Web Design – 11 Tips to Increase Sales
Website Design Made Easy
How you design your site will greatly affect its potential earnings. The primary rule when creating your website is to focus on simplicity. Most people get stuck at this stage trying to create a beautiful website with a fancy logo, flash navigation, modern layout, etc. Don’t get distracted; your goal is to design a website that a three year old could navigate.
Depending upon which system you choose, your website could have as little as three or as many as several hundred pages. Regardless of the number, keep your design simple. Here are some points to consider when creating your website:
1. Provide good content: Each page on your website should offer something of value. Don’t let design get in the way of your content; every element on your webpage- from a product image to the headline to the call to action- should elicit a specific response from your prospect. An opt-in page is designed to create leads. A sales page is meant to sell your product. A privacy policy should assure people you will not sell their information. And so on. Don’t confuse your prospects with mixed messages; subtly guide them to each pages intended purpose.
2. Avoid cheesy elements: Design your website to look clean and professional. Try to avoid elements such as animation, blinking text, annoying sound effects, multiple colors, etc. because they will distract the visitor and potentially annoy them.
3. Don’t use pop-up windows: Do you like visiting a website with pop up windows? Me either.
4. Let your prospects know where they are: You have about three seconds to grab a user’s attention before they hit the Back button, so be strategic in your placement of information and images. According to the article Clarity Trumps Persuasion by Marketing Experiments, a visitor to your website needs to answer the following three questions within a few seconds:
a. “Where am I?”
b. “What can I do/get/buy here?”
c. “Why should I participate?”
5. Design for easy navigation: Organize your content into a logical manner with one intended response for each page. Be sure to include a navigation menu near the top of every page so people can find it without scrolling to the bottom. Here is an example of what a navigation bar might contain:
a. Homepage / Sales Letter
b. Company Information
c. Products & Services
d. Ordering
e. Support
f. Contact
6. Go home from every page: Allow the user to get back to the home page from every page on your website. Put a “home” link in the navigation bar to avoid this problem.
7. Don’t bury information: It is annoying when it takes ten clicks to find what you’re looking for- and most people won’t try that hard. Never have webpages that go more than three clicks away from the homepage.
8. Use flash cautiously, if at all: Flash and multimedia may add a nice visual touch to your webpage, but if used poorly they can distract your visitors from finding the information they need. Web designers love to create flashy intros to websites. Not only does this fail to provide any search engine optimization (SEO) benefit, it often frustrates your visitors. How many times have you clicked “Skip Intro” when there is a flash video playing?
9. Focus on website readability: It is important to consider how the web design will affect the readability of the information.
a. Don’t make your webpage wider than 800 pixels
b. Don’t make any line of text wider than 600 pixels
c. Make the text large enough to read
d. Increase line spacing
e. Don’t type more than a few words in ALL CAPS
f. Don’t use more than one exclamation point!
g. Use a spelling and grammar checker
10. Use proper link formatting: There is a right and wrong way to use links. Be sure to do the following:
a. Don’t underline words if they’re not links
b. Don’t open internal links in a new window
c. Use descriptive link text – especially key words
d. Test your links
11. Provide your contact info: In order to build customer trust you must be accessible if they have questions or concerns.
If you’re having trouble getting started with web design, visit some of your favorite sites and note their design elements. Why reinvent the wheel and start designing from scratch when there are millions of websites to inspire you?
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Author: Darcie Connell
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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