Website Design Checklist
Here are a few bullet points on what you should do before you start building a website. Before I start building I like to draw the entire design on a piece of paper and build it from there. That way you can you can save time instead of editing in the computer. Here is a simple checklist I follow when building a website.
Layout
-Consistent navigation bar and main logo.
-Page footer that includes copyright information and a contact email address.
-Remember that most people use an 800 x 600 resolution so you should design your pages to be no less than 750 pixels wide.
-Make sure the text on the page is easy to read. If you use a black background it is best to use white text so that people can read it.
-Grab attention with the homepage. Put as much relevant information on the main page as you can
-Check Browser Compatibility
Navigation
-If you are using buttons as your text, add links to the bottom of your page. Some people use text browsers and search bots only look at text not pictures.
-Make sure the homepage is under 50 kb for fast loading
-Navigation should be big and simple and easy to find
-Check Links to ensure they are not broken
Search Engine Optimization
-Make sure your meta tags are defined (title, keywords, description)
-Make sure all your alt tags are filled in
-Make sure there are plenty of links and they are not broken
-Preview you pages in a text browsers