For a business setting up a website today there are a lot of considerations. Aside from the obvious choices of the demographic of the website and how to best appeal to them, there are many aesthetic issues. A lot of these issues have basic rules that can help, especially when it comes to not looking dated. The internet is a fast-changing place, and it’s easy for independent businesses to fall into the trap of looking appealing in the same way that websites did a few years ago.
So what are some pitfalls of date when it comes to websites these days? One of the main things is to consider tastefulness when building your pages. There are some things that used to be staples of websites that are now garish and off-putting – jokes even. Don’t have music in the background, or in any capacity unless you’re selling music, and even then don’t make any listening compulsory. Music divides people or comes across at tacky – it will turn-off users.
A good way to get into the right mindset for this is to think of the popular tech and applications that define out times. Apple products, with their simple, clear designs, Google with its transparent and uncluttered interface. This is what you’re trying to emulate. Everyone thinks their information is crucial, every scrap of it, and force reams of text into one page. It isn’t important to say everything. Sort out your key points. Make sure there’s space around them for people to see them.
The 90s has a lot to answer for, not least tacky internet gimmicks. Don’t fall into the trap of using flashplayers most simple functions. No one will be impressed. At best, people tolerate text fading into screen, but that’s become a bit of a clich there days too. Having the pages clean neat, and with a good font is what this is really about. Graphics are for ad companies and people that really know their potatoes.
As mentioned in the introduction, you do need to know your customer if you’re going to appeal to them. After the site’s up and running you might find that your Googlerank isn’t so high, meaning you’re less visible to customers and as such have a lot less potential for trade. For this, using SEO professionals can be a big help, meaning you can rely on their skills to negotiate the dark art of appealing to Google’s algorithm.
Getting help with could mean the difference between sales and no sales