The Creation of a Well-Designed Website

The internet is made up of websites. Websites make the user experience...the quality of a website will make the difference between an angry, irate internet user, versus a satisfied customer who wants to come back for a second visit. But what exactly makes the website what it is? A great programmer? An expert graphics designer?

Perhaps...or perhaps none of those. First and foremost, who is your audience? Geeks and experts at computer programming? Or business professionals who have little time to surf the web? Then you can accordingly decide if your site should be large and elaborate, filled with lingo, with a sophisticated user interface, or instead, a simple website that explains what your company is and how to contact you.

How much do you want your users to see? What should they see and not see is all under your control. You ultimately decide what your customers get, and every little detail matters. All it takes is one picture that is off, or the wrong link to make a website a disaster. I have come across Geocities and Yahoo sites that are filled with ads and broken links. I am not saying don't go to those webhosts, but I wouldn't recommend having ads being placed on your site that isn't yours. Why would I want a horizontal segment of my site whose content is a complete mystery, not knowing what will pop up?

Finding the right webhost is key to the creation aspect of your site. For tips on finding the right webhost, read my other article called "Finding a Good Webhost" in my profile.

The color scheme is also important. This is how the site "feels." A black background and white text works just fine, or a white background with black text. These are the yin and yang colors, and they pretty much work universally, no matter what the situation is. What would be a bad color scheme? For example, yellow text on a white background. It is blinding! Try a color scheme that works for you. If you don't like it, how can you expect your viewers to like it?

Another thing is the interaction with the user. If you want to create forms where the user can submit information, go right ahead. But errors are a big no-no. Double check and triple check for errors. You are spending all this time making a website, so make sure you do it right.

Finally, look around the internet. See what you like and adapt it as your own. I wouldn't recommend stealing someone's layout, but using templates is perfectly fine. In fact, that's what the templates are for.