© Terri Seymour of SeymourProducts.com
To keep your visitors coming back, the main
goals of your website are for visitor participation and
benefits. Provide an interesting, beneficial and useful
website and they will come back!
If your site is annoying you can be sure
they will find another site to visit, never to come back
to yours.
Here are some ways you can be sure to annoy
your visitors: (they might not annoy all, but probably
the majority)
** Frames - Chopping up
a site with frames is a great way to get your visitors
frustrated. These frames are very obtrusive and make navigation
and reading your site much harder. They are also disliked
by the search engine spiders.
** Overbearing Graphics
- Not only are these blinking and flashing graphics distracting
and unnecessary, they can also cause your site to download
very slowly. Most people do not have the time to sit and
wait for an extremely slow site, and will leave before
even knowing what your site has to offer.
** No Contact Information
- I cannot stress enough how important it is to have your
email address and other contact info on every page. This
will add credibility to your site and always give your
visitors a reason to be assured that you can be reached
when needed.
** Hard To Navigate -You
want your visitors to be able to get around your site
without trouble. Have your links all together in a place
that is easily seen. Have them in the same place on every
page.
** Inconsistent Page Design
- I have been on some sites where after clicking on a
link, I didn't even know if I was at the same site. The
page was totally different and did not have any of the
same information or links as the previous page. After
trying to find what I was looking for and not finding
it, I left. Please keep your site design uniform and consistent.
This will make it much easier on your visitors.
** Spelling and Grammar
– Always proofread your web pages. Designing and
building a professional website is a waste of time if
it reads like a five year old wrote it. With spell checker,
grammar checker, dictionaries, etc. there is no excuse
for poorly written web pages!
** Too Many Banners - If
you want banners on your site, set up a banner exchange
page for this purpose only. Do not have your homepage
or other pages so loaded with banners that there isn't
room for anything else.
** Hard To Read Text -
Do not use fancy text or pale text on a pale background.
The easiest to read is a dark text on a light background.
Also, if you use a textured or print background, be sure
that it is not hard on the eyes. One site I visited had
a weave look background that made the text so hard to
read, after a few minutes of looking around I had to leave
because I was getting a headache. If you think it is easy
to see get a few more opinions just to be sure!
** Music - Music used to
be very common on the web. Practically every site you
went to had music. More and more people started realizing
that this was a major distraction and annoyance to a lot
of people. If you really want music, have a choice for
your visitors. Let them decide if they want the music.
** Lack of Content -You've
got to have content. People visit a website to see what
the site has that will benefit them. Useful, helpful,
practical content can't be beat! This would include resources,
freebies, tips, ideas, information, interaction, contests,
etc.
One thing you can do is visit several sites
that pertain to your business. Study these sites and write
down what you find annoying. Write down any reasons you
have for leaving the site. Take note of what you like
about these sites. Incorporate all these findings into
creating a sharp, clean, useful website with nothing that
will chase away your visitors!
About the Author:
Terri Seymour has several years online experience and
has helped many people start their own business. Visit
her site at http://www.seymourproducts.com
for resources, $1 resell ebooks & software, free tutorials,
affiliate programs, and a free ezine with bonus report:
77 Ways to Get Traffic! mailto:subscribe@seymourproducts.com
