Web Page Design is Your Billboard on the Information Superhighway

A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Angela H

So You're Ready to Design a Web Page

A personal web page design is much like a billboard, it's a view at a glance of an idea or product that someone wants the world to take notice of. When the world is driving down the information superhighway, you can get them to stop and take notice simply by having a well designed web page.

As of June 2004, 66.2% of all households in the United States have computers. Of those, 53.7% have Internet access. If you are one of the many people who have integrated the web into your daily life, you may have thought about having a web page of your own. Whether it be for showing off pictures of your family, promoting an idea or interest, or simply for fun, a web page is a way for the world to get to know you better.

Choosing a Web Page Design That Suits You

Once you have decided that you would like to have a web page, the next step is deciding how that web page should look. You want to choose a web page design that reflects your personal tastes, especially if it is simply for your own personal use to share with friends and family. Sit down with a pad of paper and pencil and sketch out an outline. What information do you want to include in your web page? What color scheme would make your web page design stand out among others? Do you want to use graphics or just text?

What is Your Web Page Trying to Say?

A web page that consists mainly of pictures of your family should include things that are meaningful to them. If your children are into sports, you could make the backgrounds on their web pages with pictures of sports equipment. Does your husband collect cars? Why not put a banner at the top with a classic car whizzing from one side to the other? Designing a web page is much like designing your home, when others view it they get to know you better by what they see.

Not Just for Personal Use

Perhaps your are designing your web page to promote your business. Do you have a logo? If you already have one created you can either obtain the graphic file from whoever does the printing of your current materials like business cards or letterhead and use it in your web page design. Or you can choose to just use the fonts and graphics you can find on your computer or on the web to create your own look. Make the design simple, and be sure to include all the specific information that you want your customers to know at a glance.

Mapping out Your Web Page Design

Designing a web page is much like drawing a map. You have to think about where to start (the home page) and how you get back to that home page from each point within the web page that a person might go to when viewing your web page. Once you decide on the initial look and what information you want to include, sketch out the order in which this information will be viewed, much like a flow chart. Make sure you include a way to get back to the home page from each other web page with a link that takes you back to it.

Putting Your Web Page Design All Together

Once you have decided on the look and the content of your web page design, the next step is to put it all together and get it out there for others to see. If you don't have the expertise to create the web page yourself, you can hire someone to do design it for you. Many of the sites that host web pages have their own software that helps beginners design their own web pages. Then you need to decide where you want it hosted. Do you want your own domain name? There are a lot of decisions that go into designing a web page, but in the end the effort is worth it if it gets you noticed.