Elements of Great Websites
By: Irene V.
Kopaliani
There are literally millions of websites
on the Internet these days. How do you make sure that your
website is not lost in virtual obscurity? Well, there are several
key elements that every great website has. These elements are
described below:
Visible Elements
How eyes see the site
The first item that’s seen on the website is the upper-left
corner. From there, the eye moves to the upper-right corner, and
then it moves in a zigzag fashion from elements that grab its
attention. Knowing this fact, you’ll notice that most great
websites have their company’s logo and key messages
positioned in these most coveted eye catchers!
Layout
Layout of the site is extremely important. Great websites have a
consistent layout and repeat certain elements of it throughout
the site.
Alignment
Elements on the website have consistent alignment. Choose either
left or right justification and stay away from centered
alignment.
Colors
Use 2-3 colors throughout the site, keeping text to the easiest
to read combination of white background and black text. Overdoing
the color makes eyes wander the page trying to figure out logical
connections.
Graphics
Graphics are an important element of any website; however, it is
easy to overuse them. Great websites use graphics sparingly and
consistently. For example, if site has illustration graphics on
its pages, their design and fashion should follow the same
style.
Easy Navigation
Great websites have one common feature—easy navigation.
Whether it is menu based, link-based or graphic based, navigation
should be consistent throughout the website. It is also a good
idea to have a “you are here” link on the sub-pages
to allow quick jumps between parent-child menu items.
Short and Organized Copy
Websites are designed to grab user’s attention. Main page
of the site should not overload the user with heavy text. Break
up the text in small paragraphs. Clearly label topics in bold or
italics. Try to minimize the scrolling on the first page. Create
jump links from the main page “read more.” Remember
that most users stay on the website for less than a minute.
Invisible Elements
Keywords
The key element of the great website is presence of keys in its
Meta section. Keys are what search engines see when they crawl
the site. It is imperative to have a targeted set of 10-20
keywords that are 2-3 words. Remember that most people online use
2-3 words for their search string.
Title
The key element of the great website is presence of keys in its
Meta section. Keys are what search engines see when they crawl
the site. It is imperative to have a targeted set of 10-20
keywords that are 2-3 words. Remember that most people online use
2-3 words for their search string.
Description
Description is displayed when the page is presented in the
results of the search query. It is imperative that websites have
a detailed description that’s short and to the point,
without marketing twists. The length of description is generally
kept to less than 256 characters; and many search engines display
only 128.
Links
In order for a website to score high with the search engines, it
should have links pointed to it. Larry Page’s (one of the
founders of Google) famous PageRank measures a website’s
popularity by the links that point back to it. Great websites
usually exchange links with other sites and affiliates.
Creating a state-of-the-art website takes knowledge and patience.
Remember, people often visit the website before the personal
meeting to learn about the company. Therefore, take the time to
study the website design and make sure to ask yourself the
following questions:
- Do the prime spots on the page display a strong message?
- Does the website look attractive?
- Is the copy clean and concise?
- Does the website provide easy navigation for visitors?
- Have the invisible elements of the website been properly
setup?
Remember to keep the points listed above in mind when creating or
reviewing the website design. Consider firm’s brand and
keep elements of the website consistent.
There are literally millions of websites
on the Internet these days. How do you make sure that your
website is not lost in virtual obscurity? Well, there are several
key elements that every great website has. These elements are
described in this article.
About the Author: Irene Kopaliani is a web designer, author and
speaker, as well as a managing director of CxT Group, Inc., which provides
custom software solutions to mid-size companies. She can be
reached at irene@cxtgroup.com
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