5 Most Common Web Design Mistakes

Written by Candice Pardue


Continued from page 1

4. Scattered Web Site

When designing your site, make sure it has a pattern that leads your visitor. Get several people (friends or relatives) to visit your site and watch them as they navigate. Noticerepparttar places where they stop (as if they're finished) and also links that they click on. Organizing your site to lead visitors is very important whether you're leading them to buy something or just to click and go to another place in your site. Customers are silently begging to be led.

SOLUTION: Take a look atrepparttar 134810 flow of your site. Design it in a fashion that always continues like this...

Make sure that graphics don't get inrepparttar 134811 way of your lead. Ifrepparttar 134812 visitor stops inrepparttar 134813 middle ofrepparttar 134814 home page to click on a graphic or banner before getting to your sales page, they may never return. You've got one chance to getrepparttar 134815 visitor's attention and keep it. Makerepparttar 134816 most of it.

5. Generalization

The most effective way of selling onrepparttar 134817 internet is to personalize your web site to reach your target audience. Many web sites are general and try to reach everybody. The reality is that you can't be everything to everybody. The business owners who are successful onrepparttar 134818 web normally have very specific products or services that target a niche market.

SOLUTION: Make your site as personal as possible. As you're writing, pretend that you are face to face withrepparttar 134819 customer. Present your web site in such a way thatrepparttar 134820 visitor feels like he just walked into a store in his hometown. Also, stay focused on your target customer (one who would be interested in "your" product.)

These five mistakes should be avoided at all costs if you want to build an effective and successful web business.

Design your site to sell!

Candice Pardue, webmaster of Online Success for Internet Business. Ever thought of designing your own web site? Now you can learn how to design your own personal or business web site from home with the Web Design Training Course for beginners. Simple step-by-step design instructions. Go here for details...


Elements of Interface Design

Written by Cheryl R Cowtan


Continued from page 1

4) Orientate Your Visitor. Each new visitor to a site is like an explorer. Without guidance inrepparttar form of headings, titles, links, brands and logos, they may not know where to go or where they are withinrepparttar 134809 structure ofrepparttar 134810 site. The interface design must also include features that orientaterepparttar 134811 visitor, especially ifrepparttar 134812 site is large and has many sections and sub-sections. The designer can maintain a feeling of familiarity with consistency in design, orientaterepparttar 134813 visitor with headings and titles and can guiderepparttar 134814 visitor easily with clear navigation.

5) Stay Consistent. Consistency, as I've mentioned, is very important in many ofrepparttar 134815 interface design elements as well as colour, font, and graphics. Whenrepparttar 134816 interface changes,repparttar 134817 visitor thinks they have leftrepparttar 134818 site. Confusion leads to bookmarks. Remember this. When a site visitor feels uncomfortable, is confused or irritated by a Web site they are two clicks away from a familiar site that is linked in their bookmarks or favourites. Two clicks.

Is there more? There is always more. Designing Web sites is a challenge and requires skills, knowledge, experience and flexibility because byrepparttar 134819 time you read this,repparttar 134820 Internet and all its dimensions will have improved or changed, possibly enough to create a domino effect that will alter Interface design. However,repparttar 134821 basics of Interface design remainrepparttar 134822 same and include symbolism, clarity, navigation, structure, guidance and consistency. Knowrepparttar 134823 basic rules, become familiar with them and then you can decide whether you are good enough to break them.



Cheryl R Cowtan is the CEO of Virtual Visions Online (http://www.vvo.on.ca) and specializes in Web site planning, Interface design, and Internet Marketing. Her company offers free quotes on services, free design tips and resources and you can join her free ABCs of Design and Marketing newsletter at http://www.onelist.com/community/ABCDesignMarketing.


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