A web site is
a direct reflection of you and
the business you are running.
The appearance of your web site
is the most important factor in
determining your site's value
and success. If your site does
not look professional or
eye-catching enough, it will not
succeed online.
Websites vary from the simple to
the complex. The individual
features and characteristics of
your website is what makes it
distinct from the other sites
that are out there. There are a
plethora of website features
available that can make your
site a success; however it all
depends on which features are
most appropriate for your
business and the budget you can
allocate for building your
website.
While a personal consultation
with a web designing firm is the
best way to determine the style
of your web site, the following
is a guide that can help you
pick which features would best
suit your site's needs.
When creating a functional,
dynamic and attractive web site,
the following features should be
kept in mind at all times:
- Your
main page should be
specific. It should let you
customers know exactly what
you are offering. If your
potential customer can not
find your product or service
on your main page, they will
not waste their time looking
for it.
- Make
sure you create a page that
clearly displays your
'Privacy Policy' with
regards to the personal
information you collect from
your visitors. You can also
explain your reasons for
collecting the information
and let them know how and if
the information will be
used. Also display your
copyright information at the
bottom of each page.
- Create
an 'About Us' page about you
and your company and make
sure to include your name,
company name, picture,
biography, address, phone
number and email address.
- Make
sure you include good
navigational links on every
page. Also use tables to
neatly align your links and
maintain a nice organized
and uniform appearance
throughout your website.
- Use
caution when selecting
colors for your background
and text. A busy background
makes it difficult to read
the text and draws attention
away from it. Also remember
to use colors based upon the
effect you are trying to
achieve. Additionally,
always be consistent with
your background theme and
colors on each page of your
site.
- Always
make sure that your site has
no grammar or spelling
errors.
- If you
are using JavaScript or
Flash on your site, make
sure it is used
appropriately, as it can
slow a site down.
- Try
and view your site through
different browsers and
screen resolutions so you
will know how other people
will view your site.
- Lastly
always keep adding new
content to your site. It
gives your clients a reason
to keep coming back.
Mistakes
to avoid:
Though you may have a great site
but it takes some time to load,
its value goes down
considerably. This is because a
slow site puts off prospective
customers. As a rule of thumb,
the main page of your site
should load within 8 seconds or
less. To keep your site from
becoming too heavy:
- Avoid
using slow loading graphics
- Avoid
using too many animated
graphics
- Limit
the number of banners on a
single page
- Use
Java and Flash sparingly
- If you
want to have a flash intro,
provide visitors with an
alternative skip into link.
Another
important consideration is to
design your site to rank high in
search engine results. According
to industry analysts if your
site is not within the top 30
search results, potential
customers will not be able to
find you. To optimize your
search engine results include:
META Tags
META tags enable search engines
to determine what key words are
relevant to a specific site.
IMAGE ALT Tags
An Image Alt tag comes after
your graphic address in your
HTML code.
TITLE Tags
A Title tag is what a users sees
when your site is listed after a
search query.
Text
A very important part of your
search optimization is your
text, which should be easily
readable and contain your site's
keywords.
Some other mistakes
to avoid include:
- Broken
links and graphics
-
Different backgrounds on
each page
- Large
fonts
- Large
scrolling text across a page
- Slow
loading graphics
-
Multiple banners and buttons
- No
contact information
- No
Meta tags
- Over
use of Java
- Poor
browser compatibility
- Poor
content
- Poor
navigation
- Poor
overall appearance
- Poor
use of frames and tables
- Pop up
messages
- Too
many graphics or advertising
- Too
much advertising
It is
important that you take some
time to research, design and
plan your web site. Your success
depends upon how well you use
the various features in your web
site. |
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