The Basics Of Effective Website Design
Is your website designed for looks - or visitors?
When creating a website for visitors with different browsers, connection speeds and monitor resolutions, many web developers do not consider these needs.
Getting the visitors to your website is only part of the
strategy.
Everyone would like a steady stream paying visitors. Many people spend a lot of money on SEO (Search Engine
Optimization) specialists and advertising, but unless your website is easy to use and understand, website traffic is just that - traffic coming and going -
like going to a store where all the merchandise
is just piled on tables. How would a customer find what they’re
looking for without some organization?
Never keep a visitor waiting.
Time is not a renewable commodity and it means money to most customers. If your website loads slowly, they will just click out of your website and find another.
Confusing navigation structure
The navigation structure is the road map to everything on your site. It should be easy to follow so that tour visitors do not have to figure how to navigate from page to page. No visitor will spend a lot of time trying to figure out what those symbols mean, or have to click many times just to find the information they were seeking. They need to find any specific item of information or product in 3 clicks or less, otherwise you may lose that visitor out of frustration. If the visitor gets lost within your site because of a poor navigation structure or cannot find what they are looking for - then again, it's CLICK and they're gone.
Never use pop up ad windows
There is nothing more to discuss. Never use them! (A pop-under, however, is different. It opens a link in a new page and keeps your web page under it so that the visitor never really leaves your site.)
Making your visitors listen to music of your choice
Just because you like it does not mean that everyone else will also. If you must use music, then give the visitor the option to listen or turn it off.
Use plenty of original, engaging content!
This is the most important part of a website. Visitors will come to your site to learn something new, or just enjoy your content. Search engines also look for lots of good content. If you are selling products on your site, good content about the products will pre-sell your visitors, encouraging them to click through for a sale.
The moral of this story
The major issues that make visitors enjoy their stay or revisit a website are no pop-up ads/windows, intuitive navigation making finding specific products or information easy, quick page downloads, no overcrowded web pages with a lot going on to distract them, and most importantly, lots of great content.
There are many different types of Internet users, all with different levels of skill and equipment. When creating a website, you need to take all of this into consideration or you may design your visitors right out of your website.
The visitor will make or break your online presence. They are a potential buying customer. A website should be designed for the visitors and try to leave personal preferences out of it.