General Web Design Guidelines

The following are general guidelines to consider when having your website designed. These guidelines are based on research and studies which have guided Heritage Web Solutions in designing and producing successful websites.

1. Relevance – All of the content and images should be absolutely relevant and focused to the task at hand.

2. Clarity – Content must be organized so it’s very easy for the visitor to figure out what to look at, in what order, and how to take the conversion step when they are ready.

3. Visibility – Make sure the critical elements in your creative are visible to almost all visitors above the fold without scrolling down by keeping them inside the upper 300 pixels of the page. Why? It’s the only way you’ll be sure that 98% of visitors can see and act on critical elements. Remember that the first screenful of visible content a visitor sees is what they make their first bail-or-not-to-bail conversion decisions based on. This happens in the first few seconds. Your initial screen shot must convince them not to bail.

4. Font Style and Size – Never use a font style and size that is hard to read. Never use a font size smaller than 10 point. If you are targeting older adults or young children, use a much larger font size for easier reading. Use web-safe font styles that most computers will have.

5. Left vs. Centered – Avoid centering text, with the exception of one-liner headlines. All text should be flush left. It is harder to read a series of centered text vs. flush left text.

6. Color – Using the right color scheme is important to the mode and image you are trying to portray. Avoid using white text on a colored background, as it is difficult to read. The best practice is to use a white background or slightly gray for the majority of your text, including your headline and registration form. Select multiple colors that complement each other and not look out of place. Also avoid using dark or brightly colored backgrounds because they are too hard to read against. Blue is a favorite color of 80% of men and 50% of women. Red is a good attention-getter.

7. Above the Fold – Put enough content above the fold so visitors can make a bail/no-bail decision without scrolling down or visiting more pages. Make sure that your conversion activities, like "add to cart" button, registration forms, etc., are above the fold.

8. Columns – Fewer columns generally outperform more, with one single main column often being the best design.

9. Amount of Page Content and Images – Be careful to not make your pages, especially the home page, too busy. It will make it difficult for your visitor to find what they are looking for.

10. Testimonial Photos – Bad photos of real people work better than clip art, especially for testimonials. A slightly imperfect photo feels much more real and believable than a glossy studio shot.

11. Phone Numbers – Use of phone numbers, and especially toll free numbers, adds to your traffic conversions in several ways. First, some consumers would rather just call than fill out a form. These calls will typically be higher converting than forms. And second, consumers will trust a website more if it has a phone number prominently placed. Put the phone number on every page and in an area easy for the visitor to find.

12. Error Free – Make sure that your web pages are error free. Nothing turns a visitor off more than a broken page or a form error. With a click of the mouse they’ll be gone. So test every aspect of your web page functionality before opening the door for business. Ask your client to test it as well.

13. Flash – Be careful to not-over use Flash. Too much Flash can be too distracting from the main objective of the site. The Flash needs to have purpose and conform to the overall theme of the website.