Layout

This is a fairly common mistake, even for experienced webmasters. Your main content should be the largest visible pane (above the fold) by a large margin. By that I mean that the content should occupy at least 70% of the area you're working on. The other 20% is reserved for anything else you want (navigation and advertisement panes, perhaps). Under no circumstances should your main content be dwarfed by secondary content -- ever.

Colors

The number one rule of thumb when dealing with colors: your main content should always be a lighter color than your secondary content. There are too many websites that invert this rule, which results in the user having to forcefully focus on the main portion of the page, because the eye is naturally drawn to lighter colors.

The second rule of thumb: colors should not be contrasting. High-contrast colors (like black and white) distract the eye. Instead of offering a very hard-line break between panes you want something that blends well.

Borders

Borders should only be used in two scenarios: when you want the user to focus on something over something else, and to help tie the overall design together. Try to avoid using borders, but if your design really lacks one central focal point, then a border can be used to add that critical point.

On the other hand, surrounding one pane with other panes that have borders will have the opposite effect: the main focal point will become the pane without the border, while the other panes all blend together (as the border tends to tie them together).

Candy

Eye-candy can be both a boon and a bane. On one hand, if used properly, eye-candy can attract visitors to less-viewed portions of the website; however, if abuse, eye-candy can make your website look like a big cluttered mess.

Try to limit eye-candy to only a few, high-quality pieces. It's difficult to actually explain how to properly use eye-candy, as it only come from years of experience to determine what "looks good." All is not lost, however, because I do have a few tips on placement:

• Keep it small, bright, and located in the one place where you need people to look; for example, you could use an image to help people focus on your newsletter signup link.
• Avoid animated gifs. I know a lot of new webmasters believe animated gifs add something special to their website, but to everyone who has been online for longer than a year will only look down on th
  Truck Wash Business Case Study
  Often smart entrepreneurs look for out of the way businesses, things out of the mainstream but businesses, which have a good customer base and steady incomes. This is an extremely interesting story. I had always considered the mobile truck washing efforts to be very profitable and believed that fixed truck washes were a big waste of money. That was until one year when a new franchisee joined our team from Oklahoma City.
  g on. The other 20% is reserved for anything else you want (navigation and advertisement panes, perhaps). Under no circumstances should your main content be dwarfed by secondary content -- ever.

  Colors

  The number one rule of thumb when dealing with colors: your main content should always be a lighter color than your secondary content. There are too many websites that invert this rule, which results in the user having to forcefully focus on the main portion of the page, because the eye is naturally drawn to lighter colors.

  The second rule of thumb: colors should not be contrasting. High-contrast colors (like black and white) distract the eye. Instead of offering a very hard-line break between panes you want something that blends well.

  Borders

  Borders should only be used in two scenarios: when you want the user to focus on something over something else, and to help tie the overall design together. Try to avoid using borders, but if your design really lacks one central focal point, then a border can be used to add that critical point.

  On the other hand, surrounding one pane with other panes that have borders will have the opposite effect: the main focal point will become the pane without the border, while the other panes all blend together (as the border tends to tie them together).

  Candy

  Eye-candy can be both a boon and a bane. On one hand, if used properly, eye-candy can attract visitors to less-viewed portions of the website; however, if abuse, eye-candy can make your website look like a big cluttered mess.

  Try to limit eye-candy to only a few, high-quality pieces. It's difficult to actually explain how to properly use eye-candy, as it only come from years of experience to determine what "looks good." All is not lost, however, because I do have a few tips on placement:

  • Keep it small, bright, and located in the one place where you need people to look; for example, you could use an image to help people focus on your newsletter signup link.
  • Avoid animated gifs. I know a lot of new webmasters believe animated gifs add something special to their website, but to everyone who has been online for longer than a year will only look down on t
    Extranets for Architects
    Traditionally, architects are a conservative bunch who fiercely guards "company secrets." As a result, the idea of using an extranet to share documents and collaborate with others has been totally alien.But tradition is rapidly changing. Increasingly, architectural firms are using extranets to share documents in a secure environment. Why? Because projects move faster, clients are happier, and everything – from sc
    of thumb: colors should not be contrasting. High-contrast colors (like black and white) distract the eye. Instead of offering a very hard-line break between panes you want something that blends well.

    Borders

    Borders should only be used in two scenarios: when you want the user to focus on something over something else, and to help tie the overall design together. Try to avoid using borders, but if your design really lacks one central focal point, then a border can be used to add that critical point.

    On the other hand, surrounding one pane with other panes that have borders will have the opposite effect: the main focal point will become the pane without the border, while the other panes all blend together (as the border tends to tie them together).

    Candy

    Eye-candy can be both a boon and a bane. On one hand, if used properly, eye-candy can attract visitors to less-viewed portions of the website; however, if abuse, eye-candy can make your website look like a big cluttered mess.

    Try to limit eye-candy to only a few, high-quality pieces. It's difficult to actually explain how to properly use eye-candy, as it only come from years of experience to determine what "looks good." All is not lost, however, because I do have a few tips on placement:

    • Keep it small, bright, and located in the one place where you need people to look; for example, you could use an image to help people focus on your newsletter signup link.
    • Avoid animated gifs. I know a lot of new webmasters believe animated gifs add something special to their website, but to everyone who has been online for longer than a year will only look down on t
      The Value of Integrity
      Integrity can be defined in so many ways, but most of the time I use a question to determine if integrity is in someone's character or in the character of a business. That question is, "Do you do what's right even if no one is looking or even if you know you could get away with something?" If you can consistently answer yes to these questions, then you have integrity. Likewise, if a business can answer yes to these qu
      with other panes that have borders will have the opposite effect: the main focal point will become the pane without the border, while the other panes all blend together (as the border tends to tie them together).

      Candy

      Eye-candy can be both a boon and a bane. On one hand, if used properly, eye-candy can attract visitors to less-viewed portions of the website; however, if abuse, eye-candy can make your website look like a big cluttered mess.

      Try to limit eye-candy to only a few, high-quality pieces. It's difficult to actually explain how to properly use eye-candy, as it only come from years of experience to determine what "looks good." All is not lost, however, because I do have a few tips on placement:

      • Keep it small, bright, and located in the one place where you need people to look; for example, you could use an image to help people focus on your newsletter signup link.
      • Avoid animated gifs. I know a lot of new webmasters believe animated gifs add something special to their website, but to everyone who has been online for longer than a year will only look down on t
        The Budget Webmaster's 6 Step Guide to Improving Existing Rankings in Google
        The Budget Webmaster’s 6 Step Guide to Improving Existing Rankings in GoogleYou know the scenario. You get an occasional click from Google for a certain keyword. You go to find out why you aren’t getting more clicks, and you find out that you’re ranked in the 30's, 50's, or heaven forbid, the 300's. “Great”, you think, “I finally get ranked for a good keyword and it’s a worthless ranking”.Not necessarily.o properly use eye-candy, as it only come from years of experience to determine what "looks good." All is not lost, however, because I do have a few tips on placement:

        • Keep it small, bright, and located in the one place where you need people to look; for example, you could use an image to help people focus on your newsletter signup link.
        • Avoid animated gifs. I know a lot of new webmasters believe animated gifs add something special to their website, but to everyone who has been online for longer than a year will only look down on these as unprofessional.
        • Avoid too many Flash applications. While the smooth animation of Flash can attract many developers, its use for our type of website is very limited.
        • Avoid clutter. Too much eye-candy will always make a website look cluttered. You can try any of the above tips, but if you have too much clutter your users will never see the content.

        By keeping all of these tips in mind while searching for or developing a website you can keep your readers eyes on the content, and clicks on the ads.

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