If you’re designing a Web site, you need to understand and adhere to one iron-clad rule: consistency is vital. You may think that consistency equals a boring design or a lack of imagination, but the opposite is true. It’s crucial design attribute and creating a site without it can lose you customers.

We all look for consistency in the world around us. Whenever you open a reference book, you expect the table of contents to be in the front and the index at the back. You have learned from reading books over the years that this is the pattern that books follow.

If you were to open a book and find the table of contents in the middle and the index at the front, you would be confused. You wouldn’t know how to navigate this book because the design breaks the rules that you have learned.

The same process works on the Web. Your visitors have learned certain rules about navigating shopping sites, and while it might be tempting to design a cutting-edge site that breaks all the rules, that kind of design will cost you visitors.

Visitors won't be able to easily find what they want on your site. At best they will become disorientated and confused. Even worse, they may be angry because you’re wasting their time and making them feel foolish.

The multi-lingual Little Zebra site has everything you’d expect to find in a shopping site, just where you would expect it to be. (Click for larger image).

Consistency, like good spelling, just is. It doesn’t wave a flag, and it doesn’t say “look at me” — it just exists in the background making your visitors feel comfortable and at home.

Consistency with Other Sites

It’s best to approach consistent design from a number of directions. First, your Web site should behave pretty much the same way as every other Web site. Start with a navigation system, and put it in the same place on every page. Use underlined text only for links — never for emphasis. If your links aren't underlined, then be sure to format them in a way to make it obvious they’re links.

Make sure that the navigation links clearly describe what visitors will find by clicking on them. For example, keep information about your business in the “About Us” page. In addition to the products for sale, you also need to post details about your privacy policy and information regarding the purchase and return process. Online shoppers expect Web shops to provide all of this information.

Consistency within Your Site

Next, you need to ensure consistency within your site. Every page should be clearly identifiable as part of your site. You can’t build walls around your Web site the way you can with a bricks and mortar store. Instead, you define your site by giving each page the same look and feel so that it’s clear to visitors which pages belong to your site and, conversely, which pages do not.

You create this affect through the use of the same type faces, color, images, backgrounds, positioning of elements, page layout, voice, etc. — on every page of your site. When you do this, the visual consistency you create from one page to the next lets you define graphically where your site begins and ends.

Consistency with Your Physical Business

If your business has a physical presence as well as an online presence you should make your Web site consistent with your physical store, too. Your color schemes, logo and all the things that make up the print materials and signage for your bricks-and-mortar business should be reflected in what people see on your Web site.

While your Web site does not have to look exactly the same as your store, if you were to hold up your print materials in one hand and look at your Web site at the same time, the two should be clearly identifiable as part of the same business.

The layout and style at Vanns Spices at show consistency from one page to the next. (Click for larger image).

Consistent Communication Design

The elements of consistency extend beyond your Web site to other forms of communication such as newsletters, PDFs and e-mail. Brand everything clearly and be sure it’s visually identifiable as belonging to your store.

Applying consistent design across your Web site and other communications simplifies the design process. Once you have specified the colors, fonts and design for your Web site, anyone should be able to immediately create a Web page that’s consistent with all the other pages on your site. This will significantly reduce the time it takes to create Web site content.

Profiling Your Style

Develop a simple Web site profile detailing all elements that you use and how they are to be used. For example, list the font names, sizes, colors and any special attributes. Opposite these you should list how and when to use them — i.e., for headings or for body text.

Specify the position and size of your logo, along with the basic layout of every page. Reducing your site design to a series of statements about the elements in use will help you create content more quickly, and it will result in a better-looking site and a better user experience.

Implementing consistency across your Web site — and throughout all aspects of your business — you will create a more professional looking site that your visitors will feel comfortable using.

Helen Bradley is a respected international journalist writing regularly for small business and computer publications in the USA, Canada, South Africa, UK and Australia. You can learn more about her at her Web site, HelenBradley.com

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