Week 5

The Top 10 Rules of Website Design 

1. Apply C.R.A.P
Referencing to my previous post on C.R.A.P (contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity) they are important principles to remember and use when creating a website.

2. Simplicity 
A huge thing I learned over this quarter, is to keep things simple. Less clutter helps create a visually appealing website.

3. Easy to navigate
No one enjoys a website that is confusing to navigate. ClubRunner explains that it's crucial to have an easy to use website because if the visitor finds it difficult to navigate from one page to another, he or she will get frustrated and leave the website.

4. URL should be easy to remember 
One of the first few weeks of class our professor, Jason talked about how important it is to have an easy URL.  He gave us an example that he used a URL name with the letter 4 in it, and when said out loud people would think to type four instead of use the actual number 4.  So don't confuse your audience, make it clear, simple and easy to remember!

5. Keep it updated
It's very important to keep an updated site. If you want users to continually visit your site, you need to update it with new information or else there is no point for visitors to keep visiting the site if nothing has changed.

6. Don't write a novel
When designing a website, the content is very important. TechRepublic explains that the content of web pages needs to be written in a specific way short and to the point. Visitors to a website don't read online content the same way that they read the pages of a book.

7. Mobile friendly
With smart phones being the new age of technology, it's important to remember to make your site mobile friendly since most people these days access websites via their phone.  ShortieDesigns states that, "If your website is not mobile friendly, you can either rebuild it in a responsive layout (this means your website will adjust to different screen widths) or you can build a dedicated mobile site (a separate website optimized specifically for mobile users).

8. Load time
It's important to make sure your page doesn't take forever to load, because a lot of the time people will get impatient and leave your site. ShortieDesigns provides some tips to help your site load more effectively. 1. Optimizing image sizes (size and scale) 2. Combining code into a central CSS or JavaScript file (this reduces HTTP requests) and 3. Minify HTML, CSS, JavaScript (compressed to speed up their load time).

9. Check website for errors
It's important to check your website for errors, either you double check for errors or have a friend/editor help you out. SharpenedProductions state, "As an experienced editor will tell you, a great piece of work can be tarnished by a small error. Webmasters should regularly check their websites for typos, broken links, and images that do not load correctly."

10. Learn from others
Looking at other websites and their designs is one of the best things you can do. In class we talked a lot about looking at other peoples works and to highlight the good and bad. It's important to take notes so that you can learn from their example.