Posted by on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 8:12 pm.
Having been designing and building websites for over 5 years, I have collated a list of objectives that I expect not only my own, but all professionally designed websites to adhere to. These ‘website design expectations‘ range from a ‘clickable logo’ that takes you to back the homepage; to perfect english, spelling and grammar. Below are a few important recommendations from my huge list of website objectives:
5 important website design expectations
- Clicking on the logo takes you to the homepage.
Most people, when browsing a website, expect by clicking the logo, they will be returned to the homepage of the website. This is a very simple and common assumption. Almost all ‘Big Company Sites’ do this as standard, but it is surprising how many don’t. - Clear and simple access to the contact us page.
If your website’s main purpose is to generate leads and sales, then it is very important to have clear access to to the contact page of a website. The contact page should be clear, concise and have the appropriate forms to help users make their enquiry with ease. If your company, or your client has a shop or premises, it is recommended to link or embed Google Maps. - English, Spelling and Grammar.
Excellent English, spelling and grammar is very important on your website. Even though it is easier to correct when spotted, a website should be treated much like any other printed marketing material. Special attention and double checking should be enforced to ensure the the content on your website not only reads well, but has correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. - Real Text and Images that can be copied, pasted and dragged.
Most internet users expect to be able to copy and paste text from a website. They also expect to be able to ‘right click’ or drag an image from a website, in order to save it to their computer. Flattening text in graphics or in flash can frustrate users who are trying to gain access and share your website’s content. It is also important to remember that any images saved as backgrounds, or are embedded through CSS, will not appear on a print out of the web page. Printing from an internet browser only prints real text and correctly embedded graphics. The best way to test this is to trying printing your webpage yourself from an internet browser. This is also a good trick to see what search engine bots can see. - Fast Loading Times.
If your website design fails to load quickly enough, whether it is due to the hosting server or the sheer size of the website itself, then you can risk loosing visitors through impatience. In the modern age of high speed internet access, the rapid loading time of a website is an expectation, not a pleasant surprise. Consideration must always be taken when constructing a website to keep file sizes as low as possible. Even today, minorities are still accessing the internet via slow 56K Dial-up! That should not be forgotten.
Please leave your own recommendations and ‘expectations’ in the Responses below by leaving a comment:
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