Effective web design is an important element when building websites. It helps visitors navigate a website seamlessly, easily find what they are looking for, and hopefully perform the desired actions (download software, sign up for newsletters or make purchases) we want them to do.

So we at BeansBox don't just design websites just because it's what our clients want; we also think about how visitors of their websites behave. For example, shall we divide a shopping cart system into several small pages or few longer ones? It's not just functionality that counts, it's also the overall user experience.

From our experience of building websites all these years, we met different types of clients: from demanding ones to those totally relying on our inputs, and from casual to extremely meticulous. Delivering client expectations is one thing, but we think delivering client's customers expectations is another and is more important down the line.
This brings us to share our expertise and tips in building quality websites for Hong Kong and international clients.

1. Clear Navigation Structure
Users should be able to find and use navigation facilities easily. This means navigation menu should be available on all pages so going from one page to another doesn't require multiple clicks.

Website should also ensure that users get expected results. For example, underlined words and hyperlinks have different color schemes, or company logo at the top left section always link to the homepage.

2. Focus on Content
Each page should offer unique content to visitors. By doing so, visitors see the value of the page they are viewing. If it's a landing page about a car for sale, necessary information about the product (brand, make, mileage, color, miles per gallon, etc), car reviews and photos should be included in the page. Obviously, after the user gains interest, information on how to contact the seller should also be available on the page. In the same context, contact information should be visible within the whole website.

While good content is key to great user experience, presenting it in a readable manner enhances its attractiveness. For example, no line of text should exceed 600 pixels, use font size large enough for visitors to read, and adopt eye-friendly text-background color combination.

3. Website Scalability
Some websites eventually grow in size due to certain reasons: more pages to accommodate products and services, new features, change in business direction, etc. A scalable website should allow these changes to happen without requiring tremendous amount of effort equivalent to a website revamp.

4. Page Size and Optimal Load Time
Page size matters because it impacts not only human visitors, it also affects how search engines access our pages and how visible our pages on search engine results. A page containing excessive amount of information takes longer to load and will turn off visitors who are still using dial up connections. Minimize use of graphics (or optimize them so they load faster) or slice large amount content into a few smaller pages.

5. Screen Resolutions and Browser Compatibility
We will not assume that users will see our websites the same way we see them on our favorite browsers and current screen resolutions. Websites should be "fluid" enough so they become readable in (almost) all screen resolutions and browser versions.

6. Capture Lost Visitors
Ensure that when a visitor clicks a dead link, she or he remains on the website and not trapped into a generic "page not found" error. Design a custom page and populate it with useful content such as major categories of the site or pages we think are most popular and/or most useful.

7. Use of Graphics and Flash
Think about what benefit those Flash introductions bring to visitors. Will they buy our product because we have this flashing/scrolling text or great looking Flash intros? Or will they be annoyed and leave our websites for good?

Flash should be used only as a section of a page and not as a page itself. Pages embedded in Flash cannot be bookmarked and deep linked to. Therefore, carefully consider the intention and benefits before considering to build an all-Flash website.

8. Use of Links
We want to keep users on our site as long as possible so it's understandable that links to external sites may open in a new window. However, internal links should open in the same window to avoid cluttering of browser windows in the user's desktop.

Links should also be descriptive to give ideas to users even before they click them.

Right
Check out our new releases, best sellers and gift ideas.

Wrong
Get more information about our products by clicking here, here and here.

Make it a habit to check for dead links regularly, especially if the site undergoes restructuring of content, in order to minimize existence of broken links.

9. Accuracy of Information
Contents may change from time to time so it helps to review information posted on websites in an on-going basis. Checking the site for spelling and grammar mistakes helps maintain a company's reputation and brand image.

When referring to content extracted from external sources, put them in quotes and give proper credit where credit is due by linking to the reference web page. Nobody wants to be accused of plagiarism just because they used someone else's content and did not indicate the source.