Building a website is easy today, and can be very inexpensive.
Creating a great website, however, takes a lot more
planning and forethought. Fortunately, an outstanding
website can be developed on almost any budget. Cost
is rarely the deciding factor.
So, whether you are designing your site from scratch
or revamping your existing one, take these elements
of exceptional websites into consideration:
1. Great websites are easy to navigate. Whether you place links on the left, top or right, make
them easy to see, and be consistently placed on each
page. Make them easy to follow, and have the most visited
parts of the site accessible in one or two clicks. Wondering
which parts of your site are the most visited? Keep
reading.
2. Form follows function. Your site
should be designed around its audience and purpose.
If your site is designed for prospects to learn about
your services, load your site with lots of information,
and make it easy to read. Make the background light
and the text in a high-contrast color. Avoid fancy graphics
and extensive layouts that increase the time it takes
to load the page.
If visitors search your site looking for products or
information, simplify the look and feel even further
by adding drop-down menus to make searching easier.
Sites with lots of Flash animations, complex graphics
and moving content should only be used if your visitors
are expecting to be entertained.
3. Form follows function II. Who are
your visitors? If you expect the general public to visit
your page, design it with them in mind. The majority
of people still search the Web using a dial-up connection,
not broadband (only 45% of users have broadband, usually
DSL or Cable). Try accessing your site from a dial-up
connection to see how usable your site is. How fast
are files downloaded, and how usable is your interface
on a slow connection?
4. Content is key. Most people visit
sites to find information. Make sure you have information,
links and resources pertinent to your audience. Good
content is more than data; it’s information. Take
the time to organize the information on your site so
it is packaged correctly and easy to find and digest.
A good tip is to offer information in three pages or
stages: a concise overview, with a link to more information,
which in turn has a link to even greater detail, or
with the resources to learn more. Finish each page with
links that help your visitors decide what to do next,
whether it is finding out more, buying your product
or contacting your company.
5. Invite your visitors to interact. Great sites let the visitors customize the information
the way they want to experience it. Cookies and logins
are great ways to let visitors get to know more about
you. A few simple rules to follow, however, include
not forcing visitors to log in, limiting pop-up windows
and cookies, and clearly stating (and following) a privacy
policy that protects the visitors from misuse of their
personal information.
Following these rules will help your site become friendlier
and more successful at reaching your marketing goals.
And these rules should not just be based on what you
want your site to be, but on how visitors actually use
your site. Most sites have access to comprehensive Web
logs that can let you know which pages are visited,
how long visitors typically stay and where your traffic
is coming from.
If you are unfamiliar with your Web reports, ask your
Web hosting company for access to them. The information
you gain from these reports will allow you to better
refine and improve your site.
Because Web reports are so critical to building a great
website and to understanding if your website supports
your marketing efforts, next month’s CommonSense
newsletter will focus on how to get the most from your
Web reports.
To find out more about how we
can help you with your website, click here.
360 Business consulting
can help with all of your online goals, from Web development
to marketing and sales. Click here to receive
more information on online marketing or to contact us
for a no-risk, no-cost consultation.
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