There
are hundreds of articles and thousands of tips
on how to make a website successful. True, websites
vary greatly in content, style, focus and n number
of other aspects. Consequently, there can not
be one great formula or key success factor. However,
if we closely look into successful web-sites -
a few features stand out, features that are common
in almost all successful sites.
A successful site, evidently, is
the one that is capable of attracting quality
visitors and retain them. The core of this attractiveness
is its content. However, only content is not enough
- just as a good product needs good packaging
a successful site needs elegant presentation and
promotion.
In this article, we discuss 10
basic elements that can significantly contribute
towards success of any website.
1.
Content
No matter if you have a business
site or a personal page, you have to give people
a reason to stay on your site - the first question
the visitor is going to ask - "what's in it for
me?"
That doesn't mean you have to give
away freebies - programs, books, tickets, holidays
etc. etc. - it does mean that you have to offer
something. That "something" could be:
-
Information
-
Utility (bulletin board, search
engine, directory etc.)
-
Entertainment
-
Advice
-
Help with a problem
-
Opportunities to network with
like minded people
-
Links to useful sites
Remember, a successful site is
a useful site. It should contain:
-
information that is perceived
to be 'useful' by its visitors (community)
-
the information is unique (i.e.
either not available elsewhere or is hard
to find)
-
the information is fresh (i.e.
updated regularly)
2.
Overall Look
Your home page is your billboard
or store front-- it creates an immediate impression
on visitors. Considering the importance of first
impression, we all are aware of, it should look:
-
Clean
-
Uncluttered
-
Professional
-
Attractive
Do not be stingy with white space,
spread them as much as required. Aim to "underwhelm"
rather than overwhelm. Too many flashing lights,
animations, colours, drop-down boxes, graphics
etc. are distracting. It's a like those stores
that play loud, frenetic music--your heart rate
rises, your stress levels go up and you just want
to get out - fast!
3.
Speed
In this age of impatience - an
average visitor will spend no more than 20 seconds
to decide the worth of your site. You can well
imagine what happens if the visitor spends that
precious 20 seconds looking at a blank screen
slowly loading tons of images..
So you must ensure that your home
page at least, loads as quickly as possible. That
means no big, flashy graphics.
Keep reminding yourself that your
first page is like a billboard. When driving your
car, you don't have time to read detailed descriptions,
or admire intricate pictures on billboards. The
signs flash past you and have to make an immediate
impression.
Your web visitors are 'flashing
past' as well, so keep your front page simple
and fast.
4.
Graphics and Lay-out
The graphics and lay-out of your
home page contribute to that first impression--think
about what image your site is trying to convey
and make sure everything on your site contributes
something towards that overall image.
If you have a serious business
site, you don't want garish cartoons on your front
page - but if you have a games site, then cartoons
can be an integral part of the image.
Graphics are what eat up the loading
time of your site. A rough rule of thumb to determine
good loading time for a page is to keep the entire
page around 40 Kb. Images should be between 6
and 8K. Each additional 2K may add one second
to loading time.
If in doubt, right click the image
and then click on "Properties" to get the size
of the image.
Colour is also an important part
of your site; colours have different effects on
our emotions:
Red and orange excite the senses
and increase heartbeat Blues and greens are more
restful. Yellow reminds us of sunshine and is
a happy colour
Consider the effect you want to
create and choose a colour that is appropriate.
When reading Western texts, the eye travels from
the top left of the page, across and then down
to the bottom right. Remember this when you're
placing graphics on your page.
Any graphic image which has a directional
aspect should be placed to point towards the most
important section of the page. If you have a picture
of a bird on the top left corner of your page,
make sure it is facing inward and that its beak
is leading the eye to the centre of the page,
not away from it.
The same applies to all graphics:
Faces should 'look' to the centre
of the page. Cars should be 'parked' facing towards
the centre of the page. Roads, neck ties etc should
all be placed to lead the eye across from left
to right, or down from top to bottom
This is also why you should place
your navigation bars down the left side of your
page - it keeps them constantly in the visitor's
field of vision.
5.
Text Readability
This doesn't refer to the words
you use (we'll look at them in detail later) --but
to the way the words look on the page. Going back
to the concept of the billboard, your words need
to stand out on your page - you need to surround
them with plenty of white space.
Dark backgrounds make you feel
as if you're in a small space and also have a
depressing effect on your mood. Certain coloured
backgrounds make it very difficult to read text;
purples, orange tonings and reds dazzle the eyes.
The colour of your text is just
as important--bear in mind that different browsers
read colours differently--what looks great on
your browser could well be invisible on another
!
Take a lesson from the newspapers
and divide your text into columns for easier (and
quicker) reading--even two columns are better
than one slab of text that covers the entire width
of the page.
Another element that contributes
to text readability is the font you choose. Plain
fonts (Arial, Times New Roman, Garamond and Courier)
are the easiest to read. Fancy fonts are fine
for headings, but not for full pages (imagine
trying to read a whole page in Gothic, Script,
Westminster, or Cloister). Your eyes would soon
tire of the effort involved and you'd be reaching
for the back button!
6.
Structure Each page
You have to make your page as easy
for visitors to read as possible and this means
breaking it up into little 'chunks'. We've already
looked at the need for columns, (which divide
the page vertically); you also need to divide
your page horizontally, through the use of headings
and sub-headings.
7.
Fonts
Select a font for all your headings
and sub-headings (and stick to it). It's not necessary
to have a different font for headings (just go
up one size for headings, and then use bold on
all headings and sub-headings).
This way it's easy to recognise
which is a heading (large and bold) and which
is a sub-heading (same size but bold).
The purpose is to make it easy
for your visitors to glance at your page and make
out what the key points are. If what they see
interests them, they'll stay and keep reading.
To draw attention to other important
points, you can also highlight them by putting
a whole sentence in bold or a different colour
(or both). However, take care with the colours
you select: some are quite difficult to read--even
against a white background.
8.
Navigation
Navigation is one of the most critical
aspects of any web site - arguably the most important.
No matter how good a site looks, and no matter
how much useful information it offers, without
sensible navigation scheme, it will only manage
to confuse visitors and chase them away. A simple,
logical, understandable navigation scheme can
increase your number of page impressions, boost
return visits, and improve your "conversion rate"
(the number of visitors who are "converted" into
customers). It's a critical aspect of site design
that has a direct effect on the bottom line.
The core of any good navigational
scheme is:
-
Tell people exactly what is
available on your site
-
Help them get to the parts they
want quickly
-
Make it easy to request additional
information
Use a well-structured navigational
bar. it should run down the left side of your
page, for two reasons:
We're accustomed to reading from
left to right and from top to bottom We're accustomed
to finding navigation bars on the left of web
pages -- why buck the system (especially when
it works)?
On a long page it's also a good
idea to have a brief nav bar along the bottom
of the page (just home | top of page will suffice).
When you've found a system you're
happy with, use it on every page so that your
visitors know where to look for the information.
Greater consistency leads to better readability
and ease of use.
9.
Privacy Statement and Testimonials
Credibility is an essential part
of any business site, especially in the anonymous
world of Internet. You must ensure that your potential
customers feel confident dealing with you. Transparency
and openness are the cornerstones of lasting trust
- so tell people exactly what you're doing to
safeguard their interests. In particular, how
you're protecting their privacy. It's worth having
a separate page which sets out, in detail, your
policy towards their email addresses; how you
accept orders; how you gather information; who
has access to this information; how you use information
gathered from children and so on.
Visitors also like to know that
real people have used your products or services,
so it's worth asking your satisfied customers
if you can quote any positive comments they've
made about you. Don't be afraid to ask for testimonials--we
all like to know that our opinions are valued.
Set up a separate page for testimonials
and offer to include links to your customers'
pages in return for using their comments. This
is one of those "win-win" situations
10.
Words
Now we come to one of the most
important elements. If this part is wrong, the
rest of your efforts are largely wasted. How many
times have you been impressed by a site's initial
appearance, only to be disappointed by poor spelling,
careless grammar and punctuation?
It reflects badly on the site owner
and indicates that whoever is responsible for
this page is sloppy, careless, lazy, unprofessional
or all of the above! Would you entrust any of
your hard-earned money to someone who doesn't
even care enough to check the expression of his/her
own site?
-
You can take steps to improve
your own writing skills.
-
You can employ someone to proof
read and edit your work.
-
You can employ someone to write
your pages for you.
CONCLUSION
This column is too short for detail
discussion. There are many places in the web that
will assist you on all elements discussed above.
Check them, even if you have employed a professional
web-designer. Successful site is a pre-condition
for successful e-commerce venture - so invest
more of your time and resources on web-site. It
will definitely pay rich dividend in future.
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