Love At First Site: Giving Your Website Visitors The Right Impression
|
|
Think of the people who visit your site as blind dates. When youopen the door, your blind date usually knows whether they areattracted to you within the first minute. How do they know? Easy.By how you look, what you say, and how you treat them. If youopen the door wearing the same clothes you wore in 1987, say,"Wow, from my friend's description, I thought you would be a lotbetter looking," and sneeze in your dates face, not only will younever get a second date, your date will run for his/her life.
The same rules apply to your website. When people do a search forsomething they want to buy, they usually have many sites tochoose from. If yours does not impress them right off the bat, ittakes about five seconds for them to find another that does showthem what they want to see. There are plenty of other fish in thesea. You are just one among many.
So what do people want to see, you ask? There are 3 standardsof website excellence, and they are the same standards you woulduse to judge your blind date:
1. How it looks: If I visit two different websites with thepurpose of buying something, and those two websites sold theexact same product at the exact same price, I would buy from thesite that looked better--the one whose design made me think,"Wow, these guys must be making good money if they can afford tohire a good graphic designer." The more money I think thebusiness makes, the more I will identify them with value andprofessionalism.
The bottom line is, you need to make web design a priority. Thereare plenty of people out there who have graphic designer friendswilling to design their website for next to nothing. Those peoplehave the advantage because, even if they aren't the superiorbusiness, visitors will perceive them to be superior.
If you don't have any connections with graphic designers willingto do you a favor, see if you can find a starving artist willingto design the layout of your site. If anyone has an eye foraesthetics and is willing to work cheap, it's a starving artist.Once you know what your site should look like, either you or aweb designer can bring the artist's vision to life.
Take the time to design something that represents your businessor product well. Don't just throw up a website with gaudywallpaper, out of focus pictures and graphics placed at random.Remember that first moment when you open the door to a blinddate. Remember how much appearances count for in this world.
2. What you say: You want the person who visits your site to knowinstantly what you're selling and why they should buy from you.Visual representation has a lot to do with this, but you need towatch what you say as well. You must be clear, concise andfocused. Don't make the visitor decipher a cryptic headline fullof spelling and grammar errors. Include headlines that shout tothe reader exactly what you want them to hear.
Go over your copy a hundred times if you must, or have aproofreader edit your copy. You must be sure that a potentialcustomer won't get lost in a stream of consciousness narrativeabout your product or company, and come out saying, "What wasthat all about?"
Above all, think carefully about the colors you use for yourfont. Make sure there is plenty of contrast between thebackground and the font color. Never put a yellow font on anorange background. Also, be careful with white fonts on blackbackgrounds. If the letters are large, they will be easy enoughto read, but if they are 14 point or smaller, your visitor won'teven bother with the copy. No matter what colors you use, alwaysmake your font large enough. If people have to squint to readyour copy, it is too small.
3. How you treat them--It is socially acceptable for a woman tokeep her date waiting, letting him know that she doesn't considerhim a priority. However, it is not acceptable for your site tokeep a visitor waiting. If your site takes too long to load, thevisitor will simply find another site.
Do what you can to ensure that your site will download quickly.One easy thing to remember is that, if you have too much contenton a page, it's going to take a long time to load. Also, if youare on a free server, and you are sharing a port with others,your loading time will be lengthy. More specifically, if you haveimages that are uncompressed, they could be at 70k or 80k, asopposed to compressed images that look almost identical and loadat a preferable rate of 5k or 10k.
For more information on jewelry and gemstones, we cordially invite you to visit http://www.morninglightjewelry.com to pick up your FREE copy of "How To Buy Jewelry And Gemstones Without Being Ripped Off." This concise, informative special report reveals almost everything you ever wanted to know about jewelry and gemstones, but were afraid to ask. Get your FREE report at http://www.morninglightjewelry.com.
|
|
|
Created & Maintained by Empower! CMS Web Sites
Host2Sell Web Hosting | Emarketing Workshops | Site SEO Review | FREE NewsletterWhy Content Is King Of Website Design
If there's one thing that most web site developers can agree on, it's this: content is king.That's not, of course, to say that good design doesn't matter. It does. A good, clean design, which is easy to navigate and optimised for search engines is absolutely essential if you want your online business to be a success. When you get right...(related: Web Design)
Give People What They Want And Watch Your Profits Soar!
Do you know why the majority of people use the Internet?The majority of people use the Internet to do some type of research. In other words, to read.Now, how can you use this knowledge to your advantage?Simple. Give people what they want! Provide plenty of good, quality, free content on your website and refresh it regularly.What's free content?Well, free content can take on many forms, from e-books to free advice and everything in between. However, what I'm talking about is free content in the form of articles.But they shouldn't be jus...(related: Web Design)
Got Web Traffic But Still Low Sales? Ten Ways To Selling Success - Part 1
Have you put a lot of effort, time, and money into your site and are frustrated with lackluster sales? Are you planning to put a new Web site and don't know where to start?
If you are like many business professionals out there, you know your subject, you are an expert speaker or coach in your field, and you are even passionate about it. You have great products and services to sell.
But do you translate those into bene...(related: Web Design)
Building Your First Web Site?
Before doing anything on the technical side, you need some kind of basic idea to work with. I suggest first getting some paper and a pencil. Start by sketching a layout of how you would like your web page to appear. For example, a simple title at the top, the area in which you would like any content, pictures and so on. Now its time to do some programing!Don't let the word programing scare you. Anyone can learn and there are several sites that offer free tutorials. One such site is http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp. Although it is not necessary to be a top notch programer to build and operate your web site, you should learn the basics of ...(related: Web Design)
Why You Should Use Css
It seems more and more webmasters are using CSS for the design and layout of their sites rather than depending on tables and HTML mark up. As well as being more efficient in terms of page size and reusing CSS templates many webmasters believe that it also contributes towards search engine friendliness.Jacob over at Web Site Design Mistakes
Some wise human once said "Learn from the mistakes of others. There isn't nearly enough time to make them all yourself." Hence this article. Here are five of the most annoying and common web design mistakes.1. Slow download time - Don't be that site that is filled with the coolest gizmos in the world. You know, animation, music and other "cool" things. Why? Because nobody is going to go to it because it takes too long to download. A nice clean site that downloads quickly will get you much further than a site with all the fixings that takes forever to download.2. Unreadable text - If a user has to struggle to read the text on your web site, chances are they won't. Here are some common readability issues:A. Low contrast text and background - Don't u...(related: Web Design)
How Not To Get Web Design Work
I get the occasional web design lead from my website. I wanted to find a company I could pass these onto. So I put an ad on a freelance site. It specified the programming qualifications needed, stated that the successful candidate should have good English, and was for companies only.The replies I got were enlightening. So much so, I made a li...(related: Web Design)
The Key To Getting More Magic Shows Booked Online
This article is the result of a conversation I had with a magician about his website. He wanted to know if I could build him a nice looking site that had his name and contact information on it. I explained to him the purpose of having a website and what you want visitors to do when they land on your site.
Why Do You Have a Website?The number one reason magicians have websites is ego. They want to be able to say to people, "You can visit my website at www.bite-me-hard.com." When the person visits the website they usually see one of two scenarios:- Brochure Site
- Typical Magician's Site - See Part 2 of this series for an example.
One-product Sales Sites: Avoid These Top Blunders
One product, one long web page: this kind of web site is sometimes called a sales letter site or mini-site, and it focuses on one and only one goal, as many sales of that oneproduct as possible. With a one-product sales site, no distractions, no subsidiary goals, such as newsletter signups, are allowed to interfere with ...(related: Web Design)
How To Use Sliced Graphics To Layout Your Web Site
The problem with designing your site as a graphic, is thatit would take too long to load. Your visitors would leaveyour site immediately and move to your competitors website. How can you resolve this?Slicing graphics into a number of sections, then puttingthem together in tables is a great way to layout your website. It cuts down on the time for providing a quick designfor a potential client. It also allows you to bringelements of your site together that would be difficult todo with tables.The value of slicing gra...(related: Web Design)
Website Savvy: 10 Key Steps To Turn Your Customers On!
"How to turn "slightly interested" customers into "I've got to have it!" customers!"I am truly amazed as to the lack of information websites contain. You would think that a business would realize that a potential customer would at least like to know how to contact the customer service department. But, you'd be astonished at how many times I've actually come across NO information on the business except "place your order here". That truly leaves the customer with a feeling of abandonment. Since I visit so many websites through...(related: Web Design)
How To Choose The Right Web Design Company
1. Size does not equate to competencePeople sometimes assume a company with more money, employees, office space etc will be more capable than one with less. This is not necessarily correct. In fact much smaller businesses (or individuals) if they apply themselves intelligently/effectively, are often likely to be able to deliver better quality-and more personalized-services than bigger ones. My advice it that you get authentic proof of competence in form of past web design projects (website addresses) the individual or company you want to choose has handled. Go one step further, if possible and request for client contact details so as to verify the claims made.2. Do they have a business philosophy that protects you, the client?Customers naturally often complain about unreliable service providers -including Internet-related servi...(related: Web Design)
Web Design For Ecommerce
Your website is your tool for showing the online community an image of your Drop Ship retail business. Whether or not your business succeeds depends heavily on your website. If your website design is user-friendly, more visitors will purchase your products or subscribe to your newsletter. This will ensure that you are not wasting the time and money you spent attracting visitors to your website. It does not pay to drive large amounts of traffic to your website and have 99% of them leave due to poor content and navigation.When designing your website, it is important that you switch from your own profit-oriented perspective to the prospective customers' perspective. First place yourself in your customers' shoes. After which, you should take some time to sit down and plan how your website should look like.Below I will describe the fac...(related: Web Design)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 Empower! Web Design | All Rights Reserved. | Web Design
One-product Sales Sites: Avoid These Top Blunders
One product, one long web page: this kind of web site is sometimes called a sales letter site or mini-site, and it focuses on one and only one goal, as many sales of that oneproduct as possible. With a one-product sales site, no distractions, no subsidiary goals, such as newsletter signups, are allowed to interfere with ...(related: Web Design)
How To Use Sliced Graphics To Layout Your Web Site
The problem with designing your site as a graphic, is thatit would take too long to load. Your visitors would leaveyour site immediately and move to your competitors website. How can you resolve this?Slicing graphics into a number of sections, then puttingthem together in tables is a great way to layout your website. It cuts down on the time for providing a quick designfor a potential client. It also allows you to bringelements of your site together that would be difficult todo with tables.The value of slicing gra...(related: Web Design)
Website Savvy: 10 Key Steps To Turn Your Customers On!
"How to turn "slightly interested" customers into "I've got to have it!" customers!"I am truly amazed as to the lack of information websites contain. You would think that a business would realize that a potential customer would at least like to know how to contact the customer service department. But, you'd be astonished at how many times I've actually come across NO information on the business except "place your order here". That truly leaves the customer with a feeling of abandonment. Since I visit so many websites through...(related: Web Design)
How To Choose The Right Web Design Company
1. Size does not equate to competencePeople sometimes assume a company with more money, employees, office space etc will be more capable than one with less. This is not necessarily correct. In fact much smaller businesses (or individuals) if they apply themselves intelligently/effectively, are often likely to be able to deliver better quality-and more personalized-services than bigger ones. My advice it that you get authentic proof of competence in form of past web design projects (website addresses) the individual or company you want to choose has handled. Go one step further, if possible and request for client contact details so as to verify the claims made.2. Do they have a business philosophy that protects you, the client?Customers naturally often complain about unreliable service providers -including Internet-related servi...(related: Web Design)
Web Design For Ecommerce
Your website is your tool for showing the online community an image of your Drop Ship retail business. Whether or not your business succeeds depends heavily on your website. If your website design is user-friendly, more visitors will purchase your products or subscribe to your newsletter. This will ensure that you are not wasting the time and money you spent attracting visitors to your website. It does not pay to drive large amounts of traffic to your website and have 99% of them leave due to poor content and navigation.When designing your website, it is important that you switch from your own profit-oriented perspective to the prospective customers' perspective. First place yourself in your customers' shoes. After which, you should take some time to sit down and plan how your website should look like.Below I will describe the fac...(related: Web Design)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 Empower! Web Design | All Rights Reserved. | Web Design