Does Your Web Site Need A Tune Up?

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Your web site may contain flaws or ...
are driving your visitors away! Such athought is enough to give the most laid ... a ...
How can you ... fix any problem areas tha Your web site may contain flaws or glitchesthat are driving your visitors away! Such athought is enough to give the most laid backwebmaster a migraine.
How can you uncoverand fix any problem areas that may be lurking in the dark recesses of your site? Relax gentle readers, there is a simple answer.All you have to do is follow a few basic guidelines that all web sites should adhereto and you can be assured that your site is in tip-top shape. It's not unlike giving your automobile a little tuneup.1 - Slow Loading PagesNothing drives a visitor away faster than having to wait around for a web page toload.
Most experts will tell you that 8 secondsis the maximum load time for your pages, andanything slower needs some attention. But,this doesn't take into account the visitor'smodem speed.
Here are the results froma load time check I had conducted recentlyon the first page of one of my sites. --------------------------------This diagnostic checks how fast your page loads up under 6 common modem speeds.
Connect Rate Connect Time -------------- --------------- 14.4K 10.12 seconds 28.8K 6.05 seconds 33.6K 5.34 seconds 56K 4.41 seconds ISDN 128K 2.04 seconds T1 1.44Mpbs 1.00 seconds LOAD TIME CHECK.......................EXCELLENT -------------------------------I have included these results so you cansee the difference in load time for variousmodem speeds and use it as a guide instead of the 8 second benchmark youare often given. Please note that the page tested has very few graphics.
A page withmore graphics will load slower, but may still load in an acceptable time.Slow load time is usually caused by either too many graphics or by graphics that are too "fat." You can have those "fat" graphics optimized by an experienced HTML programmer. If your problem is too many graphics, you need to eliminate a few.2 - Typos and SpellingTypos and misspelled words can severelyundermine an otherwise great site.
Checkand recheck every page for these errors.3 - NavigationBroken or missing links are all too common on many sites I visit. So, double-check all your links and make sure they are functioning properly.
Those 404 messages are a big-time turnoff, plus it means part of your site is inaccessible. If you have a lot of links on a page, arrangethem in neat rows with uniform spacing between each.
It is critical to have all links clearly identified.4 - DesignYour color choices are a matter of personaltaste. But try to avoid using too many colors.This can give your site a carnival-like effectthat leaves your visitors tired and dizzy.
Asa general rule you shouldn't use more thanfour colors.Too many different fonts on a page can alsohave a negative effect on your design. WhenI look at a page that somehow just doesn'tlook quite right, but I can't put my finger onthe problem, it usually turns out to be thefont(s).
Animation is great, but too much movementis distracting.Don't load your pages with too many banners. One or two at the top or bottom should be the limit.This concludes your web site's tune up.These guidelines are by no means anexhaustive list of all the problems and errors that can plague a web site.
But, it is an effective checklist of the more common flaws, and it will serve to greatlyimprove the performance of any web site. Article Tags: Load Time Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com .