Pick an easy layout; easy to design and easy to maintain. I
have wasted many hours trying to design a site that was easily three
steps above my skill level. This was a complete waste of time and I
promised myself that I won’t make the same mistake again. If you are a
beginner, find a good web hosting company, get your domain name, pick a
decent template and get started. You’re not a designer so don’t spend
all of your time on web design.
White Space is very powerful
Use
lots of white space to guide the reader’s eye and prevent them from
getting sensory overload. Too many colors, too many ads, or simply too
many words on your page are not good.
Subheadings
Have lots
of subheadings because it breaks up the text and allows the reader to
scan your site and pick out the information that is relevant to their
reads. When you are creating your site remember that people don’t read
online, they scan. You should always make it easy for visitors to find
what they need on your web page in 3o seconds or less.
Subheadings, bold, bullets, and small paragraphs are all excellent techniques to get this done.
Navigation Bars
Left
hand or top navigation are the easiest for web users. Almost every site
on the web uses one of them or a combination of both.
If you add a right handed navigated bar, you will stand out. However, you must consider the goal of your website. Are you trying to stand out or are you trying to provide good information and get more sales?
A
right handed navigation can lead to frustration so if you insist on
using one, make it prominent and use it consistently on your site.
Syd Johnson, Editor