By Elmer on September 15, 2009

Building websites is an art, you showcase your creativity. But it’s also a science that it should address the needs of its intended viewers. So it’s not good enough to have an artistic website that does not have a clear direction. A website is built for a purpose to be effective and such purpose should be linked with clear objectives.

So let’s identify what are the common characteristics of effective websites.

Well defined navigation structure
Every visitor who comes to our website has a clear intent. However, it is possible that information can’t be found immediately, so it is necessary to look for ways how to find them. Does our site have a prominently placed search form? Are our menu items labeled properly? Are the menu items placed where they are expected to be seen? These type of questions help us understand whether we have well-defined navigation structure.

Fast loading web pages
Does our web page exude with lots of bells and whistles only for us to realize that it takes a few seconds to load the whole page even on our broadband connection? How much more for visitors who rely on on-and-off dialups? Effective web designs don’t necessarily mean most functional.

Properly written content
Good amount of content, check. But does it mean we have good content? Maybe not guaranteed. Content should be properly written to convey the right message. Basic yet important stuff such as spelling and grammar should be a priority. The impact does not only involve conveying the message, but also paints a picture of our reputation.

Font resizing facility
Not all our visitors have good eyesight. Some of them have problems looking at font sizes we find perfectly normal to view. This requires them to adjust to bigger font sizes. If we don’t offer the facility to address this need, our website becomes ineffective. And even if we have one, we should make it prominent enough that visitors with impaired eyesight can easily find them.

Screen resolution adjustments
Not only we have visitors with a variety of viewing capabilities, we also have visitors using a variety of screen devices. 1024x 768 screen resolutions are the most common screen resolution used by Internet users. But there are still who use 800 x 600, and other resolutions that may render our web designs difficult to access. Let’s ensure that no matter how stretch our browsers, page content is still accessible.

Browser compatibility
In the past there were just Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, but through the years, we have seen emergence of Firefox, Google Chrome and Mac’s Safari. Let’s ensure that our pages can be displayed across different web browsers. A simple hint to achieving this is adherence to web standards.

Broken links and functional buttons
Success in navigation relies on well-built websites and part of this is presence of functional buttons, form validations and absence of broken links. As we update our pages and content, we should regularly check links and ensure buttons work properly. A malfunctioning submit button may just be the only obstacle that prevents our visitor from making a successful purchase on our site.

Photo credit: ~ Julian

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