Plan Your Website Design
First determine who the audience is for your planned web site. This is very important, because many design and content decisions depend on who your audience is. Will your site be used by children or adults?, what is the age range? Does your audience access the Net from work, school or home? Do they want to be informed, entertained or do they want to make a purchase? Make sure you do your homework before you begin.
Your site must be well organized, both for the benefit of your visitors and to make it easier for you to maintain. Map out your site before you go any further.
Consider using index cards to represent the web pages you want. You can rearrange them quickly. It helps to be able to visualize how your web site will all fit together, whether you're working alone or with professionals. At this time we recommend spending as much time as you can on the internet studying how other sites have been put together. Take a close look at the websites you like. Many sites credit the design company and link at the bottom of the index page, so you see what else the designer has done. If you decide to hire a designer, make sure the company has experience with projects similar to what you have in mind.
A website is a constant work-in-progress. Most websites change fairly often because technology has made electronic publishing rapid and relatively inexpensive. New content and features can be easily added without having to redesign the whole site. Changes also keep your audience coming back for new additions and information.
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