By Alyssa Udall (@udallyss)
For many people who are just starting an online business, blog, or other type of website, they use Do-It-Yourself web design in order to save money. While this often works for blogs, which often come with free themes, e-commerce sites are far more complex and require an intimate knowledge of computer languages.
However, if you need to be your own web designer, this post is aimed at helping you proofread your website or blog to make it the as easy-to-use and successful as possible.
DIY web design and proofreading is a lot like self-editing your own writing: it’s hard to see the mistakes when you are so invested in the work! Therefore, I suggest that you enlist the help of a friend, coworker, family member, the stranger sitting at the library computer next to you… anyone will do.
1) Do a quick look-around: Ask your help-mate to look around your home page. See if they can easily navigate through your pages, categories, archives, etc. Ask them to find the “Contact Us” page, or to sign up for your email newsletter. This will help you understand if your site layout and navigation is successful!
2) Check the text: Ask your helper to read some of the main text content on your home page: is it easy to read? Are the fonts and colors easy to see? Are there any spelling errors that jump out at you? This will tell you whether or not your content will translate to your visitors or if you should make some changes.
3) What annoys them most? Nobody likes an annoying site design, like pop-up ads, flashing banners, etc. Ask your helper what part of your website they would change if they could. This will help you avoid a high “bounce rate” of visitors leaving your site.
These steps are designed to help you proofread your own web design. Of course, there are thousands upon thousands of companies who provide services like this, but if you use DIY-web design, you will probably use DIY-proofreading as well. Good luck!