WHAT MAKES A GOOD WEB SITE
Written by France Cόsme for www.saltshakers.us, Chicago

1. Fast loading time - Get rid of too much flash!
A good page should typically load within 15 seconds max. You can design a web that looks great but takes ages to load. Users would likely leave and search for another site where they can get immediate results. Yes - you have fantastic flash effects but no sales.

2. Navigation – Use text instead of buttons?
Stay clear of complicated and intricate buttons, unless your site is about music or is faddish, catering to teens. Simple button navigation (or no buttons at all) will look professional and straight forward. Another thing is to triple check your button links if they work. Usability testing is an important part of web design and you have to always check if all navigation works back and forth through pages.

3. Size – Monitors are sleeker now!
Today’s monitor (lap top / desktop) is about 640 x 480 to 1024 x 768 pixel (px) on average. Most use a 15-inch monitor. Your job is to design your site that fits all. You should design your site in terms of percentage not px. If you are unsure, your conservative option is be 480x750 px. This size fits all, although small when used on 17-inch monitors and up.

4. Browser compatibility - I.E. vs. Firefox?
Make sure your site is compatible with popular browsers like IE (Internet Explorer), Firefox and Netscape. Most web design tools are not WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). For example, a single space may appear double at Firefox browser while letters become bolder at IE. Be sure to use at least 2 browsers when finalizing and testing your layout. You can’t have both worlds but you can compromise.

5. Fonts - Get rid of fancy fonts!
Comic Sans with a bright green or pink color look less credible and hard to read. Even for a kid’s web site, it looks trite. The easiest way is to copy. Yes copy! Go to popular web site like yahoo, MSN or facebook. Try to observe the fonts they use, colors and general layout. Limit your fonts up to 3 kinds and limit them to Arial and Verdana whenever possible. These maybe simple typeface but they are readable and widely accepted as the staple website font. Don’t worry yourself if it looks boring, you can jazz up other parts of the web like the headers and photos to compromise that snazzy look you want.

6. Colors – Read in gray!
Limit your colors to 2 or 4. A corporate web site would usually have 3 complimentary colors. Some of the striking yet toned down colors would be blue, paired with gray text fonts and maroon title texts. The trick is to use chromatic color and add one color that’s on the opposite color chart. Let say Green is your color theme, you should pair your green with dark moss green and title page using chrome yellow (these colors are chromatic or related in hues). Never use “neon” colors! It does not only strain the eyes but is hard to read, given that not all monitors display the same color capacity.

7. Images / photos – Tag those photos!
While photos will make your site interesting, it can also slow it down. Worse, it could look cluttered and giving your users too many options which may drown your main objective. Instead use tables creatively and design eye - catching icons that will draw a visitor's attention to a particular section of your site. Most visitors are usually more interested in content than in design. Also putting contents and tags (texts and articles) will optimize your search engine ranking.

8. White spaces – Let your site breath!
A site that has plenty of white space seem boring. But in realty, users find it easier to navigate into the content because it does not look cluttered. White spaces cause the eyes to move towards other sections without having to feel they are lost. Leave white spaces for the eyes to move and relax. Your other option is to use black or gray instead, either way the bottom line is creating spaces.