Business-focused Web Design: The Philosophy

A business-focused web design can positively impact your bottom line.

Your web site users will arrive at your web site with problems they need solved and decisions they need to make. They will need information and they won't want to work hard to get it. With the rise of high speed connections and search engines returning better search results, they can jump from one site to another more easily and faster than before. You don't want confusing navigation and unnecessary design elements standing in between your web site users and the business you want from them.

Satisfy your web visitor's needs, not some web designer's ego.

Do you actually sit and watch Flash intros on web sites or do you immediately seek out the “Skip Intro” link in your rush to get to the “real” information? When was the last time animated clip-art on a web site influenced your decision to give a company your business? A business-focused web site design is a clean web design that avoids using any design elements that hide or distract from the information your web site user came specifically to your site to get. Flash intro pages (unless your industry is music, high fashion or a similar art),  animated clip art, graphics that move across the screen, and page transition effects are high on my “just say no” list.

Most of your web site users will ignore anything that looks like an advertisement.

A business-focused web design does not use blinking, sliding or spinning text or graphics. Not only do those effects look too much like advertising but they can also hinder your low-literacy users. I also discourage the use of background music on a web site, even if it can be turned off. Most small business web sites don't need to “set a mood” for their web site visitors.

Empower your web site users: comply with standard convention.

Your web site users will get more out of your web site if it works the way they expect it to work. A business-focused web site that follows standard web design guidelines is not the same as a “boring” web site. My web design portfolio will show this. A business-focused web site is designed to quickly serve up the information that your web site users came to your site looking for. And when it comes to increasing the revenue of a small business, that's more important than having a “killer” web site.

About The Author: Keita Del Valle is the owner of the Inland Empire website design company, Crafty Pixel (www.craftypixel.com). This article may be re-published for free provided this byline, with its active links, remains intact.