The most significant action you can take to achieve success in web design is to take some time and plan out what want to accomplish. If you really think about how you want to publish your information, it will be much easier to start Creating the Pages.

None of the issues discussed in this area require any knowledge of HTML, JavaScript, etc. All you will need is a pen, a pad of paper and some ideas!

Along with the tremendous growth of the Internet, numerous sites that contain nothing more than lists of links have appeared. For your site to be successful you need to focus on an idea and cover it thoroughly.

The primary web design goal is to create a community around the topic, so that people will want to return over and over again. Make sure your topic is not too broad to begin with. It is better to expand your site over time, then to have a site with little substance.

For example, if you want to create a site on 'Football', then pick an aspect of the sport, like explaining the 'Referree Hand Signals'. In the future add links to the official web sites for each NFL team, etc. Odds are if you just start with 'Football' as a topic, someone will already have a site with better information.

As with any new venture, you should always start out by Checking the Competition.

There are two things you should consider before you spend any time creating web pages:

• How many pages exist for your topic?
• Can you do a better job covering the subject?

If there are already dozens of sites covering your topic, then you will have a hard struggle ahead of you. Either pick a different topic, or Narrow your Focus.

If you found too many sites covering your topic, but you really want to proceed with it, try and find a niche that would make your site stand out. In the long run, site that contain unique information will have a better chance of surviving.

Put yourself in the place of someone coming to the web to find information. Pick an aspect of your topic and try to find it on the web. Is it easy to find? If you find some sites on the aspect, are they easy to understand? Is the information accurate? Timely?

It is better to be very good at a subset of your topic, than to be average at covering the whole topic. Plus, since the web is so dynamic, you can always add to your site. If your site offers accurate and timely information, people will remember it. Then the next time they have a question, they'll try your site first.

Now it's time to start Designing the Pages for your new site.

Stop! Put down that HTML book. Before you create actual web pages for your site, you should sketch out ideas. Look at sites that you find attractive, or easy to navigate. Think about things you liked at other sites. Add them to your sketches.

Remember that many people are still using slow modems to view the Internet, so keep the number of images (graphics) to a minimum. You can add a lot of color to a page without adding a single graphic.

Keeping your pages simple, will make them easier to download, read and understand. Many sites make the mistake of following the 'cool' trends. Your site will NOT be cool if the visitor cannot read it, or worse, if it gives them a headache!

There are millions of people with personal computers, many of which are still equipped with a 14" monitor. Combine this with the 100,000's of people who are buying WebTV units. This gives you a large population of web browsers with a very limited viewing area.

The 14" monitor has a 640x480 (pixel) viewing area, while WebTV is smaller with a 544x380 area. So what? Well, this means that the most they can view on a single screen is much less than those individuals purchasing PC's today, which are coming with 17" montiors.

As you browse around the web, you will notice that many sites are oblivious to this situation. The bottom line is that if you pay attention to this detail, your visitors will get more value out of your site.

The trap is creating too few pages with too many links.

Studies have shown that the human brain deals with input by grouping information into smaller groups and then processing it. Your web site will be more effective if you limit the number of choices available on each page, and if you group these choices into groups of four or five.

You should try and guide the visitor through your site in a logical fashion. This should be intuitive, not literal. Avoid the 'click here' syndrome. Choose either an action or information word within a sentance.

For example, don't say "Would you like more information on penguins? Click Here". Instead say "Would you like more information on penguins?". This will help your visitor decide whether or not to click, because the link is directly associated with the subject.

Another key to good design is Organizing your Thoughts before building your pages.

A site will only be successful if the visitor finds what they are looking for. In many ways, creating a web site is like writing a book.

Start by putting together a table of contents (you might even build all these pages with just the titles and links to each other before adding the content). A good web site should tell a story about the information, leading logically from one topic to another.

If you consider the advertising opportunities of a web site, you want to keep the visitor on your site as long as possible. If you can keep their attention, you can also show them more ads! Clicking on any ad on this site puts money into the author's pocket. Really!

So, now you should have chosen a topic, researched your competition, sketched out your page design, and organized your thoughts.

Now you're ready to start creating pages. Good Luck!
 

Illya D'Addezio has operated the Webmaster Outpost since 1999 and his marketing strategy has helped countless webmasters develop successful web businesses. © 2000 Software Wonders of NJ. Permission to reprint this article is freely granted provided that this author bio paragraph and copyright is included without modification.