Consistency is at the heart of good web site design and this applies not just to layout but also to every aspect of a site. If there are major shifts in the appearance or color of any part of a site it will be assumed by the user to have a meaning. This is fine if you are using it to highlight information or to indicate that the user is in a different part of the site; it can be very confusing otherwise.
Besides consistency in color, positional consistency is important. Navigation bars, navigation text, location indicators, logos, footer information and so on should be in the same place on each page. The width of margins, the positioning of images, the amount of space around text and images, the positioning and style of captions for images and so on should also be consistent. All pages should be well connected and navigation should be quick and simple.
The best websites today use a single template for all the pages of a section on the website or for the entire website, if the number of pages is few. The use of ‘Frames’, however, is pass?. Using a template offers the consistency to your site and helps to build a brand image of your site. The template includes the graphic design and header of your page including the main menu bars. Content is thus positioned separately from the template. Besides, it will make your work much easier if you plan on having a separate page for each Ezine. Ideally, if you promote different products through different ezines, you could have a page for each product along with information about the relevant ezine at the bottom of the page.
Use of a cascading style-sheet for displaying the content is another useful mechanism to ensure consistency on all pages. The style-sheet stipulates the content layout, use of font and spaces, presentation of paragraph titles, margins on the page and other parameters.
Increase Response Rates
In the majority of cases your visitors want information and they want it now. How beautiful your site is will not be as relevant to them as long as it loads fast, has consistent layout and makes it easy to the user to evaluate its usefulness to them. Besides, the site should contain relevant information and a clear and well defined action plan. For instance, instructions on how to sign up for newsletters should be clearly mentioned on each page. This will improve response rates. Moreover, the page should have a strong call to action theme that induces more people to sign up for your newsletters.
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