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Website Goals
A website should serve as a means to an end rather than an end
in itself. Lack of clarity, poor grammar, or lack of
organization will mar its effectiveness. A website should serve
the useful purpose of communicating ideas and emotions which in
turn should evoke a positive and specific response from the
visitor.
No matter how great the graphics might be or the navigation
scheme or the flowery words, the success of your website will
depend on how concisely, clearly and effectively you present
your ideas.
To become an effective webmaster you must understand some basic
concepts.
1) The mechanics of creating a website. How to understand
and write the HTML code for internet web pages, creating and
optimizing your website graphics and understanding page layout
and navigation.
2) The ability to express your ideas well. Organize your
material for presentation, this is the backbone of a website.
Analyze the audience and adapt your ideas and the arrangement of
information in a way that they will understand.
3) Constant study of the feedback from your visitors.
Listen carefully and appreciatively to the things that your
visitors are saying. Remember that your website is intended for
them. Your personal feelings should never take precedence over
what your visitors are looking for.
Summary
Just as in music a knowledge of the technique of playing an
instrument may deepen ones appreciation, so, too, in website
design a knowledge of the tools used to produce the website is
essential to the constant improvement of ones skill as a
webmaster.
Equally important is learning the skills necessary to drive your
ideas home. After all, your website is a vehicle for expressing
information in such a way as to persuade the visitor to respond
in a certain way. Wether it is the dissemination of information
or the selling of a product, the way your ideas are expressed
will make or break the success of your website and it's message.
Your visitors will tell you things about your website that might
have eluded you. That great navigation scheme you conjured up
may not be as user friendly as you think. Maybe some ideas that
you are trying to convey are really not as clear as they should
be or worse still not targeted to the type of visitors coming to
your website. Listen to the feedback. It can mean the difference
between success and failure.
About the author:
Gene DeFazzio is the author and webmaster of the Rocketface(R)
Workshop. http://www.rocketface.com