There are some people who believe that appearance is nothing when it comes to being online. They suppose that appearance is something that goes out the window when they convert over to an online store. The truth of the matter is that appearance may even matter more now that they are online for the entire world to see. Here are some tips for a well designed website.


Above vs. Below the Fold


Imagine that your web page is a sheet of paper folded in half. Everything on the top half of the paper is visible when you set the paper on a table. If your goal is to get your target market to reach down, unfold the paper, and continue reading, you must have content on that top section that inspires action on the part of the potential reader. In other words, you want them to pick up the paper and continue reading. Likewise, when someone opens your website you’re going to want to have something on the screen that’s going to make them want to scroll down to read more. This bit of something should be just above the fold, or just above the end of the first screen.


PARC or CRAP


PARC is simply an easy way to remember proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast. I would also add flow to that combination of design principles to remember. In web business good design could mean the difference between getting a sale and not getting a sale. It could also mean getting a lower bounce rate if people are willing to stay on the site long enough to find the product they’re looking for and if the website is organized. In other words, if your design doesn’t even follow the basic principles of design, you’re probably in trouble.


Navigation and Search Ability


Another issue that must be taken into account when making your website visually appealing is the basic navigation and search ability that exists for customers and clients. There are very few things on the internet more annoying than going to a website only to not find what you are looking for. You sit there for what feels like hours looking for a specific product which had been advertised or trying to figure out what the website is selling in the first place. It may be funny to you to imagine landing on a site and not being able to tell what the site is selling but, surprisingly enough, it happens all the time. If you want people to purchase your product, make it possible for them to find what they’re looking for. You may be surprised how much doing this one thing will add to your sales at the end of the year.


Seriously, there are a lot of things you can do that will only take a moment but will help your site immensely. A lot of these issues are website design issues, but will be worth the extra time it will take to fix them.