While surfing the internet I have seen many different types
and styles of web sites. The design of all of the different
web sites on the internet varies widely. I have noticed that
within the last five years there has been a tremendous move
towards Flash web sites or Flash elements in web sites.
Personally I am not a huge fan of a web site built entirely
in Flash, because I believe that it is too much for the user
to absorb everything that is happening. Also when a search
engine crawls a web site made completely with Flash it will
not be able to pick up any text in the web site that is
embedded in the Flash images. Normally a search engine will
rank a Flash-only web site lower than a non-Flash web site,
because there are more keywords included in the paragraphs
of the web site that are not made completely with Flash.
However using some Flash elements in a web site design is
a great idea. Flash can help make your web site pop, and
give the user a focal point that will draw their eye into
your web site.

Web site design is the most important element of creating a
web site. The design of the web site is what actually brings
the users into the site and keeps them there. A major aspect
of your web site design is the web site navigation. If the
navigation of a web site design is not very good, then the
user will leave the web site quickly, without really looking
at much of anything. If the web site is difficult to read, or
the colors are not appealing to the user then they may also
leave. A good, clean, and simple web site is the best type of
site to create, because it allows the user to navigate easily,
and find the information that they desire.

Some people like to use navigation on the side and some like
to use navigation on the top of the web site. No matter which
you choose you want to be consistent, so that the user always
knows where to go to move to another page. Personally I like
to use the main navigation across the top of the page, with
the secondary navigation down the left side. The main
navigation will have the main points of the site, and the
secondary navigation will allow the user to delve deeper
into any one of the main navigation topics. I prefer to use
navigation this way, because it allows the user to navigate
to almost anywhere within the web site with only two clicks.
One of the clicks will get them into the main topic, and then
they can get into more detailed information relating to the
main topic using the secondary navigation.

Recently I have looked at a few web site design companies in
the UK. These design companies have very nice classic styles
that are very easy to read, and they relay the information to
the user in a very nice way. UK web site design seems to use
fewer Flash elements, and more CSS and JavaScript techniques
to entice the user. I also prefer CSS and JavaScript
techniques, because they do not require Flash Player to be
able to see the effects. Also these techniques are much more
subtle than Flash elements. CSS and JavaScript are just text
markups, so the text can still be read by the search engines
' spiders, which usually translates into a higher search
engine ranking.

Article written by Gabriel Adams.