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Having A User Friendly Website
Let's look at what your user wants to see at your website.
1. No Flash
For many who visit your website time is money for you and for them. The last thing people need to see is a slow loading flash front page. Unless your flash page is very unique and interesting enough that it will hold their attention I suggest you loose it. For people on dialup, and yes there are many around the world, a flash page is a download nightmare for them.
2. Page Load Time
There is nothing worse than going to a website and waiting more than 15 seconds for that page to load. Many of your visitors don't have the time to wait for a web page to load and nor should they. Timewise, many people will go on to something else if your page is slow to load. Ten years ago 15 seconds and more might have been acceptable but in this day and age of high speed internet this is highly unacceptable. Check this free site for help with load time for your website. Dcotor HTML http://www.doctor-html.com
3. Graphics
Do you hate it when your gonto a site for information and finding missing graphics. Worse than missing graphics are graphics that do not at least have an ALT tag which would at least give your visitor some idea of what the graphic was about. When you have ALT tags it also allows search engines to recognize all the content on your site. Make sure to use good keywords and use them often on your page, as it will help you rank higher in the search engines. Use the free link verification program at XENU http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html to ensure that all your graphics are loading.
4. Links Not Working
One of my major pet peeves is visiting a site and clicking on a link and finding it does not work. This is one of the fastest ways to loose a potential customer. Broken links are something you should be checking on a daily basis. This is your bread and butter and you can not afford to loose even one potential customer. Again, XENU at http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html is an excellent free program to help you keep your website in tip top shape. Also note, search engines do not like missing links and you risk your ranking with them if your site is not up to snuff. Xenu will give you a comprehensive report that shows all broken links and their corresponding pages.
5. Making Your Index Page As Small As Possible
The old saying that time is money is never more true than when someone visits your first page. Getting it to load quickly is one of your main objectives. This mean you need to run your page through an HTML optimizer. Doctor HTML http://www.doctor-html.com, a free website, can be invaluable to you when it comes to shrinking your page. Your site will still look the same but will take less time to load.
6. HTML Validation
Validating your HTML will help your visitors to have no problems while visiting your website. With valid HTML, browsers will function correctly at your site and with future browser updates people will have a smooth transition. Tidy GUI is a great free program for fixing errors and reducing the size of you page. It can be downloaded at http://www.emailpromotions.net/download/TidyGUI.exe
7. Reduce The Size Of Your Graphics
The size of the graphics on your site, and these graphics not loading quickly, can be one of the major reasons for your page to load slowly and for your visitors to leave. Always shrink the size of your images and watch how much faster your website will load. Spinwave http://www.spinwave.com/crunchers.html is a free online cruncher that can offer a maximum compression of approximately 30%.
8. Your Visitors Browser
Not everyone uses Internet Explorer and that leaves you with the problem of making sure that visitors to your site, using Netscape, Mozilla and others, all see the same thing. Unless you ensure compatibility then different browsers are going to display things differently than what you designed or what you see. With some browsers some people may not be able to see anything on your site. To check your website on different browsers visit Web Page Backward Compatibility Viewer at http://www.delorie.com/web/wpbcv.html
9. Contacting You
No website owner can afford to take its customers for granted. When they need to get in touch with you in order to ask questions, it is imperative that you have easy to find contact information. Nothing is more frustrating than having to search a site to find how to reach you. Your visitors are your livelyhood...keep it simple for your customers. It makes for a great relationship with your visitors.
10. Spell Check
Last but not least, check your spelling. No one likes to read a page filled with spelling errors. Most HTML software offers this simple service and it should always be the last thing your check before you upload your page.
Jean Sutherland has successfully run her own ezine for over 5 years and has a subscriber base of 35,000. Her ezine revolves around people doing business online and beside offering free software, it also provides traffic & marketing tips, informative business articles, free ebooks and computer tips for those trying to work online. http://www.emailpromotions.net
Web Design Tips To Boost Your Sales
The way you design your web site affects your visitors' online experience. As each visitor to your site is a potential customer, the easier they find your web site to use and the more they enjoy being on it, the higher the chance that they will make a purchase.
Text Is King!
Are you building your website? If so, STOP! Take a look at what you have done so far. How many images do you have? How much text do you have?
How to Make a Website (Minus the Headaches)
There is nothing wrong with making your own website if you are looking to save some money. Be prepared however, for your finished product to resemble an after school project; cutesy, homemade touches and all. It is pretty hard to make your own website and have it look professional; but, there is an easier way that will leave you with fewer headaches in the long run.
Is Your Website?s Copy Up to the Mark?
The Internet is a relatively new medium. What works for you in your printed offline brochures and advertising materials may or may not work on your web page. If you have already invested either time or money or both in your website you should carefully scrutinize the written words on your pages to see if they can really deliver a return on your investment. Here are five important questions to ask to when making a review of your website's copy.
Moving Things Around
How often, men, have you come home to find the living room furniture in different places? Your wife said she was ready for something different, so she moved some things around. It may have been inconvenient at first, but deep inside it felt good to have things a little different at home. Maybe by moving the couch over there it made the room seem bigger. By moving the TV over on that wall gave the room a sense of coziness.
How To Rescue Your Graphic Design Project When All Else Fails
Whether you're giving a critical sales presentation to a client, producing visuals for a meeting, event, trade show or seminar, or unveiling the new company logo before an audience of shareholders, top-notch graphics will help ensure that you, your products, and your message receive the attention they deserve.
Website Basics
The Basics
Finger Eating Garage Door Reveals Breakthrough Web Design and Linking Strategy
Last Thursday afternoon I was working on a garage door and regrettably loosened the torsion spring too much. This spring is what relieves or neutralizes the weight of the garage door so the openers can work without burning out and so you don't have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger to open it.
You Too Can Have Fun With Sepia Images!
If you are one of those who wonder how people come up with the cool looking sepia tone prints that you admire so much. If you are doubling up with jealousy over a sepia tone, here, we will give you tips on how you could achieve this sepia tone, too. Ready up your Photoshop software program, your PC and prepare to have fun with sepia! It's time that they envy you, too.
Other Ways to Look at Things
Many people today are tired of the Microsoft software that came pre-packaged with their operating system. Some have switched over to Apple's Macintosh line, but for the most part we just put up with what we have. Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) has come under a lot of fire as of late for several reasons. Hackers find IE easy to exploit.
Marketing Basics for the Webmaster
What is the relationship between Marketing and Web designing? How can a better understanding of Marketing help the web designer manage his business more profitably?
Handwriting Font Tips - The Personal Touch That Makes a Difference
Most websites use similar fonts and as a result have a generic look. So, if you want to differentiate your look and also add a personal touch to your website, consider using handwriting fonts. These fonts really make people feel more comfortable with your site because it is personal rather than computerized, or at least that is the feeling that is portrayed. There are many additional uses and tips for handwritten fonts as well that will give you an idea of ways to use these fonts on your website and why.
Custom Web Site Design Strategies
Web site design has certainly, in the past decade, evolved tremendously. More clients now are demanding custom design, as opposed to the 'cookie cutter' sites of yesteryear.
Developing Your Winning Web Site Strategy
Your web site is the key to your success on the Internet. You can use your web site to build your brand, increase sales, generate more leads, slash costs, and much more. In fact, you probably have very specific goals that your web site is helping you to achieve for your company.
Successful Flash Tips
Ever browse across a website that took ten million years to load or required a road map to find the navigation bar? True, Flash Technology might impress your clients till their eyes fall out. However, Flash Technology requires a skillful balance between gaudy and elegant. We've composed some advice on how to make use of Flash Technology without turning your mainstream prospects away.
6 Reasons Why Using Flash is a BIG Mistake
Most web designers and web design companies will try to convince you that if you want your business to have the best site possible that you MUST have a flash site. Flash, for those of you who are newbies, is a software program that can create really cool special effects and animations. You can either have flash elements embedded in your website or you can have your entire website done in flash.
Building a One-page Website
You've designed your logo, and you're ready to print your business cards and other marketing collateral materials. You want to include your website address (also called a URL) to build your credibility. However, you're not quite ready to write and design a full website. At the same time, you don't think it's a good idea to distribute your new printed materials showing your website URL and to have only a blank web page waiting for your potential client's inquiries. What to do?
Click Here
See, works every time. Seriously now, for some reason people keep leaving your website and you can't figure out why. Try putting a "Click Here" button at the bottom of your page that does not specify where it will redirect your customer to. This link should lead to a more interesting page; one that you feel should not be missed. It is amazing that people fall for this, no matter how bored they are on your site, with a "Click Here" button; chances are many people will push it just to see what happens. Some people even get a little deceptive and play mind games by putting a "Don't Click Here" button on their page. OF COURSE you'll click a "Don't Click Here," it is human nature.
A Web Site That Sells Is All One Needs To Have A Successful Online Business!
There are more than billions of Web Sites, running Online Businesses, offering products and services. But only a few Web Sites manage to make any sale.
Choose & Use the Best Colors
The Psychology of Color