Untangling Web design: whether your Web site needs a touch-up or a complete overhaul to bring it in line with today's standards, these tips will guide your way

Pool & Spa News, May 7, 2004 by Julie Sturgeon

More than a decade after the Web's inception, Internet design is still in a state of flux. In the beginning, Web design was secondary: Companies could appear cutting edge just by having a site, regardless of what it looked like.

Today, firms are inundated with design options that run the gamut of complexity and efficacy. While many have found their way in the Web design maze, other companies have taken a wrong turn or two.

What's at the root of their design dilemmas? Many business owners, unfamiliar with how Internet sites should look or cost, are afraid of getting ripped off by Web designers, so they ignore their sites, says Joshua Steimle, CEO of MWI, a Web site design firm in Salt Lake City.

Steimle knows firsthand how challenging it is to ease companies' fears. As the nephew of the founder of California Pools and Spas, a $60 million pool-construction firm, he says being part of the family doesn't even give him a leg up. "I'm trying to get them to redo their Web site right now, and it's still tough," Steimle relates.

As a general rule, he advises customers to redesign their Web sites every two to three years. Companies that wait much longer can actually hurt their businesses because new Web technology and design trends can make a site look outdated and unprofessional fairly quickly. "If you've had the same Web site for four years, I'd say there's a 99 percent chance you're in serious need of a redesign," he adds.

If now's the time for your company to freshen up your site--or launch one altogether--don't despair. Web experts say paying attention to some timeless insight on color, font, copy and layout will set you on the right path.

Color

When asked to rate Web sites as credible or less credible, Americans consistently point to visual design as the largest factor in their decisions, according to Stanford University's Persuasive Technology Lab and the Consumers Union.

Color, for one, plays a large role. Web designers seem to be moving toward a minimal color palette, using white as a background color, with one shade for the font and one additional accent color.

Solid backgrounds are out, asserts Steven Louie, creative director of Xworld in New York. You can use white type on colored backgrounds judiciously to highlight special parts of the page. But, as a whole, when the background is blank, the eye reads the type much easier.

Happily for pool dealers, people still respond favorably to the color blue, which is why designers like to splash this hue everywhere on the Web. "It's harder to work with other colors and make them look as professional as blue," Steimle notes. "It's a psychologically relaxing color that draws people in."

Conversely, he suggests the pool and spa industry spurn green shades. "It conjures up images of algae," he explains.

As for other shades, orange implies heat--a reaction you may want on some pages, but certainly not all. Also, be cautious when using black as a visual accent. If done improperly, its sophisticated, hard-edge connotations don't always evoke the right emotional response when you want to sell high-end luxury items such as pools.

Fonts

It may be tempting at first to take your pick of the latest fonts that appear on your computer's massive scroll-down menu. "However, business owners have to understand that no matter what your advertising campaign looks like, [the font you choose] has to be readable on screen," Louie says. "The font you may use for your brochure may not work on a computer monitor."

Instead of "trendy" or "cute," when it comes to picking a font, think in terms of readability, clarity and useability. Most designers avoid serif fonts, that is, letters with little flourishes that can be hard to read on screen. As an alternative, fonts such as Arial, Verdana or Helvetica (sans serif fonts) are favored because they present a less complicated imprint on the screen. As a bonus, the sans serif fonts imply a more contemporary image, says Steimle.

Layout

Research shows that a reader's gaze first drops about one-third of the way down any given page, jumps to the top left corner, moves across the top of the page, then floats downward in a Z pattern. "Most people put either their navigation bar or nothing in this prime upper left corner," says Jerry Teplitz, J.D., Ph.D. The president of Teplitz Enterprises in Virginia Beach, Va., is an expert in how people relate cognitively to images.

"Web designers aren't necessarily marketing people, so my view is to move the navigation bar to the right-hand side because people will still find it there," he says. While his approach runs contrary to what's traditionally seen online today, he suggests reserving the left corner to promote a special offer, product guarantee or value message.

Don't let your layout interfere with this eye-tracking routine, Teplitz recommends. For instance, avoid placing big, boldly colored letters below that one-third mark; this attempts to force the eyes downward rather than letting nature take its course.

A common mistake found by Xworld's Louie occurs when there is no dominant image featured on the page. He suggests placing a good-sized photo of a pool or hot tub at that vital one-third mark, followed by your store's secondary features below it, and the site's navigation bar strung across the top.