How to build a website

[wiggins]

I agree with Noz, it's the style and experience that keeps people coming back. And of course the content. But I beleave it's all about the organization, I have a good 4 pages of layouts before I even begin working on anything.

Well true, I hate sites like that, but it's the year 2004 almost...It's about time we all upgrades to DSL anyway. Flashy Web Sites will only incurage that, of course they will also annoy those with the 56k, but that's why you have 2 versions of the site. A bit difficult to set up but worth it...

If you're like me, I'm guessing you like to get Ghetto. I use some of the most cheap techniques to create the same effect as a big bandwidth consuming effect. There are lots of shortcuts. LOTS, just use your imagination.

Cheap techniques? Please enlighten me.

[madphilb]

Well true, I hate sites like that, but it's the year 2004 almost...It's about time we all upgrades to DSL anyway. Flashy Web Sites will only incurage that, of course they will also annoy those with the 56k, but that's why you have 2 versions of the site. A bit difficult to set up but worth it...

Sites that either don't have two bandwidth surfing options or are just written well for slower speeds (like CAA), those site will simply not get more than one visit from me.

While it's a nice idea to say that everyone should upgrade to DSL or Cable in this day and age, there are plenty who simply don't have the money. I pay $11/mo for my internet dialup service (and it's not even the cheapest service around), Earthlink is only $22/mo or so (and there is something to be said for their quality, to a point anyway)... DSL is considerably more, and frankly before I finally was able to get a phone due to the job I had this past year (which by comparison to my previous jobs made me an obscene amount of money).... I spent a year and a half without a phone or any internet connection, it was all I could do to keep my pager-with-voicemail on so people could get ahold of me at all.

Obviously there are plenty of sites that can afford (and makes sense) to only have a broadband version... but I've run into plenty of churches who hired someone to do their site and the only people who could access it where those with the latest and greatest of everything...

Thankfully you seem to take the middle-road attitude Volt, good job!

[wiggins]

I think I shall abandon Flash... to much $$$!

[Mithrandir]

took me 25. so close enough i guess. thankfully it's all cached eventually, so it's all good.

Actually, research shows that if people have to wait more than 5-8 seconds (average: 6.5) they will exit and go elsewhere.

[madphilb]

Reading up on publishing I had a book by a Christian author on the subject. She mentions in there about the amount of time and effort people put into reading things, and some of the techniques to use for trying to catch someone's attention enough to get them to keep reading whatever information you're tyring to distribute (be it flyers for some event at your church or the like).

Based on what you just said, oldphil, it makes sense... people haven't changed that much since that book was published. If anything we've gotten an even shorter attention span.

[andyroo]

I always put the user first while designing a web page. Colourful websites with alot of pretty graphics are nice, but aren't nesiccary and wouln't be needed if you've got worthwhile content. The whole idea of web design is to get as many people to visit your web site as possible. That means designing your web site for the blind, slow to download, those who have images turned off, low resolutions, low colour depth settings and those who don't upgrade- and slow computers. A web site needs to be asthetically pleasing to the eye, yet quick to download and highly functional and very easy to use. The more complex the site, the more complex the design in most cases.

I third the notion of getting EvrSoft FirstPage. And the Web Style Guide by Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton, Yale University Press, 1999 is a very good buy.

"Clutter and confusion are failures of design, not attributes of information." -Edward Tufte

[Heaven's Cloud]

Actually, research shows that if people have to wait more than 5-8 seconds (average: 6.5) they will exit and go elsewhere.

I have to wait a minute for this page to load, yet I'm still here. But the reason why I have to wait so long is because my computer is pretty slow.

[Mithrandir]

Perhaps I should have phrased that different. This research applies to a site you do not already have vested interest in.