If you’ve been thinking about setting up a website for your business but don’t know where to start, talk to a graphic designer or two for some guidelines.

Do some homework first to find sites that appeal to you. “This tells me what a client’s tastes are like,” explains Joanna Turlej (www.adoragraphics.com), although she confesses that she sometimes gets a bad surprise when she’s directed to a very distasteful looking site.

Joan Donogh suggests looking at your competitors’ sites, to see what they do well or what they are missing. Joan offers a helpful “Website Development Workbook” as a download from her site, www.in-formation-design.com. The step-by-step guide helps small businesses decide what they want the site to accomplish and what it should contain.

Branimir Zlamalik (www.gbcom.ca) suggests you start with the purpose of your site (e-commerce or just a place to show your portfolio?) and who your intended audience is (current customers, prospective customers, warm contacts?). This helps determine both content and design. “The home page is key; someone landing there will decide to go further or go away,” he explains. “You have only seconds to catch the visitor’s attention, so think about what you want on the home page and what links will go from there.”

Determining the content and layout of the home page is part of the overall navigation and architecture of the site, says Craig Fairley (www.imaginecreative.com). “Like a storefront, it has to tell people what’s on the site and entice the visitor in to have a look. Popular pages or sections in the site should have a direct link on the home page.”

HPCA designers agree that having a “flat” site is important, taking as few clicks as possible to get to the content. “People don’t want to have to click down and down and down to get information,” says Craig.

He adds, “Easy navigation is also vital, and I try to ensure that a user knows where they are at all times. This may be accomplished by simply putting the navigation hierarchy at the top of the page, for instance, Customer Service > Installation > Troubleshooting. Navigation menus should also be consistent from page to page.”

Designers also agree that a site’s design should work for viewers even if they don't have super high-speed access. Sites that are light on graphics or have graphics that are optimized for fast downloads are also better for access from mobile phones.

Joan recommends that a business home page fit in the average browser window without the viewer having to scroll, and should contain some key text for search engines to index. This rules out using a “splash” page, which visitors see first before the main content of the site. You might have to use a splash page to offer a language option or describe the best browser to view the rest of the site, although ideally your site should load for any browser. But if the page just shows animated graphics and sounds, it not only hinders search results but also annoys visitors looking for quick information.

Flash animation is “cool,” says Craig, “but it annoys most surfers who are impatient. It has to have a purpose other than just look nice or include the technology du jour.” 

Once your site is up, you should review it at least once a year, more often depending on the site’s purpose. “Ask how often you want people to return to the site and make sure there is something new for them every time,” says Craig. Joan suggests, “If you want people to return frequently (e.g. you are selling products), you need to update your content daily, weekly or monthly. If your site is an online brochure, you might review it every few months to update content, add new clients or testimonials, and so on.”

Joanna suggests redoing the site if it’s not in sync with the rest of your marketing material, or if it should have areas that would increase the business, such as a feedback page or order page.

Web design trends come and go, but if you’re curious about the latest, Joan suggests this site: www.clickfire.com/viewpoints/articles/internet_trends.php