4 Tips to a More Visitor-Friendly Website

2009-11-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

I remember my very first website. I thought it was the most

amazing thing ever created; it had Flash, Javascript, an

animated graphic I designed all on my own, plus various

bits of 'artwork' placed at strategic locations throughout

the site. Plus it used frames, something I thought would

ease navigation for my visitors. What an astonishing

display of talent!

Now when I look back on that first website, I'm forced to

come to an inescapable conclusion:

It sucked.

You see, like so many beginners, I had succumbed to the

lure of 'technology'. Instead of designing my site

according to what my *visitors* wanted, I designed it

around what *I* wanted to show off.

Don't make these common website blunders! Visitors come

to your site for a reason - make it easy for them to get

what they want. Here are a few tips ...

__1. Don't Use Flash Frivolously.

Flash movies are all the rage these days. Sure, it's new

and cool and can do all sorts of neat things - but just

because you CAN use it doesn't mean you SHOULD.

This is particularly true of content-rich websites.

Visitors come to your site looking for information, not

for an in-your-face Flash movie. Annoy them and it only

takes a simple click of the mouse before they're gone

forever.

Flash requires users to download a plug-in, if they don't

already have it. It can chew up your machine's resources

and make it darn near impossible to get out - even a 'Skip

Intro' link is hard to click on if your computer is too

involved with Flash! And it takes too long to load. Not

everyone has a high-speed modem!

Of course there are legitimate reasons to use Flash. For

example, graphic artists or web designers who sell their

Flash talents will want to showcase it. If you use it

make sure you give people the OPTION of viewing it or

not. A couple of suggestions are:

* Put two links on your entry page: one to view the site

using Flash, the other to view it without Flash.

* Move your Flash movies deeper within your site. If

your visitor wants to view them, they can simply click

on a link.

__2. Use Graphics Sparingly.

The *right* picture can say a thousand words. But don't

use graphics for the sake of using them; unless they

convey something specific and relevant to your site then

you might as well leave them

off.

How many times have you come across an agonizingly slow

site, filled with images dancing, whirling, bouncing,

and beckoning to you from the screen? It's irritating

to say the least.

If you have to display a lot of graphics on one page,

make them into thumbnails. Visitors can click on the

image they want to see in order to view the full-sized

version.

Also be sure you compress your images to make them as

small as possible, and specify the image WIDTH and

HEIGHT in your HTML tag.

__3. Forget the Frames.

A lot of people like the look of frames. However, search

engines cannot read them properly and improperly designed

frames can leave your visitor 'trapped'. You can bet

they'll never be back if you try to force them to stay!

BigNoseBird.com has a nice little tutorial on how to get

the 'Frames look' without actually using them. Read it

at http://bignosebird.com/k3.shtml .

__4. Keep it Simple - and Use Common Sense.

The simpler and cleaner your HTML, the more likely it will

display exactly as you intended on different browsers.

* Limit the number of fonts and colors you use. Pick a

color scheme and stick to it.

* Keep your navigation consistent from page to page.

* If you use Javascript or VBScript, provide another way

of viewing your information. Not all browsers support

them.

* Use tables to properly layout your site. Don't force

your visitors to use the dreaded horizontal scroll bar

to read your information! Tables can also add white

space to your site for easier readability.

* Spell-check! A site filed with speling errs is veery

heard to reed.

* At a minimum, check your site with the two most popular

browsers, Internet Explorer and Netscape.

Creating a web page is easy. Creating a *good* web page,

however, takes a little more thought. Offer a content-rich

site that's a pleasure to visit and your visitors will keep

coming back!