The purpose of every website, no matter what its message, is to communicate that message. Although this is basic information almost not worth mentioning, the truth is that many internet locations fail to do this job properly, resulting in inefficiency, few visits, and low conversion rates. In order for a clear and concise message to be relayed to visitors, it is important to plan ahead of time how to ensure that just such action happens. All too often, mistakes in the design process leave visitors confused and frustrated; avoiding such problems is a primary goal to achieve good website communication.
Page Elements
Text is the main way in which a message is communicated to website visitors; that text should say what needs to be said while avoiding flowery terms, excesses, unnecessary information, vagueness and cliches or sayings that not every reader can possibly understand. Content should be written so it sounds like normally spoken language; very technical terms should be avoided unless the use of specific language is warranted, such as with a more technical or professional type website.
Avoid Confusion
There are many other website elements that can help communicate the main message when appropriately used. Well-placed images, video, and other visual aids as well as headers and sub-headers that accentuate important points can all help, especially considering the fact that most viewers only skim internet copy, their eyes catching whatever stands out the most. Icons used regularly to indicate links, actions, or other areas of importance can increase functioning capability. In a sense, a website should be able to portray its message with only secondary elements, with the actual copy providing further details of that message. The secret is to use just enough visuals and not too many, as that could create an over-crowded, confusing website.
Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity
From the page design to the navigation menu and typeface used, simple elements and design will avoid having a website that is overwhelming and distracts visitors from understanding the primary message. Fancy fonts can look great as decoration, as can many images or complex, animated menus; however, in the end most users end up more frustrated than anything else. Users should not have to hunt for things, get lost because of too many distractions on a page, or experience anything else that prevents the true message from being communicated.
Effective and Balanced Design
Keeping things simple does not mean having a bland and boring internet presence. On the contrary, innovative design is still very important to grab attention and hold it so that visitors stay long enough to actually read and understand the main message that is being communicated, which is why good web design can be so challenging. If the need to incorporate optimization methods is added, then perhaps the professional designer's job does not look as glamorous as it might otherwise be assumed to be. It is much more involved than simply creating art on the internet, although any art that is used needs to be effective as well. Through the careful use of color, typeface, layout, imagery and other visuals, a well-designed website should be able to do everything that it should - and more.
When creating websites, the tendency to load a page with as much seemingly pertinent information as possible can hurt communication efforts rather than help them. This must be taken into consideration and ways determined to include everything that is necessary; however, it must be done correctly to provide the best, most effective user experience possible and most importantly - get the message across. If this proves to be a difficult task, seeking the help of a professional web designer may be the best choice to achieve website communication!