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Articles: Online Business - Getting Repeat
Visitors to Your Site
By Mark
Tse
It is not enough
to get people to visit your website. The most important things are
to make them stay and visit again the next time they log on to the
internet, and to inform other people of the existence of your
website. Here are some helpful tips you should consider when
designing your website in order to make visitors come back for
more:
1. Your home or opening page should contain a clear
explanation of what your site is all about. No one wants to waste
time clicking on links and going through pages of text just to
discover what your intentions are.
2. Your site must be easily navigable. A site menu at
the top, bottom, or side of each page is very helpful especially for
a first time visitor, especially if your site has lots of
pages.
3. Your site’s content is its heart, so make sure that
it has substance. The content is you talking to the visitor, so you
should be concerned about making a good
impression.
4. Your links should be clearly labeled. If a link
leads to a guestbook, a ‘Guestbook’ name for such link is direct and
straight to the point.
5. Dark text on light background is best for reading.
Black text on white background is the most readable. Light on dark
can work too, but it tends to be glaring for some
people.
6. Your color scheme must fit the mood of the content
of your site and suit your target audience. Whatever colors you use,
make sure that they all go with each other. Clashing colors can be a
major eyesore.
7. For uniformity purposes, the pages’ layout must be
the same with one another unless it is completely necessary to break
the pattern.
8. Make sure that your layout that is viewable for all
screen resolutions. Avoid too-long and too-wide pages so that people
with bigger screen resolutions would not have to scroll up-down and
side-to-side.
9. A page with graphics, animation, Flash movies, and
music takes more time to load than one without. If you bombard your
site with these accessories, many visitors will not hang around and
wait for the pages to load especially if they are using dial-up
connection. Besides, too much of a good thing is tacky. Use these
add-ons sparingly.
10. Follow all HTML standards so your website will be
compatible with commonly used browsers, namely Firefox, Internet
Explorer, and Mozilla. If you can make your site viewable for most
browsers, so much the better.
11. Some browsers are set not to accept plug-ins. Some
are set to text-only. Whatever browser settings the visitor has, you
should have made sure that the site is still aesthetically appealing
in all possible circumstances.
12. If you are going to use graphics, make sure that
they are of high resolution. This is especially important if you are
selling products and using photos to showcase your
goods.
13. Before publishing your website, road-test it first
by browsing through it as if you are a first time visitor. This is
the best way to sort out any kinks that would have been otherwise
overlooked.
14. If you have no web design and html knowledge, hire
a web designer to build your site. If you have no web design
knowledge but have little html knowledge, you may buy pre-made web
templates, here is a collection of professional web templates that
you can use: http://www.marktse.com/template/
In the end, freshness is the most essential feature
your site should have. The internet is highly dynamic so do not let
your site get stuck in a rut. Always keep your site updated in terms
of content. Enhance the aesthetics of the site every now and then.
If you think your site’s look is on its way to being outdated, do
not be afraid of giving it a major overhaul. After all, makeovers
seem to be the craze right now.
This article is written by Mark Tse. Mark shares free
tips, articles and downloads about Internet Marketing. You can visit
his Internet Marketing Blog and read his latest posts here:
http://www.marktse.com/blog/
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