4 Tips to a More Visitor-Friendly Website

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I remember my very first website.
I thought it was the ... thing ever created; it had Flash, ...
... graphic I designed all on my own, plus ...
of ... placed at st I remember my very first website.
I thought it was the mostamazing thing ever created; it had Flash, Javascript, ananimated graphic I designed all on my own, plus variousbits of 'artwork' placed at strategic locations throughoutthe site. Plus it used frames, something I thought wouldease navigation for my visitors.
What an astonishing display of talent!Now when I look back on that first website, I'm forced tocome to an inescapable conclusion: It sucked.You see, like so many beginners, I had succumbed to the lure of 'technology'. Instead of designing my site according to what my *visitors* wanted, I designed it around what *I* wanted to show off.
Don't make these common website blunders! Visitors cometo your site for a reason - make it easy for them to getwhat they want. Here are a few tips ...__1.
Don't Use Flash Frivolously.Flash movies are all the rage these days. Sure, it's new and cool and can do all sorts of neat things - but just because you CAN use it doesn't mean you SHOULD.
This is particularly true of content-rich websites. Visitors come to your site looking for information, notfor an in-your-face Flash movie.
Annoy them and it onlytakes a simple click of the mouse before they're goneforever.Flash requires users to download a plug-in, if they don'talready have it. It can chew up your machine's resourcesand make it darn near impossible to get out - even a 'SkipIntro' link is hard to click on if your computer is tooinvolved with Flash! And it takes too long to load.
Not everyone has a high-speed modem!Of course there are legitimate reasons to use Flash. Forexample, graphic artists or web designers who sell theirFlash talents will want to showcase it.
If you use itmake sure you give people the OPTION of viewing it ornot. A couple of suggestions are:* Put two links on your entry page: one to view the site using Flash, the other to view it without Flash.* Move your Flash movies deeper within your site.
If your visitor wants to view them, they can simply click on a link.__2. Use Graphics Sparingly.The *right* picture can say a thousand words.
But don'tuse graphics for the sake of using them; unless they convey something specific and relevant to your site thenyou might as well leave them off.How many times have you come across an agonizingly slowsite, filled with images dancing, whirling, bouncing,and beckoning to you from the screen? It's irritatingto say the least. If you have to display a lot of graphics on one page,make them into thumbnails.
Visitors can click on theimage they want to see in order to view the full-sizedversion.Also be sure you compress your images to make them assmall as possible, and specify the image WIDTH and HEIGHT in your HTML tag.__3. Forget the Frames.A lot of people like the look of frames.
However, search engines cannot read them properly and improperly designed frames can leave your visitor 'trapped'. You can bet they'll never be back if you try to force them to stay!BigNoseBird.com has a nice little tutorial on how to getthe 'Frames look' without actually using them.
Read itat http://bignosebird.com/k3.shtml .__4. Keep it Simple - and Use Common Sense.The simpler and cleaner your HTML, the more likely it willdisplay exactly as you intended on different browsers.
* Limit the number of fonts and colors you use. Pick a color scheme and stick to it.* Keep your navigation consistent from page to page.* If you use Javascript or VBScript, provide another way of viewing your information.
Not all browsers support them.* Use tables to properly layout your site. Don't force your visitors to use the dreaded horizontal scroll bar to read your information! Tables can also add white space to your site for easier readability.* Spell-check! A site filed with speling errs is veery heard to reed.* At a minimum, check your site with the two most popular browsers, Internet Explorer and Netscape.Creating a web page is easy.
Creating a *good* web page,however, takes a little more thought. Offer a content-richsite that's a pleasure to visit and your visitors will keepcoming back! Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com .