Usually when we think about improving the design of a website, we think of a major overhaul to the appearance and/or layout of the site that can only done by a skilled web designer. But that is not necessarily so. Here are 7 quick and easy web design improvements just about anyone can make in just a few moments.
1) Make your logo link to your homepage. This is standard operating procedure and will help people get back to your homepage quickly when they want to.
2) Make the text of your navigation menu items as short and clear as possible. Replace any acronyms or insider language a first-time visitor wouldn’t know.
3) Put an image in the content of every page of your site. This ties in with our last post in which we talked about how the appearance of the content of your web pages is extremely important.
4) Make the text on your pages readable. Another content related design issue… Keep paragraphs short, include a blank line between paragraphs. Use one color in your text. Use headings and bullet points liberally.
5) Add your address and phone number to the footer of every page.
6) Add Google Analytics code into the footer of every page. Google Analytics is free and provides extremely valuable data about your website visitors.
7) Add a site map page. This will help people find what they’re looking for.
A lot of websites have simple design flaws that can really hinder a visitor’s experience, but can be easily corrected with these improvements.
Got any other suggestions for quick and easy design improvements non-designers can make to their websites?
4 Comments
Nice list.
BTW, GA code should now be placed before the closing head tag. http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracki…
Thanks Sean. That's interesting. I wasn't familiar with the change. For those who want to go more in depth concerning the placement of GA code, this is a really good article:
http://www.lunametrics.com/blog/2012/02/09/where-…
Would it help readers if each point made in the article had a link?
I had not thought of putting in Google Analytics code. This could be a big help. I'm going to try it. I'm going to check back regularly, as you seem to have good ideas.