Question: 
What are the factors that make users like a web-site ?  Make them stay
with it and come back to it.  In addition to the content (very
obvious) there must be several factors, both technical and
psychological.

Examples:  
Choice of colours (text/background), size and type of fonts,
long/short headings, ways of clicking/moving from one page to another,
ways of guiding users, number of clicks accepted to reach an answer
before user gives up, reactions to links, search systems ....
I look for advise, e.g. as lists with do's and don'ts ?

Background:
I plan to set up a web-site. Probably as a question and answer service
for users in developing countries.  Users of the web-site will be
invited to navigate and look for information before they raise a
question.

Hello! 

Thanks for your question.  If you choose to rate this answer, please
ask for any clarification you may require prior to doing so.  Thank
you for your understanding.

Having some background in design and evaluation, I can tell you from
experience, the number one reason people will like or dislike a site
comes down to one word: Effort.

If it takes time for the reader to access, read, or navigate, you've
lost their attention, and lost their desire to be at the site.

The same is true for other media.  One can learn a great deal from the
way people scan for stations on the radio or TV.  If the song on the
radio or the show on TV doesn't grab and hold the attention of a
person literally within seconds, the person is on to the next channel
or station.

The comment by probonopublico-ga is a perfect case in point. In
essence, those things which require effort to get past, things that
act as obstacles, things that impede his ability to get to where he
wants to go, are things to avoid.

In general, the best way to assure that a site will adequately grab
and hold the attention of an individual is by employing the "less is
more" philosophy of design.  Clutter is one of the number one enemies
to effective design.  Too many items to choose from translates into
frustration, which translates into delays, which translates into more
effort for the user to get to where he wants to go.
Good design is one that leaves no doubt in the user's mind as to wear
he needs to go.  He doesn't need to figure out the best direction to
take when navigating.  He is led to where he needs to be.  The eye
must be told what to look at.

Elegant designs:

Apple
http://www.apple.com

BSFLLIP
http://www.bsfllp.com/htm/flash.htm

Google
://www.google.com


The same concept can be applied to things like the use of color. Use
it as an accenting tool, and use less of it.  Don't be afraid to use
black white.  Same concept with fonts:  pick two or three that work
together.

An understated design is a more effective design.  The easier it is so
use, the less effort required to navigate around it, the more people
will like it.

Here are some good sites on the topic:

Design: Not So Basics 
http://www.dreamink.com/design1.shtml

Do's and Don'ts of Web Design
http://www.spiderpro.com/pr/prstgm001.html

Page Cafe - Build Confidence with a Professional Web Look
http://www.pagecafe.com/solutions/professional-look.htm

Do's and Don'ts of Web design (more technical)
http://www.katspace.net/computers/web_des.php


Many more sites on the topic here:

Web design do's and don'ts
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=do%27s+don%27ts+web+design&btnG=Google+Search

Here are some critiques I've done:

eMachineShop
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=148119

Sievert 
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=236846

Google Guide
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=276652

Search strategy;
 do's don'ts web desig

---

Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 10 Mar 2004 11:07 PST

Paragraph corrections:

The same concept can be applied to things like the use of color. Use
it as an accenting tool, and use less of it.  Don't be afraid to use
black AND white.  Same concept with fonts:  pick two or three that work
together.

An understated design is a more effective design.  The easier it is TO
use, the less effort required to navigate around it, the more people
will like it.

---

Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 10 Mar 2004 11:34 PST

Another good site:

What Makes a Great Web Site?
http://webreference.com/greatsite.html

---

Clarification of Answer by jbf777-ga on 10 Mar 2004 14:44 PST

In addition to what I've already said, I would like to address some of
your specific examples:

Choice of colours (text/background)
-----------------------------------
Depending upon the flavor and style of your site, the colors you
choose should be representative of your overall image.  There should
be a consistency not only from page to page, but from within each page
as well.  You will want to use colors that are easy on the eyes,
especially if you anticipate people to be using your site for long
periods of time.  Don't be afraid to use color as an accenting tool.


Size and type of fonts
----------------------
Compatibility is of primary concern when choosing fonts for your site.
 So it's best to stick with fonts that can be seen by many platforms. 
You can, however, use Flash to embed fonts, so that users aren't
required to have the font residing on their machines.  There may be a
trade off here, since I believe embeded text isn't "cut and
paste"-able.  If you choose this route, be sure your non-Flash users
are presented with a font that's consistent with your site's image. 
Headlines are great to add some space and breathing room.  Don't be
afraid to use headlines that are significantly larger than your body
text.  All fonts should be very clearly readable.


Long/short headings
-------------------
This largely depends upon the page in question.  You'll want to strike
a good balance between long headlines with short body texts, and short
headlines with long body texts.


Ways of clicking/moving from one page to another
------------------------------------------------
Again, as easy as can be made.  Avoid confusion by not having multiple
links point to the same destination on a page.  Don't have too many
clickable options on a page.  Make sure the items that are clickable
are clearly clickable in appearance.


Ways of guiding users
-----------------------
Help sections should be available by a "help" icon at all times.  A
phone number should be clearly visible if help is available by phone.


Number of clicks accepted to reach an answer before user gives up
------------------------------------------------------------------
Avoid nested clicks.  I.e., data that's buried under links upon links.
 Things should be extremely logical and apparent to the user as to
where to find the data they're looking for.


Reactions to links, search systems 
-----------------------------------
A search box should be clearly available at all times in some corner
of the page.  It's kind of like being able to press "0" at any time
when on the phone with a company.  Very important -- if the user can't
find exactly what he/she is looking for with minimal effort -- to give
them a very quick "bypass" method of getting from point A to point B.

I tell you what I HATE:

Sites that have a black background; hard to read; slow to load; packed
with amazing graphics effects; require 'Flash'; awash with popups and
other ads; difficult to navigate; those 'under construction' ....

Thanks for the valuable answer with bits and pieces which we will take
into account.

The best piece of the answer came indirectly at the end with three
examples of web-site critics/comments.  Namely, the obvious idea that
we should ourselves send our (draft) web-site to Answers.google for
last-minute comments/critics from a researcher just before "going
live"

A supplementary question: I have not looked into the detailed comments
given by three researchers at the end of your long answer. Assume I
like one of the three researchers way of making comments to web-site
design much better than the others. Does Answers.google then allow for
a direct contact to that researcher the day we need comments to our
web-site ?

alsinger -

Glad you liked the answer.  I'm actually the one who did the critique
of those three web sites.  But there are other researchers that do
critiquing as well.   To request a specific researcher to answer your
question (for evaluating a web site or for any other kind of
question), simply insert "for: name_of_researcher" in the subject line
of your question.

Thanks,

jbf777

Thanks for the tip!