Your Opinion
X compatability is important but you may set a minimum requirement which is based on specs which are most common to your target audience. We usually assume that people are at least using 4.x browsers at 800x600 with JavaScript turned on. Normally, the you gain mor ein design possibilities which this requirements than you lose in visitors. However, if your dealing with sofware developers as target audience who take pride in still using Netscape 2 or whatever, you have to make a different solution.
The design of a site should always fit its target audience. When you start designing a site, the first step should be the thought: what design elements relate to the subject? We are currently working on a site for our foto studio. The design will be build around a large nagative film in the background which has a picture on it that shows the studio, including all the lighting, cameras, etc.
Of course, professional sites also have their price. Simple image homepage usually cost around $3-5000, larger sites come for around $20-50000 and e-commerce site including large databases are around $100000 and up.
Malte
Mountain WorldWide posted this at 08:20 — 8th February 2000.
They have: 90 posts
Joined: Dec 1998
Here's a topic where everyone's opinion is important and you don't have to go and wait for a site to load. In your opinion, what are the most important points of a web site...and what are things that web sites could do without.
Make a list of as many as you like of each. This should benefit us all.
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Mountain WorldWide
SE Optimization, Banner & Opt-In Email Advertising, Media Planning, and more...
MOUNTAIN WORLDWIDE
Justin S posted this at 13:45 — 8th February 2000.
They have: 2,076 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
For me I think a company professional if their site is. Graphics, design, layout, and maybe some flash multimedia. Oh yeah, content is thrown in there also
Somewhere...
I don't find sites professional when:
1) ...All their graphics are cheesy clip art.
2) ...They have lots of ads. If your a company making money then you don't need ads.
3) ...They use FrontPage.
4) ...Their graphics are outdated.
5) ...They have no real content.
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The fireburn.com Network:
Justin Stayton - [email] [icq]
Megan posted this at 14:58 — 8th February 2000.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
Every Website Needs
No Website Needs
I agree with the things that Justin mentioned as well.
Megan
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Megan posted this at 15:31 — 8th February 2000.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
I just thought of more. I good site needs to be compatible on as many browsers, platforms, and screen resolutions as possible. No site should be "best viewed with Browser X/at Resolution Y" - nobody's going to switch broswers or change their screen resolution just to look at your page. Splash pages are totally uselss in most cases (unless you're providing some sort of viewing option like frames/no frames or flash/html)
Megan
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Mountain WorldWide posted this at 22:54 — 9th February 2000.
They have: 90 posts
Joined: Dec 1998
It's also a good idea to keep as much of the content in the first fold as possible(including the navigation menu) so the visitor doesn't have to scroll to find information. Making your web pages short and to the point allow the visitor find information quickly without having to tunnel through mountains of information that do not pertain to them.
Similarly, it is important to keep the number of times a visitor must "click" to a minimum. The more links a visitor must click on to find what he/she wants, the more visitors your web site will lose. Many sources estimate that for each click it takes to find information or a product, you lose 1/2 of your audience. So it is important organize your site in a way that allows visitors to find information in the fewest clicks possible.
What are your opinions on:
*Including biographical information
*When should sites give shipping information
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Mountain WorldWide
SE Optimization, Banner & Opt-In Email Advertising, Media Planning, and more...
[This message has been edited by Mountain WorldWide (edited 09 February 2000).]
MOUNTAIN WORLDWIDE
Megan posted this at 16:05 — 10th February 2000.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
Well, as a Canadian, I would like to know if you can send your product to me before I get to the order form - preferably before I get to the site at all. There are way too many e-commerce sites that only offer their products or services in the US but don't tell you that until you get to the order form.
About biographical information - do you mean profiles of the VP's and stuff? Nobody really cares except the people being profiled, their friends, and maybe prospective employees preparing for an interview. Of course, the VP's are the ones in charge and it may not be possible to convince them that it's not necessary.
Another thing - watch your download speeds. Sure, high speed access is becoming more common, but it's still not the norm.
Megan
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