Best practices checklist for your Web site

These days everyone needs a Web presence, even if it’s a simple one. Terry Morris provides a checklist of best practices for you to consider as you lay out your Web site.

1. One of the first – and most obvious – marketing rules: Make sure your site appeals to your target audience.
2. Keep your site header and logo consistent, as well as the navigation area.
3. The page title should include the company, organization, or site name.
4. Don’t forget about the footer – make sure you include the copyright and contact information.
5. Good use of basic design principles: repetition, contrast, proximity, and alignment
6. Test your layout on different machines to make sure it displays without horizontal scrolling at 1024×768 and higher resolutions.
7. Choose a high contrast between text and background, so your copy is easy to read.
8. If you have repetitive information (like your logo and navigation links), it should take up no more than one-quarter to one-third of the top of the page.
9. Don’t save the best for last. Your most compelling content should appear “above the fold” (before anyone has to start scrolling).
10. Home page downloads within 10 seconds on dial-up connection.