Web Design Essentials
A well-designed site holds visitors' attention, provokes action and keeps them coming back for more.

How do you accomplish all that? We consulted our very own Director of Web Development for quality web design tips:

1) Plan Your Site: Before turning on your computer, consider the layout, page structure and how users will move from one page to another (navigation). Then, sketch out your site on paper.

2) Understand Your Audience: Knowing your audience helps set the tone for your content and layout, and allows you to identify what visitors will be looking for on your site.

3) Maintain Consistent Navigation: Since people often read from left to right and top to bottom, the upper left-hand corner of your site is the first place your visitors will look. Place your navigation buttons here and keep them consistent, along with font and color choices, for easy reading and fluid movement from page to page.

4) Choose a Color Scheme: Choose no more than three to five colors for your site to avoid distracting your visitors with too much visual stimulation. If you're designing your site around an image, try uploading it to a color palette tool, like DeGraeve.com's, for example, for complementary color suggestions.

5) Account for Different Browsers: Your site may appear differently when viewed in different Internet browsers, so be sure to view your site in the major ones — Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome.

6) Test Your Site, Then Test Again: When you've created or redesigned your site, ask friends and family to test it for you. They may find things you missed, or point out areas of confusion.