UX design isn't just about how good your site looks. Great UX design also relies on:

• Site architecture, page flow, and navigation
• Streamlined coding for fast load times and ADA-compliance
• Simplified web writing

Web Building Blocks

Web sites don't necessarily go from point A to point B.

Unlike printed materials (books, pamplets, brochures, etc.), which are read from beginning to end, websites are very non-linear — you won't know if your visitors started on your homepage or if they accessed a page "in the middle" of your site via a search engine. Because the web is such a fluid medium, having a good UX designer will ensure that your pages flow smoothly together, no matter where your visitor starts from. Each page needs to share the same look and feel, and your navigational links need to be consistent and easy to find.

Do Not "Save Page As HTML..."

Anyone can make a web page; but that doesn't mean it'll be a GOOD web page.

In this day and age, anyone can make a web page. Most word processor applications have the option to "Save Page As HTML..." that will take your word doc and transform it into a web page. Violá!

Unfortunately, what most people don't realize is that the code being written behind the scenes is full of mistakes, bad syntax, potential errors, and lots and lots of extra code. Even "professional" web design programs can produce extraneous code and errors if the user doesn't understand what's happening behind-the-scenes. So who cares? If it looks right, why should the code matter?

1. Sloppy code may read fine on one brower, but it may not display properly (or perhaps at all) on another. A good web designer/developer will always test your web pages on both a Mac and a PC, and across multiple platforms (desktop, mobile, tablet), and using a variety of web browsers to ensure no matter who your audience is, they'll be able to see your content the way it was intended. The user experience should be seamless, no matter how your user is accessing the site.
2. The more code you have in your document, the longer it's going to take the page to load. The longer it takes a page to load, the more likely your visitor will get frustrated and leave. And even though most people are using faster DSL and cable modems, their attention span and patience has gotten shorter. If a page doesn't load immediately, they'll leave. A good web designer and coder can reduce the amount of code in your page to the bare minimum — up to 75% less code than a program that writes the code for you.

Get to the Point

Writing for the Web

Most visitors to your website will only spend a few seconds on each page scanning for information, rather than reading word-for-word. They'll skip around, and if they don't find what they're looking for quickly, they'll leave.

In other words, your site needs get to the point — text needs to be concise and pages need to be easy to navigate so visitors can find the information they're looking for immediately.

"Economy of words"

It's a lot easier to write 5,000 words on a subject than it is to write 500. That's the challenge good web writers face: how to get as much information into as few words as possible, to increase the chance that someone will actually read it.

The use of headlines, subheadlines, short paragraphs, and bullet points that are easy for the eye to scan will increase the chances that your content will reach its intended audience.

Web vs. Print

They're NOT the same

One of the biggest mistakes a company can make is to attempt to duplicate their printed marketing materials onto a web page. They may think they're saving time and money, but the two are very different marketing mediums, and need to be treated as such.

Copy writing for the web is very different than writing for print. Reading on a screen is more difficult than reading off a piece of paper. Website visitors don't necessarily read top to bottom; they're more apt to scan around the page looking for what interests them, and may only stay on the page a few seconds before clicking to another page, or leave your site altogether. "Fluffy" marketing copy might work nice to lure a reader in on a brochure with pretty pictures, but web copy should be concise, factual, and be broken down into easy-to-scan sections.

Print layouts also generally don't work well in a web world. What may look good in terms of text and graphics on a brochure will not work well as a web page. Generally, with printed materials, you only have so much space (ie: a piece of paper) to work with. The web is more flexible in terms of space and can allow for more detailed information to be available. A website should be the one-stop shop for all information pertaining to your company.

Remember, if a client sees a brochure or other printed piece and wants more information, they'll look for a web address. The website should be treated as a companion piece to the printed material; not an electronic copy.