Remember the days when every PC was beige, every website had a little
Netscape icon on the homepage, Geocities and Tripod hosted just about every
single personal homepage, and “Google” was just a funny-sounding word?

The mid-late 1990s were the playful childhood of the worldwide web, a time of
great expectations for the future and pretty low standards for the
present. Those were the days when doing a web search meant poring through
several pages of listings rather than glancing at the first three results–but
at least relatively few of those websites were unabashedly profit-driven.

Hallmarks of 1990s Web Design

Of course, when someone says that a website looks like it came from 1996,
it’s no compliment. You start to imagine loud background images, and
little “email me” mailboxes with letters going in and out in an endless
loop. Amateurish, silly, unprofessional, conceited, and unusable are all
adjectives that pretty well describe how most websites were made just ten years
ago.

Why were websites so bad back then?

• Knowledge. Few people knew how to build a good

  website back then, before authorities like Jakob Nielsen starting evangelizing

  their studies of web user behavior.

• Difficulty. In those days, there weren’t

  abundant software and templates that could produce a visually pleasing,

  easy-to-use website in 10 minutes. Instead, you either hand-coded your

  site in Notepad or used FrontPage.

• Giddiness. When a new toy came out, whether

  it was JavaScript, Java, Frames, animated Gifs, or Flash, it was simply

  crammed into an already overstuffed toy box of a website, regardless of

  whether it served any purpose.

Browsing through the Internet Archive’s WayBack Machine, it’s hard not to
feel a twinge of nostalgia for a simpler time when we were all beginners at
this. Still, one of the best reasons for looking at 90s website design is
to avoid repeating history’s web design mistakes. This would be a useful
exercise for the tragic number of today’s personal homepages and even small
business websites that are accidentally retro.

Splash Pages

Sometime around 1998, websites all over the internet discovered Flash, the
software that allowed for easy animation of images on a website. Suddenly
you could no longer visit half the pages on the web without sitting through at
least thirty seconds of a logo revolving, glinting, sliding, or bouncing across
the screen.

Flash “splash pages,” as these opening animations were called, became the
internet’s version of vacation pictures. Everyone loved to display Flash on
their site, and everyone hated to have to sit through someone else’s Flash
presentation.

Of all the thousands of splash pages made in the 1990s and the few still made
today, hardly any ever communicated any useful information or provided any
entertainment. They were monuments to the egos of the websites’
owners. Still, today, when so many business website owners are
working so hard to wring every last bit of effectiveness out of their sites,
it’s almost charming to think of a business owner actually putting ego well
ahead of the profit to have been derived from all the visitors who hit the
“back” button rather than sit through an animated logo.

Text Troubles

• “Welcome

  to” Every single website homepage in 1996 had to have the word

  “welcome” somewhere, often in the largest headline. After all, isn’t

  saying “welcome” more vital than saying what the web page is all about in the

  first place?

• Background images. Remember all those people who had their kids’

  pictures tiled in the background of every page? Remember how much fun it

  was trying to guess what the words were in the sections where the font color

  and the color of the image were the same?

• Dark background, light text. My favorite was orange font on purple

  background, though the ubiquitous yellow white text on blue, green or red was

  nice, too. Of course, anyone who will make their text harder to read

  with a silly gimmick is just paying you the courtesy of letting you know they

  couldn’t possibly have written anything worth reading.

• Entire paragraphs of text centered. After all, haven’t millennia of

  flush-left margins just made our eyes lazy?

• “This Site Is Best Viewed in Netscape 4.666, 1,000×3300 resolution.”

  It was always so cute when site owners actually imagined anyone but their

  mothers would care enough to change their browser set up to look at some

  random person’s website.

• All-image no-text publishing. Some of the worst websites would

  actually do the world the service of putting all their text in image format so

  that no search engine would ever find them. What sacrifice!

Hyperactive Pages
TV-envy was a common psychological malady in 1990s web design. Since
streaming video and even Flash were still in their infancy, web designers
settled for simply making the elements on their pages move like Mexican jumping
beans.

Animated Gifs
In 1996, just before the dawn of Flash, animated gifs were in full swing,
dancing, sliding, and scrolling their way across the retinas of web surfers
trying to read the text on the page.

Scrolling Text
Just in case you were having a too easy time tuning out all the dancing
graphics on the page, an ambitious mid-1990s web designer had a simple but
powerful trick for giving you a headache: scrolling text. Through the
magic of JavaScript, website owners could achieve the perfect combination of too
fast to read comfortably and too slow to read quickly.

For a while, a business owner could even separate the serious from the
wannabe prospects based just on how (un)professional their business websites
looked. Sadly, the development of template-based website authoring
software means that even someone with no taste or sense whatsoever can make
websites that look as good as the most biggest-budget design of five years
ago.

Of course, there are still some websites whose owners seem to be trying to
spark a resurgence in animated gifs, background images, and ugly text.
‘ll just have to trust that everyone is laughing with them, not at them.

About the author: If you want to avoid these mistakes in
your website Joel Walsh recommends you check out this website
authoring software : http://www.ezgenerator.com/documents/167.html

On the Internet today, there are many people who call themselves web designers and web design companies. Some people do it for fun, as a hobby or part-time. Web designers that design full-time are the way to go.. Someone who does web design in their part-time tends not to take it as seriously as someone who does it for a living. There are also people who do web design, who have no formal training. Make sure your web designer has some formal training from a recognized school. People who are self taught, although I applaud them for doing it, have relied on the Internet for all their information, and as you know information on the Internet can be inaccurate.

Relevant Experience

The web design company you choose for your project should have relevant experience. If you would like them to design a e-commerce website, it is best to choose a web designer who has e-commerce websites in their portfolio. Your web design company should be ready to submit a proposal for your website project along with a contract. Beware of companies who don’t give you a formal contract. The contract should outline exactly what the web designer will do and how long it will take, the price, and what you have agreed to supply. A formal contract is the best way to avoid disagreements between the web designer and you. Make sure your contract outlines every possible problem that can happen.

Different types of websites

There are different types of websites such as: static HTML (brochure type), e-commerce (with a shopping cart), database, Flash and a website with your own content management system. All of these must come into perspective when you are looking for a web design company. For example if you are looking for a fully interactive Flash website you better make sure that the web design company you choose has done many Flash websites. There is a difference between companies who can do Flash headers for a standard HTML site and web designers who can create a full flash website. Your best bet when choosing a web design company is to have a face to face meeting when discussing what it is you would like to have your website look like , also some sketches and some addresses of websites that you like. This gives the web design company the chance to fully understand what you are looking for and a better chance to give you an accurate proposal.

Things to take into consideration

Does the web design company have an update package? You must know that after your website has been created, from time to time you will require updates. Maybe they will be small maybe not. If the web design company you are choosing does not have an update package, you should inquire about the price of updates after the initial design. You should take the price of updates into consideration before you begin the design process. Make sure the web design company or web designer you choose sets realistic goals for the timeline. Usually if it sounds too good to be true then it is.

Many web designers have their own personal style. For example my personal style is clean and bright colors. Some web design companies love Flash and always build Flash websites. This would not be ideal if you are looking for an extremely search engine friendly website.

You would also have to consider guarantees. Does your potential web design company offer a guarantee? Most web design companies do not. So when you find one who does, you can know that they feel very confident in their capabilities. Another thing to consider is: Does the web design company display a phone number that they can be contacted at. Sometimes as a client you would like to speak with someone, not just get a reply to an e-mail the next day.

How to a find a web design company

There are a few ways to find web design companies in your area. One way is to search the web for: “Vancouver web design” or “Sarasota Web design”, obviously depending on the city closest to you. You could also search the Yellow pages for web design companies. Most web design companies who can afford to advertise there have already built a pretty go reputation and have been in business for a while.
Another option is search the web and when you see a website you really like, check for a link on the bottom of the page or on a contact page.

Alicia Harper is a vancouver web designer and she owns a Vancouver Web Design Company that specializes in web design and search engine optimization. Feel free to e-mail her with any questions about this article.

Remember the famous line from the movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come”? In the world of Internet marketing, you not only want them to come, you want them to stay.

The Internet is fast-paced. Your visitors decide very quickly whether or not you have what they want. There are five strategies that will help you engage your visitors and encourage them to explore what you have to offer.

Make Your Site About Your Visitors Not You

In order to do this, you must clearly know your target audiences and what you anticipate they will be looking for when they visit your site.

For example, your target audiences could include the client groups you serve, potential donors, policymakers, members of the general public and the media. In order to get and keep their attention, you must quickly let them know that you understand their needs and have a service or product that meets them.

Remember, your visitors want to know what’s in it for them.

Make Your Site Easy to Navigate

Limit the navigation choices your visitors can make. One recent study found that many sites offer an average of 25 options from the home page. That’s too many. In addition, make sure the wording of your navigation bars gives your visitors a clear idea of what they’ll find. You want to make it easy for visitors to get the information they want.

Visitors who get confused or frustrated leave.

Make Your Web Site A Funnel

You want visitors to decide that they want to get to know you. Give them easy ways to learn that you can meet their needs.

Let me give you an example. If you provide health-related services, guide them to content that gives them health tips they can use. Then let them know that they can receive this kind of information regularly through your monthly e-newsletter. Give them an opportunity to subscribe. Then lead them to content that talks more directly about your programs, services or products and the benefits of what you offer.

Draw your visitors into the work of your organization.

Use Testimonials

Word of mouth is one of the best ways for people to learn about you.

You can get the same result with testimonials.

Ask your clients what benefits they got from participating in your services or activities. Ask board members to tell you why they chose to become involved with your organization. Ask your volunteers what benefits they get from working with you. Then ask their permission to use what they said as a testimonial and put those testimonials on your site.

Testimonials help visitors feel more comfortable with you.

Make Your Site Interactive

Use short assessments and other feedback mechanisms to engage your visitors. Offer opportunities to attend events or to volunteer. Make sure that visitors can easily contact you – both online and offline.

Interaction starts building a relationship.

Take a fresh look at your web site. Look at your site’s organization and content in terms of these strategies. What action can you take right now to encourage your web site visitors to stay?

Judith Rothbaum’s passion is helping nonprofit organizations thrive. She gives seminars, workshops, presentations and coaching programs nationwide with one key message – think boldly about who you are and the impact you have in your community. Visit http://www.datafordecisionmaking.com to learn more.