There are two important reasons to build your website from the top left hand corner down.
The first one is that this is the way people (at least in the western world) read pages. They tend to begin at the top and read towards the bottom. And they tend to look at the left column before they look at the right. This is why your web pages should contain the most important headlines and descriptive information near the top.
Some designers fall into the habit of creating a standard "image oriented" header to appear on all the pages within a site, in order to give it a consistent look.
The problem with this is that it wastes the most important web page real estate on non-specific material.
You really want each page to have its own focus, and the best way to do this is to create distinctive information at the top of each page. If you must use a standard header you may consider using a graphic with some technique for customizing the text for each unique page -- for instance by leaving a spot for a unique headline.
The second reason is equally important. The Search Engines read your pages from the top left down -- since this is the way the code usually appears in your html documents. The Search Engines look for h1 tags near the top in order to determine what the page is about. Then they look for keywords -- especially in the top portion of the page in order to reinforce their conclusions about the subject matter of the specific page.
In other words, you should use the top portion of each page to focus on those things that tell the Search Engines what each page is about. The most important components are:
- the "title" tag (the page title that shows up in the title bar of the browser)
- the major headlines h1 and h2
- the first few paragraphs of text
- the names of graphics and the "alt" tags of graphics near the top of the page
- outbound link text
For more web design and traffic generating tips, see the linknet web marketing resource library
Rick Hendershot is a marketing consultant, writer, and internet publisher who lives in Conestogo, Ontario, Canada. He publishes several websites and blogs, including linknet web marketing resource library.
limousine Ackley .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareI've seen articles (and websites) that suggest you can buy... Read More
FACT: 30 to 60% of visitors tend to drop off... Read More
Website design firms come in all shapes and sizes.When choosing... Read More
Many people hire professional web site designers for as much... Read More
1. Who needs an artists website?Not everyone! If you are... Read More
Easy navigation and usability are one of the most important... Read More
Chris, a new consulting client, asked me to help him... Read More
Conventional Wisdom states you should use Sub-Directories to organize your... Read More
If you have a web site to which people pay... Read More
Copyright 2005 Robert EvansSetting yourself up to earn a steady... Read More
You just created a new web site but want to... Read More
There is no doubt that reprint articles can serve lots... Read More
Are you going to design or redesign new website or... Read More
In my last article entitled, Maximizing The True Value Of... Read More
The Internet is a relatively new medium. What works for... Read More
For many webmasters the title of my article may seem... Read More
The time it takes to load your site can make... Read More
Effective navigation stands out. It's clear, obvious, and highly visible.You'll... Read More
Designing your website can be a difficult task especially if... Read More
The question that I most frequently hear from people is... Read More
I ask myself that question about once a month.My website... Read More
The importance of choosing your website keywords carefully is very... Read More
If your Web site doesn't project a professional and polished... Read More
Sin #5Poor Spelling And GrammarWe all make mistakes when we... Read More
Out there in the WWW there are thousands sites using... Read More
shuttle from O'Hare Alexander ..Since I made the switch 6 months ago to a... Read More
If you are trying to sell a product or service... Read More
In my web surfing adventures, I've found a few site... Read More
Design sells. It's something that all of us know, but... Read More
1. Web site File Structure / File NamingMost search engines... Read More
Whether you're giving a critical sales presentation to a client,... Read More
Content is undoubtedly the most important element of a website.... Read More
This is a very perfunctory look at the website code... Read More
A website should firstly be searched out by visitors before... Read More
For most people graphic design does not come easy. Unfortunately... Read More
As an online Entrepreneur you require a successful website.One that... Read More
What is the relationship between Marketing and Web designing? How... Read More
Easy That's how you'd like life to be, right? Especially... Read More
I get the occasional web design lead from my website.... Read More
CNN.com's designers have gone out of their way to make... Read More
You've come up with a great product. You've got the... Read More
Argh, where's the contact button?! Believe it or not, some... Read More
There are plenty of Drupal Modules that you can install... Read More
I do site reviews. Needless to say, I see a... Read More
Physical therapists have unique web presence needs. An effective site... Read More
Owning your own website is a must if you are... Read More
The Internet is a relatively new medium. What works for... Read More
Selling on the internet is a challenge. There is no... Read More
This is the second part of a two-part article about... Read More
Many people hire professional web site designers for as much... Read More
Web Design |