Sticking With The Conventional

Do you really want to do the conventional thing? Do you really want to be like everyone else, look like everyone else? Wouldn't you rather set your self apart, do things differently, shake things up? When it comes to website design, doing things differently and being original can be great. However, there are times when sticking with the conventional is not just the best idea, but essential to your website's success as well.

Being original, new, innovative certainly has its place on the Internet. If you're a company who's on the cutting edge of design or specializing in new technologies, you may have more room to get creative. When marketing plastic surgeons, however, you don't need to highlight new technologies. Instead, you need to accommodate your visitors and ensure that they can easily navigate your site and quickly find the information they're looking for. This is when the conventional can come in handy.

Since the onset of the Web, we Internet users have come to expect certain things. We expect websites to look a certain way, function a certain way. When websites deviate from our expectations, we can become confused, lost, and we don't know what to do. Because confusing your visitors is a surefire way to send them away, it's important that you give them what they expect and adhere to the following conventions:

• Practice Logo. Internet users have come to expect a site's logo to be located on either the top of the page or the top left corner. Further, they expect it to link back to the homepage.
• Ads. Anything that is placed above the top logo or is flashing is often recognized as an advertisement. This is also often true for items placed on the right side of the page adjacent to text.
• Navigation Bar. The most recognized locations for the navigation bar include the left-hand side of a page or the top of the page just under the logo. You should choose one of these locations for your navigation and have it in the same place for every page of your site.
• Links. Internet users expect links to be blue in color and underlined. They also expect them to turn purple once they've visited those links. It's often tempting to change the appearance of your links, but don't do it.
• ‘About Us'. Internet users now know that the ‘About Us' page provides information about the company or organization behind the website. Make sure that you include an ‘About Us' page that has important information about your and your practice.