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How To Build A Better Business
Website
A look of a website can make or break your business. First
impressions always count. Here are ten tips to building a
better business website.
1. Colour - A black background is not recommended. It's hard on
the eyes. I don't know how many people have problems reading
white or coloured text on a black background and with that
said, don't go neon pink or glaring orange either. Generally
black text on white background is best. Ideally you can choose
two colours, but make sure they match and use it consistently
on all your pages to maintain fluidity and continuity.
For example: Reds and oranges which stimulates appetite works
well on a food site while warm pastel colours matches a baby
site.
2. Layout - Don't cram everything into one page. Cluttered
websites overwhelms the visitors. Keep it clean, crisp and
concise. I had a CMS style website before and although it
looked organized because there were three columns, there were
also a lot of text. Navigation wasn't as plain as day and it
overloaded the senses. Take these three words to heart, less is
more.
3. Navigation - The more user-friendly the better and your
visitors are bound to stay longer. You don't want your visitors
to be jumping through hoops to find what they are looking for.
Make shopping carts or payment buttons visible and easily
accessible. Everything should be just a click away. Make sure
all your links are working. Finding broken links becomes
frustrating and annoying.
4. Proper spelling and grammar - There's nothing good about
visiting a website to find loads of misspelled words and poor
grammar. It's unprofessional and you can bet your visitors will
leave.
5. Speed - When it comes to website loading, no one likes to be
kept waiting. They will definitely leave a site if it won't
load properly. People's time is precious; don't make them
wait.
6. Graphics - Be careful of using big flashy graphics or
banners. Too many animated and too many big banners take away a
site's credibility. It also slows down the loading time of your
site considerably. Not everyone uses high speed Internet.
Remember people don't wait around for slow loading sites.
7. Audio - If you like it and want it, change the default
setting to give the visitor control if they want to hear audio
or not. Make sure it's visibly accessible to the visitor. The
last time I landed on a site, I couldn't find the button to
disable the audio so I immediately X'ed out.
8. Pop-up anything - Although many people now have pop-up
blockers, it may not be so much of a nuisance, but a pop-up of
anything is intrusive, unwanted and annoying. Adding a form to
your page in a highly visible spot is much more effective and
non-intrusive.
9. Content - Informative, resourceful content will keep a
visitor coming back. No one wants to visit a site that hasn't
been updated in a long time. You can add a small graphic or a
simple text in red with the word "NEW" or a "What's New?" page
to inform your visitors you have made updates.
10. AdSense ads - Too many AdSense ads on any page looks scammy
and it downgrades the quality of your site. If you can handle
honest opinions, have someone critique your website. It really
all comes down to personal preference and you will never be
able to please everyone and that's okay.
The main goal is building a functioning, well laid out website
that is successful and prosperous to you for many years to
come.
by S McIntyre - Nov 27, 2008
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