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Posted: 29 Aug 2009 08:48 AM PDT

This article is guest posted by Mathew Carpenter.

The rules of web design have been written and rewritten 100 times over. With technology constantly changing the nature of web design, trends come and go, and what were once fundamentals of design are now remnants of the old ‘net. These ten tips will help bring Australian web designers into 2009, and out of the 20th century mindset that all too many are operating in.

1. It’s not 1996: Tables are long gone.

There was a time when tables were a major part of any successful website. Back before ideas like cleanliness and usability, tables were a great way to sort information on a website. The problem is, what worked back then now looks a little boxy and utilitarian. New web designers and developers should focus on clean design rather than a design sorted by tables.

2. Lose the marquee text.

You know what marquee text does? It captures the eye. It also blinds any potential customers from your real content, and keeps them wondering where they should be focusing. There’s a place for marquee text — in video content. Make sure it stays off your website.

3. Fix your dead links.

This one’s a simple tip that gets passed over time and time again. Not only do dead links confuse and annoy your website viewers; they project an unprofessional and rough image. If you’re linking to other websites from your own, spend a little time each month checking over your links to make sure that they actually take you somewhere.

4. Templates are for MySpacers.

Are you making a social media profile? No — then don’t use a template. While you can customise your Myspace page with templates, you shouldn’t ever do so for your professional page. Not only do templates leave your website looking amateur and poorly designed, they often fail to truly provide the best design for your website’s content and structure.

5. Burn the ‘blink’ tag.

Blinking text is the plague of web design. In 1996, it was impressive, though only for about 30 seconds. Lou Montulli, the creator of the blink tag, is quoted as saying that it’s “the worst thing I’ve ever done for the Internet”. Take his word for it, and make sure that you don’t use it on your website.

6. Validate your xHTML and CSS.

Come one, this should be a no-brainer. It’s amazing how many professional websites there are out there with broken code. Running your pages through a validator takes no time at all, and the benefits of making sure that your code is correct are definitely worth the small time expense.

7. Pick a sensible colour scheme.

Think that pink text on a lime green background will make readers flock to your website? Think again. When you’re designing a business website, you should value customer experience first and foremost. That’s the philosophy that built Google, and it’s the philosophy that you should be applying to your website colour. Don’t blind your users into hitting the back button; keep them reading with something easy on the eyes.

8. Save PDFs for presentations and contracts.

Say you’ve got a customer on your website ready to place an order. They click on your button, ready to hand over their credit card details, and they’re immediately thrown off your website and into a PDF file. PDFs are distracting, annoying, and utterly inflexible for your average internet user. Whenever you get the chance, write your information on a simple page and leave visitors with the option of downloading a PDF file.

9. Stick in one window.

Opening windows is annoying. No internet user wants to end up with 5 windows open, unsure of what’s going on in each one. Make sure that any links on your website lead to the same window, and preferably the same tab. If you’re adding outbound links, make sure they open a separate browser tab, and not a new window.

10. Spelling matters!

Your website isn’t just another addition to your marketing and contact plan — it’s a very visible tool for your business. As such, treat it with the respect that it deserves. Spelling mistakes may not seem major, but they betray the trust and professional image that your website should project. Spell check, proof-read and edit your website content to make sure that it’s free of errors, easy to read, and suits your purpose.

This article is guest posted by Mathew Carpenter.