When we talk of design of a web site, the definition of 'cool' has changed drastically. Internet users are much smarter nowadays and have a fair idea of what is in their interest. They can easily differentiate between beneficial and problematic designing elements, so much so that their shopping decisions are often influenced by the same.

Pronounced animation, scroll/drag bars, etc. are not considered attractive anymore. In fact, simplicity is the keyword for online success. As a designer, your task is to simplify the look of your web site and make it easily accessible for both users and search engines - the former being your ultimate target, and the latter the means of reaching it.

Site accessibility is an issue that should be given due consideration by designers. The following are some of the points that should be dealt with in the design phase itself:

1) The pages of your web site should load as quickly as possible. On the Internet, users have a very limited attention span. If your page takes unnecessarily long time to load, you might end up losing visitors. The homepage, especially, should load within ten seconds of the user typing the domain name. The use of flash, graphics, frames, etc. hinder the process of page loading and therefore should be minimised.

2) When deciding on colours, you should ensure that your web pages have a light background. This will help users in reading the text matter clearly. The links should be put up in a separate, noticeable colour. And as far as fonts are concerned, use the ones that are popular with web sites and gel with the total perception of your pages. The key here is consistency. Sections, products or services should follow the same colour and font patterns throughout the site.

3) Each and every page of your site should lead back to the homepage, and if possible, the sitemap page as well. Strong internal linking eases the process of search engine crawling, thus helping in faster indexing of your site. The navigational flow of your site should be concise and easily definable.

4) Avoid the use of imposing advertising banners (esp third party) on your site. Firstly, they increase the download time of the page in question, and secondly, they divert attention from the main text matter or product/service you are focusing on.

5) Through your web site design, the whole process of eCommerce should be simplified. Potential buyers should not have a touch time in figuring out the purchase or query forms, etc. In short, anything that rakes in revenues should be within easy reach of the visitors of your site.

6) Try and have a textual equivalent of all the images put up on your web site. The attribute of Alt Tag can be used to incorporate essential keywords through such images. This will help in optimisation of your pages - the ultimate goal of your marketing campaign.

More than anything else, your web site should be able to instill confidence in the minds of visitors. They should take you as a credible source and should be able to connect to the content and images on your pages. This impact will eventually determine your profits.

About the Author:
Lalita Negi is a web development expert with vast experience in the field of online marketing services. She is presently associated with Rupiz Media, a web promotion company that specialises in e Commerce Web design and Community Web Site Development, Flash web development etc.