07-08-2010, 11:10 AM
Tip #1: Select a color scheme and stick to it
How many times have you visited a site and noticed that their home page is colored in red, black and gray. You click on a link such as the about us page and you're greeted with a yellow and green page with blue text. This sort of inconsistent coloring is enough to deter visitors from every coming back to your site because it screams a lack of professionalism.
Before you even start coding your site, choose two or three complementary colors and stick with them.
The best way to choose a color scheme is to take a look at other sites that you like: what colors do they use and how do they use them? Do they gradually introduce the colors or are they all smack bang in the middle of the screen when you load their home page? Here's a list of the five most used color combinations around the web.
Tip #2: Design for cross browser compatibility
This is one of the most important tips. Never, ever implement either an Internet Explorer or Netscape specific function into a site unless a closed user group, such as a company Intranet, will only use it.
Sure, it can be tempting to implement a wonderful looking DHTML effects such as automated iFrame scrolling, but be warned: those who don't have the latest browser installed won't take too kindly to your inconsideration.
Tip #3: Provide an intuitive, easy to use menu navigation
Have you ever been to a site and wondered where in the world the links to the rest of its pages are? Menu accessibility is one of the key aspects to creating a positive usability experience for visitors to your site.
Tip #4: Use cascading style sheets
Cascading style sheets (CSS) allow you to develop a specific set of style classes, which you can implement throughout your site. Style sheets can also be used to change certain style attributes of the built-in HTML tags, such as making the color of a "H1" tag red, making the background color of a "td" cell yellow, etc.
Use your color scheme as discussed in tip #1 to create a variety of styles including a bold headline, an important points style, and a default text style. You may also want to change the default style of the anchor tag so that your links match the color scheme of your site.
Tip #5: Open external links in a new window
One easy to implement tip that is often overlooked is making sure that any links that don't take the visitor directly to a page on your site should be opened in a new window by default.
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Loreal Serie Expert
Redken
How many times have you visited a site and noticed that their home page is colored in red, black and gray. You click on a link such as the about us page and you're greeted with a yellow and green page with blue text. This sort of inconsistent coloring is enough to deter visitors from every coming back to your site because it screams a lack of professionalism.
Before you even start coding your site, choose two or three complementary colors and stick with them.
The best way to choose a color scheme is to take a look at other sites that you like: what colors do they use and how do they use them? Do they gradually introduce the colors or are they all smack bang in the middle of the screen when you load their home page? Here's a list of the five most used color combinations around the web.
Tip #2: Design for cross browser compatibility
This is one of the most important tips. Never, ever implement either an Internet Explorer or Netscape specific function into a site unless a closed user group, such as a company Intranet, will only use it.
Sure, it can be tempting to implement a wonderful looking DHTML effects such as automated iFrame scrolling, but be warned: those who don't have the latest browser installed won't take too kindly to your inconsideration.
Tip #3: Provide an intuitive, easy to use menu navigation
Have you ever been to a site and wondered where in the world the links to the rest of its pages are? Menu accessibility is one of the key aspects to creating a positive usability experience for visitors to your site.
Tip #4: Use cascading style sheets
Cascading style sheets (CSS) allow you to develop a specific set of style classes, which you can implement throughout your site. Style sheets can also be used to change certain style attributes of the built-in HTML tags, such as making the color of a "H1" tag red, making the background color of a "td" cell yellow, etc.
Use your color scheme as discussed in tip #1 to create a variety of styles including a bold headline, an important points style, and a default text style. You may also want to change the default style of the anchor tag so that your links match the color scheme of your site.
Tip #5: Open external links in a new window
One easy to implement tip that is often overlooked is making sure that any links that don't take the visitor directly to a page on your site should be opened in a new window by default.
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Loreal Serie Expert
Redken