Let me say this right at the beginning. There are as many opinions about what makes a good web site as there are web sites. I doubt that anyone has ever said, "I think I will put up an ugly web site that does not work", although I have visited some that make me wonder.
American architect, Louis Sullivan, popularized the phrase, "Form follows function" and turned it into the 'first commandment' of designers, everywhere. Of course Sullivan was designing skyscrapers, not web sites, but the principle still holds true. It does not matter whether you pay a top designer mega-bucks to create your site, or whether you create it yourself. You must know exactly what you want your site to do for you before you begin.
A beautiful web page with all the bells and whistles is a waste of your time and/or money if it does not work. On the other hand, an extremely simple page, put together in a few minutes with a free, WYSIWYG program can be a perfect web site, if it does everything you want it to do. If you publish a simple, one page web site that makes you a fortune, the experts will applaud you as a genius for using an elegant, minimalist approach. Of course, if it does not make you a fortune, those same experts will say, "What did you expect? It's ugly"!
Of course, if Louis Sullivan's first skyscraper had fallen down, we would not know that form follows function and I would not even be writing this article. So, my hat is off to good design.
OK, how do you avoid some of the common pitfalls?
* If you are selling a product, know that product inside and out. You cannot sell a product you haven't tried yourself. At least you should not.
* Know what you want from the visitors to your web site. Do you want them to buy, immediately? Do you want them to opt-in to your newsletter, or e-mail campaign?
* Know where you want your visitors to go when they leave your home page. Do you want to redirect them to another page? Another site? To their in-box to eagerly await your e-mail? Make sure you have the right links to get your visitors to where you want them to go and that they all work.
* Before you begin, know the "mood" you want to establish on your page. Even if you love Rap, don't use Rap music as a background to a site selling gravestones, unless you have decided that your best customers are going to be Gang Bangers.
* Do not confuse your visitors with useless gadgets and widgets. Keep them focused.
If you know your product, know what you want from your visitors and know how you want to approach them, form will follow function and the experts will call you a GURU, whatever that is.
Free web design, free audio/video programs and free list building tools are some of the subjects David Hardin covers in his "Write Yourself Rich" program at The Ugly Web Site at http://www.davehardinonline.com Go sign up for his FREE "Not Just A Sales pitch" newsletter
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