4. Good Site Design and Site Navigation

Never fall into the trap of "I own web design software therefore I am a web designer" with your html pages. When you're putting together a new site (or redecorating the one you have,) first take a look at what your Competitors are doing (if you're not in the Selling Business on your site, look at sites with a similar theme or niche.)

How does your site stand up to theirs? Does yours look better/have better features than theirs? And most important - how quickly does it load?

Then looking at your site for possible improvements, look at five CRITICAL areas:

Does a visitor quickly understand what your site is about? Are you selling something? Are you presenting a library of information? Do you host a game or a chat? Do they get that "message" within the first milliseconds of your first page loading? If not, they're off to the next site on their list.
Are your pages Readable? Is every word on the page visible (no battles of colored type vs. busy background patterns and pointless animations that would send your viewers away.) No cheating the search engines with "invisible" type. No avalanche of popping, squirting, flashing, eye-scorching animated banners. Do you hold animated page elements to a minimum (the bar with the running dog or the flashing lights WAS cute when we first saw it: in 1994)?
Can they easily navigate to the next page in your site if they have their browser's graphics turned off? (Do you have any means of text-based navigation through your site such as a sitemap and text links on each page?)
How fast do your pages load? Do all the elements pop up immediately on loading, or is the page so graphics-heavy that you time the page load with a calendar (which sends your visitors on their way to a page that loads faster)?
Are you using High Resolution (HUGE file size) pictures on your site rather than images that are small and optimized for screen resolution. If a monitor can only display your website at 72 dots per inch, are you wasting time and bandwidth with 300 dots per inch images?)

Look at a competitor's sites as if you were reading a magazine: is everything readable? Do your eyes follow the page in the right sequence: first the offer and then on to the action? Do you have to squint, turn off the overhead lights, or stand on your head to make the page more readable?

Also, when setting up your pages and adding in space for affiliate/sponsor advertising, have you left a space in a standard ad banner size on your page to put the sponsor's ads so they won't hang on the page like a loose tooth? (To see a list of standard banner ad sizes for your site, visit the Internet Ad Bureau at http://iab.net/standards/adunits.asp )

If your website is in the business of making money, NEVER give up usability for style. The more accessible your site is- the more that it's "easy on the eyes" and the quicker it loads - the more hits (and RETURN hits) you'll get. Always make navigation easy, your message clear, and your pages clean and your visitors will be VERY happy!

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