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     "Web designing is an art" 

      .....and with a little ingenuity and a creativity you can make a web site which will stand from other websites.

     Websites were initially made with HTML. But later as technology developed so did a number of softwares which could be used to make websites. And now there are countless softwares which in some capacity or the other help in making web sites.

     But we are not here to learn about such softwares. In this paper we will deal with some basic tips and tricks which will help you make a website which will be "different" provided you add your own gentle touches.

"First impression is the best impression"

       You should always remember that when a person comes to your site for the first time he/she should in some way find the site useful and appealing in some capacity. This can be in terms of look or the content. What you should know is if the user is not impressed the first time 80% chance he/she wont visit your site again. There are some things which the person looks for when he/she visits a website

• Content

Decide your target audience. If you have what your target audience would want then they are sure to come back looking for more

• Look of the website

People usually go for websites which are easy for the eye. But this is not always the norm. Some people like flashy and catchy sites. Bottom line- if it is a company site try to look to professional and if it is personal site then there is only one person to please and that is you.

• Ease of navigation

Another thing that most people consider is how easy it is to move around the site. Make sure that your navigation is in a position that is easily noticeable and that your homepage has links to the major pages in your site.

• Downloading Time

Not all of us have high power Pentium 4 processors. And so not all of us will be able to download flash and such pages quickly. So keep that in mind when you decide on pictures , flash movies etc.

"Color....color... how good you look!"

      The first thing that stands out is the colors you use in the website. Make sure that text in the site are readable. Certain norms are followed.

      For example, if you are making a company web site  use light background colors and text used are usually Times New Roman and Arial. If you are targeting children the use a lot of colors..... but not so much so that it looks like a rainbow threw up....:-)

     Font size and type would depend on your company. If you have certain standard font size and type and then use that. Remember one thing.... don t go for different colors for different. Try to maintain a consistent look by using the same color combination , font color and font size.

"How do I move around?" 

     There are basically 2 ways in which you can create navigation.

     One is top down navigation and the other is side navigation. Top down navigation is the most common now a days. You will find some sites which will have drop down menus in their top down navigation bar.

    Which navigation you use depends on you? Since both types are commonly used, your viewers wont mind both. You can use a combination of both if you want in your site. But when you do so remember not to put links on the same page in both the set of navigation bars.

"Tables are the way to go"

     Using tables you can create highly impressionable pages. Also tables will give you more control over the content positioning that in pages without tables.

    Tables can also have their background specified with either color of your choice or a picture of your choice. With prudent use of this property you can make your website very attractive.

"Images..... flashes .... ohh... my god?"

     I like seeing flash movies sounds and big pictures in site. But you should remember these things take time to download. So you should make a trade off between downloading time and use of such stuff.

   Also not all viewers of your site will have flash players and all installed. And finding a site where you have to download such things to view the site may be a turn off for some.

  So guys and gals be kind and make sure that you have non flash and such pages which can be viewed in your site.

"Neatness and maintenance counts"

      If your site does not look neat the chance are it wont look appealing either. So try to make your site neat..... by removing unwanted pages..... broken links and outdated pages....

    Maintenance counts also. Most people just put their website online and then forget about them. This is not good. Make sure your site is active.

   You don't have to make drastic changes. A small change here and there. A page added a page removed a link added. All this will only attract people on your site. So why don't you all dust off those web sites and make it active.

    Keeping a site in active not only is useless but a waste of money too.

"What my site should be like?"

    This is the main questions you should ask yourself before you get to the designing part. You should have a clear idea what the site should be about and how the pages should be arranged.

    Most people make the mistake of creating the site like they depending on how they like to without any order or logic. This not only makes it difficult for the viewers to figure out the logic but also makes the future web designers when it comes to maintenance.

"Friend... you are my refugee"

     You will never know what your viewers think of your site. Because most people don't bother to use the comments form that most people have.

    So the best way is to send your website link to as much of your friends as possible. Being your friends the chances are they will be more open in their remarks and hence you will get a more better idea about what changes to make if needed.

"Want to be different?"

      On thing you should always remember. There is only "so" much that you can do with HTML and Scripts. So if you want to be different then you may consider using FLASH and other such softwares where more catchy sites can be made.

     But HTML can also be used to make a site different. Instead of the usual left site navigation bar use a right side navigation bar. Instead of using text use pictures for your links.

     This article is based on experiences I have had on working on websites. People may or may not concur with my observations.

So guys and gals that's all for me this time.

 - Vinitha .V
       (Web Designer - Creationz Unlimited)

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