If you have spent much time browsing the web, you know that there is a huge variety of pages out there. Some are pretty and some are ugly. Some are wise and some are foolish. Some are easy to read and some are hard to read. Since the purpose of web pages is to communicate, you should study the way in which web pages do and do not communicate before you design yours.
Designing an effective web page is much harder than it looks. If your
budget can support it, we strongly recommend that you have it done by
professionals, or at least get their advice and guidance. One technique
that works well is to find web pages that you feel to be effective, and
engage the services of the same firm that designed those pages. You can
also engage a firm that is local to your city and show them the web pages
that you like. If your budget does not permit the use of a professional
design firm, then we can offer you some tips for doing it yourself. Be
prepared to spend a great deal of time on it.
As with any form of publication or media preparation, there is no substitute
for experience. There are many web pages and many books that offer instruction
and examples, but there is no substitute for having done it a few times.
If you are going to make your own web pages, please do some reading first,
perhaps starting with our "Design tips"
section.
If you engage the services of a professional design firm, which we recommend,
please ask them to read this section too. While they are certainly experts
at the preparation of web pages, they may never have prepared a diocesan
or parish web page before, in which case they might benefit from reading
our "Diocesan pages" and "Parish
pages" sections.