Beginning: Site Organization Tips

The key to good site design is in its organization. You want to present your information clearly, without giving your visitor too much at once. Here are some tips to successfully organizing your site:

• If you are just starting to create your site, take a minute to plan it out. Decide what pages you want, what you want them to contain, and how you would like to present them. All well-designed sites are outlined on paper before they are programmed.
• If you are presenting a lot of information, break it up into separate pages. This will create a less imposing web site, and will help your visitors mentally organize the information you are giving them.
• Use page titles at the top of your web pages. This will let visitors know right away what your page is about.
• Simplify when possible. People like to know right away if they want to read a section of your web page or not. A good practice is to describe what is happening on your page with headings, much like a newspaper. If your heading interests visitors, they will read that section of your page.
• Use images sparingly. Not only does a lot of images make your page load slower, it also can clutter the page. Use images where they will enhance the content of the site and your page will maintain a cleaner look.
• Use formatting to break up large chunks of text. Put in a paragraph break, use lists, anything that will break up text and make it easier to read.
• Don't use animated gifs as your page background image. Doing so makes your site too busy and distracts your visitors.
• Use a navigation menu. The best place is usually to the left or at the top of all of your pages, so your visitors will be able to easily navigate through your site.
• Make links descriptive. Let people know what they will see when they click on a link.
• Maintain consistency on each page of your web site. Your visitors will become more accustomed to your style and will know how to navigate your site easier when your site is consistent.

These are just a few simple tips on site organization. The most important thing in site design is be yourself. If you can make your personality come through in your web pages, then your visitors will inevitably enjoy it.