1. 80/20 Rule: (Also known as the Pareto principle). This is the important rule in business where 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. For websites, 80% of your sales dollars will come from 20% of your customers. Make sure your website maximizes conversion on your ideal targeted customer.
2. Baby Duck Syndrome: Much the way baby ducks imprint on the first thing they see, website visitors prefer the first website design they became use to. Website visitors become uncomfortable with unusual website designs or different hierarchies. Baby Duck Syndrome is a basic principle in usability where simplicity, clarity and uniformity work better to get conversions. Web visitors like predictability.
3. Inverted Pyramid Writing: This is a writing style where the summary is presented at the beginning of the article. The conclusion is followed by the supporting key points. Inverted Pyramid style gives the reader an instant idea about what they will be reading. In websites. You only have approximately 3 seconds to connect with your visitor.
4. Engage Reader Emotions: “People shop logically but buy emotionally.” In website content you will want to harness the power of emotional selling. Use emotionally charged headlines; focus on solutions to your visitor’s problems that they need. Push their hot buttons and the sale is yours. People will buy when they are emotionally invested.
5. The Web is not on Paper: Design for the web is very different than design for print. Reading is slower, eye movements are different, writing styles must be done with shorter sentences and bulleted formatting. Print designs can be intricate and complex, web designs focus on simplicity. People good at design for paper documents frequently have difficulty designing for the web.
6. Ninety-Ninety Law: On large website projects, the first 90% of the project accounts for 90% of the development time. The remaining 10% accounts for the other 90% of the development time. The Ninety-ninety rule is paradox is a very true statement. Clear and complete development specs help prevent scope creep that is inevitable on projects that are in development over a long period of time.
7. Brooks’s Law: Brooks Law states adding manpower to a late project makes it go even later. It takes time for new people that are added to a project to become productive. Brooks calls this the “ramp up” time. Large website projects are complex and new people must become oriented and educated before they can start contributing.
8. Your Website Will Never be Done: There will be constant changes and adjustments to your website. Unlike a printed catalog or brochure, website results can be easily measured and changes made on a regular basis to improve conversions. You can adapt to market changes quickly and enter new ones with a minimal expense. Web marketing is a continuous process.

Related posts:

1. Portland Web Design
2. Web Design that Converts
3. 2 Rules of Business Web Design
4. Web Design vs SEO
5. Is it Jedi Mind Tricks or Website Design Psychology?