Building a Web Site For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

The Big Rules for Planning Your Site

Here are some short lines to condense the information in this chapter down to a few rules that I think are pretty good guidelines, going by my own experience as both designer and visitor. Make these rules a part of your very being. Do them in calligraphy and hang them on your wall. Use a wood-burning kit to engrave them on your desk. Tattoo them backward on your forehead so that you see them in the mirror every morning.

✓	Rule #1: The Web is for reaching out to people.
✓	Rule #2: Keep your Web pages lean and clean.
✓	Rule #3: Know who your visitors are and what they want. Remember that design and content are more a matter of art than science, which means that your own gut feelings count more than anything else. If someone tells you that your design decisions are wrong, and that person is someone whose input you respect, you certainly want to give that opinion some consideration. But if you’re firmly convinced that you’re right, never let anyone else’s concepts override your own. This brings me to The Big Rule:
✓	Rule #4: It’s your Web site. It’s your vision. Do it your way.