Auction Articles

10 Tips for a Better Website

By: Merle

There are just some things that need to be included
in every website. If you integrate these tips into your
site your visitors will "thank you" for it later:

1) Navigation: Keep it simple (KISS), and make
sure it's consistent from page to page. No matter
where you place your menu bar -- either at the top or down the side --
always include a small text menu at the bottom of
every page. If you're one of those people easily
impressed with Flash, don't design
your navigation with it. There are still some people
who don't have or want the plug-in, so they won't
be able to navigate your site. Besides, search
engine spiders can't read it, so won't be able
to spider the individual pages of your site if the
navigation is done in Flash.

2) Privacy Policy: With all of the concern over
privacy on the Web if you collect any type of
information from your visitors (even if it's
just an email address) you need to include a
privacy policy. There are many online templates
that will help you to create one easily. Once
made, post a link to it on every page of your site.

3) Contact Information: Nothing drives me more
insane than having to search through an entire
website just to send the owner an email. Post
your contact info at the bottom of every page
of your site, along with your email address. Don't
make me fill out a whole form when I just want to
send a simple comment. Include your email address,
hotlinked and ready to go.

4) Logos & Graphics: Please keep your graphics down
to a reasonable size. No one wants to wait two minutes
while your huge, beautiful logo loads onto the screen.
If you must use a lot of graphics to get your point
across, I've got one word for you: Compression.

5) Fonts: Remember if you stray from using the standard
fonts that everyone has installed on their computers
(such as Arial, Verdana, Times New Roman) the viewer
won't see your fonts as intended. Your users' computers
will display your site in their default fonts.
Stick to standards. If you must have a certain font
used you'll have to turn it into a graphic to
maintain its look.

6) Make It Sticky: Include interactive features if
possible, such as live news feeds. Check out
http://www.moreover.com for tons of news feed topics
you can paste into your site for free. Use chat
rooms, discussion boards, etc. You want to create
a sense of community where people will want to
return.

7) Newsletter: If you're going to have a website you
need to offer a newsletter, even if it's strictly going
to be about sale items, specials or site updates.
You need to start collecting a list of your visitors'
email addresses so you can keep in touch with them.
Ezines help to keep your site fresh in the client's
mind and helps to establish trust and credibility.
For more on how to start your own ezine see
http://www.ezineuniversity.com

8) Browsers: You'd be amazed at how differently your
website appears in different browsers. Make sure
you take a peek at your site in Netscape and
Internet Explorer. Recent stats show IE has about
80% of the market share, but you'll still want to
make sure the other 20% can view your site without
any problems.

9) Resolution: This is a highly debatable subject.
"What resolution should I design for?" The norm these
days seems to be 800X600 although there are still a
small number of people limping along in 640X480.
Look at your site in different resolutions to get an
idea of what I'm talking about. If you don't mind
letting the small majority scroll right and left, I
say go with 800X600 (that's what I do) and it still
looks acceptable to those surfing in mega resolutions
of 1024 and higher.

10) Index Page: This may seem like a given, but I'm
going to mention it anyway. On the very first page
of your site (the homepage) the first paragraph
should answer the "5 W's"; basically telling them who
you are and what you're offering. You'd be amazed at
the number of websites that leave this out; making
me think "what
do these people do, and what's in it for me?"
You need to answer these questions and do it fast.
Surfers are a very impatient group. Stop them
before they click away.

If you remember the above 10 pointers when putting
together your next website, you'll create a winning
site that visitors will want to return to, and
not run away from in frustration.

About the Author

Merle
http://www.ezineadauction.com
"Where the Best Deals in Ezine Advertising are Made"
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