Prevent Web Design Disasters
Way too often people focus on the actual "design" steps of web design -- the look and feel, colors and so on -- and completely miss the mark when it comes to creating an effective design that evokes the proper actions.
Here are a couple of key points to keep in mind the next time you're planning to create or re-make a website.
First, you need to get clear on what you want the site visitor to do when they visit.
What are the main types of visitors that you want to attract and what information do they need? So often, designers focus on the company or the products and they forget the main point of the site... to communicate something, to get the visitors to take some sort of action, like fill out a form, buy something, interact, read through a series of pages, download something, etc.
My point is that, as a designer, you should get clear on the OUTCOME and PURPOSE of the site and make sure you design the site with that in mind.