In the past several articles we have discussed a number of issues that deal with your presence on the Internet: How to select a professional web design team, what to avoid in a design, and how to optimize your site so that customers using search engines can locate it.
Overall, we have stated that your website is a form of business communication and needs to be treated as such, even though you can do much more in a website than you can in a business letter or even a brochure. However, you must remember that all the elements that make up a website – graphics, animation, text, etc. – must be used in moderation if you want to make your site accessible to your customers and keep them there. There are too many websites that are junked up with unnecessary, slow-loading animations, graphics that are not sized correctly, text that fills a page from margin to margin, and other elements that would change your mind about the success of excess.
Here are several common website elements that are sometimes used excessively along with suggestions on how to use them effectively:
Text.
While good graphics may be key to a nice looking site, basic text still provides the information you wish to communicate and, equally important, what your customers and search engines will look for. Keep in mind, though, that too much text on a page can work against you. A good rule of thumb is if your user has to scroll down five times to read the text on a page, you probably have too much. Break text up, and have it appear on other pages, if necessary. Better yet, just be concise with your writing so text amount won’t be an issue.
Also, consider the size and color of your text. Don’t cheat the five-scroll rule of thumb by making your text too small to read. Likewise, don’t make it too large so that it swallows space on the page. Keep the color contrast high (e.g., black text on a white background, white text on a blue background, etc.). Remember that your website is a form of business communication. You want what you say to be readable and understandable.
Graphics.
Virtually essential to any website, graphics can also cause a number of problems if they are not optimized for the Web (i.e., resized so that they will load fast on your customers’ computers). Equally important is how your graphics are positioned on your pages (are there too many, or not enough, or do they clash with the text placement, etc.). Too many graphics can make a site look busy, while not enough of them may leave too much blank space and give your site a hollow, unfinished look.
Graphics aren’t limited to pictures only. There are other elements such as borders, logos, buttons and other design pieces. But like all the other elements that go into a site design, you must not be excessive with them. Each page on your site will need to at least have navigation buttons or menus, a few optimized pictures and your club’s logo. Do not overuse graphics on your site just because they may look cool to you. If graphics get in the way of your message, your customers may just give up on your site and look elsewhere. “A good rule of thumb is if your user has to scroll down five times to read the text on a page, you probably have too much. ”
Animations.
There was a time when little animated .gif files peppered just about every website you visited. Back then they were a novelty. Now they tend to be annoying. Animated graphics do add some interest to a site, but only if used in moderation and within the context of your message. In other words, don’t put an animation on a page just because it looks cute or cool. Remember that your customers have eyes too, and that one person’s cool web-gizmo is another person’s annoyance.
Consider, too, that animations need to be optimized just like graphics. They need to be sized so that they do not take too long to load. Your customers can get quickly annoyed if you have a bunch of slowloading animations on a page, and if they are loading before anything else on a page appears, they will not stick around to see the information they were trying to find.
While your website design team knows what elements will enhance your site and provide a design that will be pleasing and effective, keep in mind that not every gizmo or color scheme you see on a website will work on yours. Use all website elements in moderation.
Dennis McDonough is President of BIT Concepts. He can be contacted at 888.298.4532, ext 202, or by email at dmcdon@bit-concepts.com, or visit www.bit-concepts.com.
