawyer with only your best interests at heart.
Ok maybe you get the point If you knew all about how to build a web site you would not be
reading these pages you would be collecting the $999.95 per hour and happy you have a job
that you can do almost anywhere in the world. Checking around and asking around you will
most likely find a qualified person that will design and help you build your site this doesn't
mean you should leave it all up to them you need to know the basics about
Simple Website
Design
Principles of simple website design
- Use technology appropriately. Flash is a good example. Used correctly, it can add interest and interactivity to a site. When used incorrectly, it is an annoyance at best and at worst can make your site unaccessible to a wide audience. A technology is appropriate when it adds value to at least some of your audience and takes away value from none of your audience. Never use a technology just because it is new.
- If there are multiple ways to solve a problem, use the most simple and accessible. I've seen sites that create links using JavaScript. Yes, this works in many instances, but why recreate a functionality that already exists in HTML? There is no purpose to it. If basic HTML will work 100%, and your new solution works 75% or even 95% of the time - clearly the basic HTML is a superior solution. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.
- Eliminate uncessary elements. Look at your website as if you were using it for the 1000th time. Would that animated graphic still look cute? Would that Flash intro still impress? Make sure each graphical element adds to the site and does not detract.
- Anything necessary to navigation or information gathering should load quickly and be as accessible as possible. If you want to add flashy effects on top of that, they should exist in addition to the basic site structure and information, not in place of it.
Benefits of simple websites
- Your viewers get the information they want quickly and easily.
- Search engines navigate your site and list it quickly and completely.
- You get a quick, cost-effective, easy to maintain solution.
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