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Update Your Website : Using Columns To Organize Content

Update Your Website : Using Columns To Organize Content

Update Your Website : Using Columns To Organize Content

Of all the innovations that have come into the web design world in recent years, columnar designs are among the most compelling. This is a great technique to use when you update your website. These designs allow a great deal of information to be placed on a page in a very logical way. If you're not clear on exactly what defines these designs, it's basically dividing the page up vertically so that each of the different vertical sections can hold different information and keep it separate from the other information on the page. It's very similar to how newspapers are laid out.

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Using Columns

The great thing about columns is that they tend to organize themselves in the perception of your visitors. For example, if you have a three-column design, people will tend to naturally gravitate towards the middle column and assume that the most important content must be right there. This gives you a powerful way to place your content so that people notice it right away when you update your website. If something really needs to be seen, put it in the middle. If it's something that is imperative, put it in its own section above the three columns so that people reflexively know that the importance of whatever is located in that area of the screen outweighs that of whatever is in the columns below.

Your web designer can use columns in creative ways to make it easier for people to find their way around your site when you update your website. For example, most people understand that navigation will generally be found on the left side or top of a website. Putting your navigation elements in the left-side column can make it easy for people to understand where they need to go if they want to switch pages.

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In some designs, the right column will be used for less important content or content that is purely functional and not informational. For example, many people choose to put their social networking icons and other search engine optimization content in the right column.  Keep these in mind when you update your website.

If you have a great deal of information that you need to get on your pages, talk to your designer about utilizing columns for that purpose when you update your website. They may have some very good insights into how you can use this layout tool to your advantage and make sure that, when you do use it, you're getting the maximum benefit. There are plenty of different layout options out there but, because they are so well understood, layouts that incorporate multiple columns are very sensible options for many projects.