What is the visual presence of a website? Do you get the feeling you are in a discount store or in a stylized, up-scale boutique? Do you see sophistication and elegance? Or, to the contrary, do you see a warehouse sort of look? Simplicity doesnt have to look cheap and low-class. In fact, simplicity can have good figure aesthetically speaking, as long as you have logical intellectual hierarchy and good lines.

Where should the visual emphasis be? I suggest putting the emphasis on whatever the purpose of the website is. Ask yourself, who or what is the purpose of the website (or online portfolio)? Who or what are you promoting?

The website itself (the gears that makes it run) should not compete with the persuasive information or content. The website is the folder or briefcase. Its not good idea to have your briefcase receive more adoration than what is in it. Rather, the briefcase is merely holding the ideas. Generally speaking, the website should be precise, browser friendly, and look sophisticated. Websites should handle smoothly and easily too. The less scrolling you have to dothe better. And yes, this is hard to do! It is always a good idea to keep the emphasis on the professionalism of the business more than all the bells and whistles of the website. Consumers want assurance and credibility more than the latest technology.

Websites should be perfectly organized. Some websites hold a remarkable amount of information. Good website designs minimize and simplify information. Consumers want to know what is going on, and they like explanations to products and services. Website owners and designers need to accurately target their audiences. In knowing the audience, visual and written communication can be streamlined to the demographic group intended.

Your visual presence will either glare through or shine through your website. Misspelled words, poor design, and broken links leave bad impressions with our viewers. Its a good idea to read your own website on an ongoing basis as you check links and so forth. Amazingly, style sheets drop off pages and pages become mutated for unknown reasons. External links cannot be trusted over long periods of time. Websites and WebPages come and go, and other website owners are not going to inform us of discontinuing WebPages. I am always finding new problems to fix on my websites that were not there the last time I viewed them. Our websites represent us and are in the public eye. We want our websites to be well-groomed and professional. We need to be mindful of how our websites are coming across to others. With this in mind, take another look at your website and ask yourself, What is the visual presence of my site? (revised 2/15/2006)