October 20, 2007

Web Design: Fighting Good Battles in the Web Design War

With all of the different sites out there, competing both directly and indirectly with your own, it is often quite a challenge to get the attention of your visitors so that they'll stay long enough to be exposed to your message. It is really up to you to have a superior web design to make sure that you're attracting your target market and keeping them on your site.

This may sound like a rather daunting task, with a lot of research, time, and energy involved, but actually, a few tweaks to an already good quality site can make all the difference when it comes to grabbing someone's attention. For example, one of the most common and effective ways to snag someone's attention right off the bat is to change the font size of your headline. Make your main headline short and sweet, in a very bold, quite large font. If you have more to say in your headline than can fit in five or six words, then create a main attention-grabbing headline, and then create a sub-headline that is a bit smaller, and that fills the reader in on the rest of what you'd like to say in your content's title.

Of course, changing the font size of a title isn't exactly a revolutionary strategy. It is something that has been recognized since shortly after the printing press was invented. However, there are some things that you need to know to properly use typography to your advantage. Using the right headline size isn't just a matter of increasing your text to 48 pt. font or larger. You will need to adhere to a few simple, yet important rules if you want to get the job done.

- Say something that is important to your visitor, and have the font size match the importance of the statement. For example, if you're having a 25% off sale at your online store, you will want to make the font large, but not so incredibly large that you are turning people off. Font sizes that are too large for the message will look as though the page is shouting, rather than announcing.

- What is the font size being used for the rest of the content on the page? If you are typing everything in a 10 pt. font, then a 16 pt. font may be enough. However, if you're using a 14 pt. font for the rest of your content, and are using 16 pt. for your headline, you may not be making the statement that you want.

- Do you have a standard across your website for your font sizes? When you decide to make font size changes on your pages, then you should try to be consistent throughout your website. This decision is best done before you begin building your website so that you can simply work it into the overall design, but if you already have a site, then you'll need to make the changes across your site. Designate different font sizes depending on the importance and significance of the event or information being announced on the page, so that you will always know automatically which web design goes with what type of situation.

Of course, font size isn't the only way to get the attention of your site's visitors. You can also work with the type and style of font you're using. For example:

- font family - for example, if you're currently using sans-serif font, try a serif font to create some emphasis.

- color - hot colors tend to attract the most attention. This means reds, oranges, and yellows. The one that works best for your website will depend on your page's background color. If you have a white background, yellow may not be very visible, but red might make a great statement.

- style - bolding or italicizing your heading and subheadings will make them stand out from the rest of the text on your pages.

The best thing to always remember is not to go overboard with the different techniques that you choose to use for your website. Keep things attractive and tasteful in your efforts to catch the attention of your visitors. Don't have flashing lights or screaming colors - it will only work against you. Fight a good battle, don't go for the whole war at once.

Mark

Posted by Mark at October 20, 2007 5:19 PM

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