1. An extension of who you are...
WEB DESIGN
An extension of who you are...

2. WEBSITE DESIGN
First and foremost: look for something that has WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface set-up and is ready to go
Templates are good, but being able to customize the design so that it is appealing to your audience is ideal
Start by looking at four main user-centric questions that should be answered in the first few seconds when a user arrives at the site

3. THE BIG FOUR FOR WEBSITES:
What is this?
What can I do here?
What do they have here?
Why should I be here and not somewhere else?

4. THE BIG FOUR FOR WEBSITES:
WHAT IS THIS?
What clues your audience to what you are all about?
Clear logo or photo
A tagline that tells users what the site is
Make sure the look and feel of the website helps clue readers in
A government site looks different than a blog
A news site looks different than a retail site
Think about what you want to communicate to the user by the look and feel of the site

5. THE BIG FOUR FOR WEBSITES:
WHAT CAN I DO HERE?
Is it obvious?
Give clues about what’s clickable
Keep like items with like
Help the reader decide where to go first
Make sure navigation is obvious and easy to use

6. THE BIG FOUR FOR WEBSITES:
WHAT DO THEY HAVE HERE?
Be blatantly honest about who you are and what you are doing
Be incredibly obvious as well
Make sure they understand the navigation keys

7. THE BIG FOUR FOR WEBSITES:
WHY SHOULD I BE HERE AND NOT SOMEWHERE ELSE?
The homepage should have the latest information
All timely items should be on the homepage
Links to other areas of interest should be obvious
They call it a landing page for a reason - make them want to look deeper - tease your own content

8. WORKING ON DESIGN AND AESTHETICS
WHITE SPACE = GOOD THING
Leave room between elements -- they need room to breathe and stand out
People comprehend better when there is more white space and less clutter
Looks cleaner and more professional

9. WORKING ON DESIGN AND AESTHETICS
PHOTOS AND ART = VISUAL INTEREST
Everyone loves to see pictures
Pictures can establish dominance (letting the readers know what is important) and a hierarchy of importance
The bigger the photo, the more important the story
Be sure to have a clear dominant image and draw in the user

10. WORKING ON DESIGN AND AESTHETICS
FONTS -- There are literally millions of them for free, but…..
Make sure you know why you are using them
Make sure they are helping your reader and not discouraging them
Google fonts -- free & offer suggestions for fonts that flow well together
Body type - SERIF (with the dashes)
Display type (headlines, etc.) - SANS SERIF

11. EDITORIAL CONTENT AND ADS
MAKE SURE YOUR READER CAN DIFFERENTIATE THE TWO
Follow the current trends in advertising placement
Billboards
also called banner ads are placed across the top or bottom of a website
Side rails
smaller ads on one side of the website

12. ONCE YOU DESIGN AND PUBLISH YOUR SITE:
TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST
Test it using all browsers
Test it using mobile
Test it using tablet
Test it using different operating systems
You will likely find bugs after a launch or a redesign

13. An extension of who you are...
WEB DESIGN
An extension of who you are...