A Successful Web Site is One that Effectively Communicates Your Message

by Janette B. Bradley
axsWave Software, Inc.™

To choose the best design for your Web Site, you must develop a clear understanding of your message, your audience and your resources.	Good design contributes to the overall effectiveness and usefulness of your site by making it more visually appealing and more readable. Good design is not just a matter of "cool graphics"; it involves choosing the most appropriate design elements to communicate your message. To design the most effective site possible ask yourself the following questions: What is my purpose or goal? Who is my audience? What impression do I want to make? How will I put everything together to meet my goal? What are my resources?
What is the purpose or goal of your Web Site?	Every Web Site has a primary purpose. Your site can be designed to: Teach Persuade Inform Provide reference materials Your site may have a secondary purpose, which you must take into consideration. For example, a resume needs to inform your reader, but its secondary purpose is to persuade an employer to hire you. Whatever the case, defining your site's purpose is the central task underlying your design choices for your document.
Who is your intended audience?	Profiling your audience helps you select a design that grabs a site visitor's interest. Who are your visitors? What information would be of interest to them? What format is the best one for this audience? How much do they know about the subject? How much time are they likely to spend at your site?
What is the impression that you want to project?	How do you want your audience to perceive your site? What is the overall look and feel of your Web site? Is it formal or informal, avant garde or traditional? Is the content scholarly or informal, serious or fun? Your document's design will determine the impression you project. This overall image is supported by your choice of graphic elements, your writing style, and the type of interactivity you design into the page.
How will you combine all the elements to create an effective site?	Create a set of storyboards listing all the parts that go into the final site. Will you use photographs? Will there be other forms of art? Will you use white space, rules, tables and/or frames to organize your sections? If you use more than one technique, how will you balance them? How much text will you use? How many different pieces of art? How many pages? What links will you need? Once you have a good idea of the pieces you need, including the amount of text and graphic elements, organizing them into a usable and interesting site is easier. Finally, sketch a picture of each page in your site to see how everything really fits together.
What resource issues may impact your design?	Do you have enough storage space on your Web Server for your site? Can you afford to rent more? Do you have the software to achieve the effects you are planning? Do you have the expertise to write your site's content? If not, can you afford to hire someone? Do you have clip art or photos, or the expertise to create the ones you need? Do you have copyright clearance on all the material you are planning to use? Do you have the expertise (graphical or programming) to achieve your design? If not, can you afford to hire someone? How much time do you have?

Feel free to contact me with questions or to talk about how the axsWave Software team can help you with your Web site:

Janette B. Bradley (janette@metronet.com)