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Design considerations are important because they influence whether or not a visitor stays at your site, as well as the impression the visitor gets of your comapny. We can probably all think of sites we've seen that we liked or don't like because of the use of color, confusing navigation or distracting layout.

Color affects not only mood, but also how easy it is to read the text on the screen. Font choice can be used artistically, and also to ensure readability. While serif fonts (like Times Roman) are easiest to read in print, sans-serif fonts are easier to read on a computer monitor.

Images can be used to add visual appeal and also to provide information words can't adequately convey. Images should be optimized for the web to maximize appearance and minimize load time. They can be used individually, merged into montages, and edited to create various effects.

Layout directs the type of information presented on a page and the arrangement of items within a page. Having a consistent layout throughout a site makes visitors more comfortable because they can anticipate where they'll find various pieces of information.

Navigation refers to how people "navigate" your site. "Navigation bars" often appear along the edges of a screen (top, bottom, left side, right side), and sometimes a site has more than one. The goal is for visitors to reach their destination with the fewest number of clicks. Multi-level menus facilitate this by allowing visitors to see two or more levels of navigation before they select the page to go to. Sometimes you'll want to provide multiple navigation schemes (e.g., allowing visitors to look for flowers based on the occasion or the amount of money they want to spend). Navigation should be consistent throughout a site... you don't want a visitor thinking, "I could have sworn I saw a link to advertising, but I can't find it anywhere now." Another way of preventing visitors from getting lost is by providing navigational cues such as page titles and highlighted navigation buttons or links.

Good content organization ensures that the information is presented in a logical and meaningful way. It is important to know who your customers are and what information they need.

Through the use of color, layout, font, and images these sites each portray a very different image. Let a web professional help you create the image you want for your business.