Web Page Philosophy
What makes a web site work for your business?
There are many ideas as to what makes a web site work. They seem to be a dime a dozen. I believe a lot of it is just plain common sense.
I'll cover a few of them here.
Page Loading
If there are a lot of graphics on the page, it takes longer for it to load. If the visitor to your site is on a dial up rather than a high speed Internet connection, it will take longer for the page to load. You have about 3 to 5 seconds to keep the first time visitors interest in what you have to offer or show them. Any longer than that, they will usually go elsewhere and not likely to return either.
An Easy To Navigate Site
I'm still amazed how many sites today are difficult to find the product or information the visitor is looking to get. If they can't find what they are looking for in a reasonable amount of time, they look elsewhere.
How many sites have you been to where it was difficult to find the product or information you needed? It's important to make sure your visitor finds what they are looking for easily!
Advertising
All businesses need it. The question has always been, where do you advertise and how much do you spend! As you might already know, each business is different. As a result, each web site should be designed differently. One size does NOT fit all.
Communication
Make sure your business name, phone number, and possibly its address is clearly on each page. Many web sites just put that information on one or two pages. I ask why? Again, make sure it is easy for the visitor to do business with your company by having it on nearly every page. Though you would rarely hear it, the visitor would appreciate it because they don't have to hunt for your phone number.
Busy Web Pages
You may have noticed while surfing the Internet, that many sites have a lot of information and links on each page. Many visitors can be overwhelmed by all the links, columns, and information located on the page(s). The term I use for this is "busy".
People who surf the Internet generally want to find what they are looking for quickly. There are many well designed sites. I'll use eBay as an example. If you haven't purchased anything on eBay, this will be a good example. When you visit their web site for the first time, it can be a challenge. I've used eBay for many years myself and noticed the improvements they have made in making it a better site for all. It is much better as a result. However, it can be difficult to find certain items, but with everything eBay sells, that can be expected. Once you understand how the site works, it really is quite easy to navigate to find what you are looking for and to check the status of the items you are either watching, buying, selling, or waiting to receive. I would imagine eBay has hundreds of people who work on their web site on a daily basis because they are worldwide with many different languages.
Another example is a sports teams web site. It could be a baseball, football, hockey, etc. site. Notice all the columns, information, and links on their pages? Can you find the information you want to get rather quickly? Is it clear and concise? It's more difficult isn't it? It takes patience and a little guessing on your part doesn't it?
With that said, keep in mind the best web site is one that allows the visitor to find what they are looking for rather quickly. That includes having clear links and page names that tells the visitor what is located on that page.
Visitors Using Pocket PC's, Blackberry's, etc.
Make sure your site is compatible with most of the PDA, iphones, etc. With the advent of these small tools business people use, they can get their email and surf the web for information they need without using a laptop or desktop computer.
Conclusion
Unless you are a gaming site, keep the animation to a minimum. With that said, there are times when animation can and should be used. Sometimes you may wish to make available a video to the visitor that describes what your company makes or the services it provides. But make sure it is an option they can clearly click on to play.
Make sure your main pages load quickly and your products or services can be found rather quickly and easily too!
There are few people today that enjoy having pop-up advertising appear when they are surfing on your site. If you are annoyed by it when visiting other sites, it's almost a guarantee that visitors to your site will feel the same way also.
Make sure it is a pleasant experience for those that visit your site! Future business could depend on it!!!!
