The following list of ideas is presented as a simple guide when considering a first draft of all that you would like to include (and exclude) in your site.
Purpose
Before creating your web site it is important to have a clear idea of what you want your site for, your target audience, and what you want to say to them.
Planning
Draft out the main themes of your site. These will become incorporated into the site structure.
Structure
Draft out an outline "tree" structure of your proposed site. Starting from the home page the intention would be to make the entire site as accessible from the initial contact page as possible. The site map on this website is an example of this.
Home Page
The Home page is the first glimpse that people get of your site. Given that the average attention span a casual surfer is willing to spend on a new site is in the region of 20 seconds it is very important to ensure that first impressions count.
Design
If all this seems a bit too much like hard work, don't worry, it's the web designer's job to ensure your site is optimised to it's greatest advantage. The ideas here are put forward simply to help you in the initial planning of your site.
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