Your Web Site
Communication through your website
Am working with a few clients on their websites. It is amazing how many of them think that they can build a website that looks like Intel's, or Microsoft's, or Nike's. They all have a limited budget and an extremely short amount of time to get up and running.
A couple of things to remember when you are planning a new website or changing your website:
1) People read your website like a book, top to bottom, left to right. If your most important link is in the lower right hand corner, very few people will make it there.
2) People will spend no more then 10 seconds on your site looking for the information that they need/want. Follow step one above and put that information in the upper left.
3) KISS. Keep It Short & Simple OR Keep It Simple Stupid OR Keep It Simple & Stupid. Either one of these sum up what and how you should be building your website - especially your home page. Make it easy to find the information and the links to further discover what they want. My site? Yes, very KISS. But, that is also my business model. I don't need video's and advertisements and stuff to get my message out.
4) Watch your content. Video's are great, but, when they automatically start, they no only scare people, but, they take up bandwidth - which is no big deal to some, but, if it takes longer then six seconds to get the page to become interactive, you probably have already lost them.
5) LAY OUT your website as a flow chart - on paper. First. Diagram where links will go and what information is at the end of that link.
6) Make it INTUITIVE!!! Have your friends, co-workers, others go through the website and see if they follow the "flow" of the site.
Lastly, CHECK YOUR ENGLISH!!! Nothing better to lose a prospective client then to have typo's and grammar mistakes on your pages. I wouldn't expect clients to hire me if I have mistakes throughout the site.
Good luck - if you follow these steps, your website will, at the very least, meet the norm of website currently on the net.
Comments
I liked it. So much useful material. I read with great interest.
Posted by: Clemento | November 22, 2009 09:25 PM
Interesting and informative. But will you write about this one more?
Posted by: Ventego | November 28, 2009 08:06 PM