| A successful website not only draws visitors, | | | | |
| but which keeps them there, and compels them | | | | 3. Text color should contrast with the |
| to come back for more. All this talk about a | | | | background color. |
| website's "stickiness" and "eyeballs" | | | | |
| actually depends on how attractive is its | | | | Nothing is more frustrating for a visitor, if |
| design and informative its content. | | | | he/she can't comprehend the text properly |
| | | | because of color similarity between the text |
| If a website is designed to facilitate both | | | | color and background color. In fact usability |
| information retrieval and browsing, it is | | | | of a website is directly proportional to its |
| bound to be noticed and surfed intensively. | | | | contrast. One good and simple measure of |
| Visitors won't be encouraged to go any | | | | contrast is that when you squint your eyes, |
| further if they find what they are looking | | | | the text should not dim altogether. If it |
| for in the website's information-rich | | | | does, there is not enough contrast. |
| content, presented in a clear and lucid | | | | |
| language and a pleasantly designed layout. | | | | 4. Don't smash the lines together |
| | | | |
| Web developers, in their attempt to provide | | | | Lines stacked on the top of each other really |
| affordable web design solutions, cut corners | | | | confuse the reader besides making the page |
| when it comes to content. Irrespective of | | | | look dirty, so utilize the line-spacing |
| whether they are based in advanced countries | | | | directive in CSS and space out the lines. |
| like UK, US or in developing countries, this | | | | |
| is a typical practice of many web solution | | | | 5. Don't use long winding text |
| providers. To make space of large | | | | |
| eye-catching banners, the font size may be | | | | Nobody wants to read endless pages of |
| made so small that it is virtually | | | | uninterrupted, jammed text no matter how well |
| incomprehensible. | | | | it is written or how much it is useful. It is |
| | | | prudent to break the rambling text under |
| Moreover, you might find the text placed in | | | | sub-headlines summarizing the subject of the |
| colors that are similar to the ones used in | | | | paragraph(s) and summarize points under |
| the background, rendering it difficult to | | | | bullets, wherever possible. This makes it |
| read. Affordable web design should not mean | | | | easier for readers to scan the content while |
| making compromises on the website's | | | | scrolling. |
| usability. While these problems can kill any | | | | |
| website, they can be fixed rather easily. | | | | Don't forget to check for spelling and |
| Let's see how: | | | | grammar errors. If your website has whole lot |
| | | | of these typos, visitors will not take your |
| 1. Utilize CSS | | | | website seriously. Check the text again and |
| | | | again to make sure it is error free. It is |
| Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) is a great tool | | | | always safer to use a spellcheck tool. |
| to define and control the look and appearance | | | | |
| of the text on the entire site. One change in | | | | Legibility of a website's content is very |
| the CSS and entire site is updated. | | | | important and quite easy to attain. Just put |
| | | | yourself in place of the visitor and |
| 2. Make the font size legible | | | | visualize what you actually want from a |
| | | | website, content wise. |
| Not only should the font size make reading | | | | |
| easy, it should also cater to the preferences | | | | Adopt this customer centric visualization and |
| of its target audience. For a serious | | | | added with some common sense, it will get you |
| corporate audience, crisp and professional | | | | more readable, useable, and affordable web |
| looking 12 pt Verdana is just right, while if | | | | design. A good usable web design when |
| teenage girls are the primary target | | | | combined with proper web marketing will bring |
| audience, Times New Roman should be the | | | | you plenty of visitors who will stay longer |
| chosen font. | | | | and come back time and again. |