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Graphic Design
How to Design Web Pages for the Way a Website is Really Used, Part 2
"Is That a Button?" When you design your site you generally spend many hours trying to get the right look and feel. Often times you get so used to looking at your site that you miss what is perfectly obvious to someone else.
An obvious no-brainer is the way we display buttons. Below you will see four examples of what are actually hyperlinked buttons. It may be obvious to you that these are buttons because theoretically you designed them, and you expect your visitors will click on them. But the honest truth is your visitors may never recognize them as buttons at all.
"Where Does That Button Take Me?" What else is wrong with these buttons? If you said, "What the heck is your idea of Cool Stuff?", you'd be right. What I consider cool and what you consider cool will definitely be different. So most likely your visitors will not click on this graphic image even if they did realize it was a button.
When designing your links, buttons, etc. be aware as to how they appear to someone who has never been to your site. Certainly label your buttons specifically so your visitors do not have to spend one millisecond determining what they are, why they are there, and if they click on them where the link will take them. Your time is precious, and so is the time of your websites' visitors.
The image below is generally recognized as a hyperlinked button and the text on the button is more self-explanatory. Visitors who see this button will immediately know without a doubt that it will lead them to photos of my family. My family photos may be cool stuff to me, but John Smith who lives in Anytown, USA who found my site through a search engine probably won't care about my family photos and would think it is very "uncool" if I wasted his time by having him click on the button to find out where the mystery link will take him.
Respect your visitors' time and always be 100% honest. Never link an image that tricks your visitors into clicking on it. Honesty is the only type of foundation in which you can build a trusting relationship. This is true in your personal life and in your business relationships.
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