|
35 Deadly Web Site Sins
By Shelley Lowery
After reviewing thousands of web sites over the past few years, I have come to the conclusion that many business web sites are missing the boat.
For example, I've been working on some offline promotions and was searching for a simple targeted mailing list. I searched through about twenty sites and not one of those sites were, what I would consider, professional. Their standard blue links were enlarged to about a size 16 font, busy backgrounds, flashing images and very unorganized.
Did I purchase a mailing list from any of those sites? Absolutely not. Why? The way I see it, if those companies don't take pride in their web sites, chances are, they won't take pride in their products either. Large linked text and flashing graphics won't make sales.
Your web site is a direct reflection of you and your business. The appearance of your site is the most important factor in determining your sites value. In other words, if your site doesn't look professional or pleasing to the eyes at first glance, its perceived value and the value of your products and services will be low.
On the other hand, you may have a great web site, well designed and a quality product or service, but if it takes too long to load, the value will still be perceived as low. Why? Because your potential customer won't wait -- Ultimately costing you business.
Another consideration of great importance is your content. Not just links, but content with value. When someone is surfing the net and they visit your web site, they're visiting for a reason. Your site has something they want. Whether it is your product, service or information, that's why they're there. If they don't find what they're looking for, they'll move on to the next site and so on. If you want your visitors to stay at your site, provide the quality content they're looking for in a nicely organized fashion. Give them a reason to want to explore your site and to continue to visit your site in the future.
After receiving many questions about web site design, I have devised a list of "35 Deadly Web Site Sins."
1. Poor load time
2. Poor overall appearance
3. Poor spelling/grammar
4. No contact information
5. Poor content
6. Poor navigation
7. Broken links and graphics
8. Poor browser compatibility
9. Large, slow loading graphics
10. Too many graphics
11. Pages scrolling to oblivion
12. Multiple use of animated graphics
13. Animated bullets
14. Too many graphic and/or line dividers
15. Busy, distracting backgrounds
16. Multiple banners and buttons
17. Poor use of frames
18. Large fonts
19. Popup messages
20. Over use of Java
21. Poor use of tables
22. Poor organization
23. Different backgrounds on each page
24. Over powering music set to autoplay
25. Confusing
26. Too much advertising
27. Large Welcome banners
28. Multiple colored text
29. Text difficult to read
30. No Meta tags
31. Multiple use of different fonts
32. Under construction signs
33. Scrolling text in the status bar
34. Large scrolling text across the page
35. Poor use of mouseover effects
Take some time to really look at your site. Compare it to sites that you feel look professional. Time your sites load time -- Your customers won't wait -- Their time is valuable.
The simple, well designed sites make the sales. If your sales aren't what you had hoped, take some time to seriously evaluate your site and make some changes before spending your time and money on advertising and marketing. You may be pleasantly surprised.
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of Ebook Starter - A complete ebook design kit. Subscribe to Etips, for a wealth of quality information to assist you in Web Design, Internet Marketing & Ecommerce. All new subscribers receive a free copy of the highly acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing Strategies."
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=bl1
|
