For us web designers, it is so easy to overlook the viewpoint of web design users in our frantic effort to deliver the latest technology using the best coding and cool designs. Although lots of websites actually deliver very complex online solutions, I am not suggesting that all web design solutions are simple. However, no matter how intricate the web design solution, the interface with the user must always be simple.

Generally speaking, website users do not spend more than 10 seconds on a site, which is the nature of the online audience. There is so much information out there, so many web sites, so little time. We live in a ‘zapping’ society where patience, endurance, tolerance for the unusual are words that are fast disappearing.

As Internet connections and processing speeds increase almost exponentially, we tend to flick quicker from one site to another in an effort to see more or just out of habit. This is the web designer’s nightmare. How to get the web user to stay longer on a site, spot the calls to action and actually get an action. A good web design solution should address this issue. But what is a good web design solution like?

Obviously, the simpler the web design, the easier the navigation and the more you explain how your web site works, and the greater your chances of attracting attention and generating leads with your web site, which works because users prefer simple and straightforward web design solutions.

So, the next time you are pondering over a web design project, think simplicity. Get every obstacle out of the way of your web user. In a word, simple navigation, familiar icons and buttons, explicit and simple instructions are some of the basic ingredients to capturing the speeding attention of your web user.

However, bear in mind that search engine crawlers do need content to figure out what your web site is about. A good balance would be to keep the top fold of your web design nice and simple with the bare essential whilst including enough text further down your web page.

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