websites 101 (basic website fundamentals)

a website should be a constantly evolving communications tool.
The problem is most aren't. Here are some of the elements found on both poorly designed and well designed websites. See if you recognize any of these.

a less than optimal website has:
Inconsistent navigation
Poor load speed
Outdated content
Graphics that are not optimized for the web
Too many moving/spinning things
Unreadable and poorly formatted text
Links that are broken (or worse, when clicked send you off the site with no way of getting back)
Typographical and/or grammatical errors
Hit counters and/or "Under Construction" signs
Some of these features are so awful that they alone will make the site ineffective.

a well developed website is made up of these few simple elements.
It's the sum of good visual design, fresh, engaging content and consistent, logical navigation.

visual design
Visitors eyes should immediately go to the most important content on the page.
All graphics used should enhance the look of the page.
Graphics should be optimized for the web.
Unified font - multiple font faces and styles should be used with great care (the average web visitor doesn't like blinking text, too muc italic and/or bold text, text that's too large or small, all-caps text, text with mixed case, and mixed fonts on a page).

content
In preparing your site content, you need to determine: your site's purpose, its target audience and how to keep visitors interested.
Content should be fresh (and dating content should be avoided unless it resides in an "archive").
Avoid using terminology that "insider's" might know but visitors to the site may not understand (this is a very common mistake that even some of the best websites make).
Site content should be proofed so that its free from typos or grammatical errors.
Text should, of course, be readable and nicely formatted.

navigation
Site navigation should be consistent, logical, accurate.
A good navigational system has to answer 4 questions: Where am I? Where have I been? Where can I go next? How do I get back to the Home Page?
(this "golden rule" is courtesy of Vincent Flanders in his book Son of Web Pages That Suck)
Navigation buttons should be easy to locate, understand and use.

the home page
The Home Page sets the tone for the entire site. It is often the first and most visited page on the site. "You only get one chance to make a first impression", make it engaging and make it load quickly.