Web Site Design

A Web site is a collection of information about a particular topic or subject. Designing a Web site is defined as the arrangement and creation of Web pages that in turn make up a website. A Web page consists of information for which the Web site is developed. A Web site might be compared to a book, where each page of the book is a Web page.

There are so many aspects (design concerns) in this process, and due to the rapid development of the Internet, new aspects may emerge. For typical commercial Web sites, the basic aspects of design are:

• The content: The substance and information on the site should be relevant to the site and should target the area of the public that the Web site is concerned with.

• The usability: The site should be user-friendly, with the interface and navigation simple and reliable.

• The appearance: The graphics and text should include a single style that flows throughout to show consistency. The style should be professional, appealing, and relevant.

• The visibility: The site must also be easy to find via most, if not all, major search engines and advertisement media.

A Web site typically consists of text and images. The first page of a Web site is known as the Home page or Index. Some Web sites use what is commonly called a Splash Page. Splash pages might include a welcome message, language/region selection, or disclaimer. Each Web page within a Web site is an HTML file (which we shall discuss in the next chapter) which has its own URL. After each Web page is created, they are typically linked together using a navigation menu composed of hyperlinks.

Once a Web site is completed, it must be published or uploaded in order to be viewable to the public over the Internet. Once published, the Web master may use a variety of techniques to increase the traffic, or hits, that the Web site receives. This may include submitting the Web site to a search engine such as Google or Yahoo, exchanging links with other Web sites, creating affiliations with similar Web sites, etc. (Leuterio, 2009, p. 352)