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While a site's logo is important for branding purposes, it should never be focus of a site, and in case of clothing store analogy above, should NEVER get in way! Don't be afraid to move logo aside and replace it with a headline, it will only be a benefit to you (and your visitor). After all, you don't want people looking at your logo, you want them looking at things that'll make you money!
In addition, any one of headlines in Point 1 above will make excellent buttons for your viewers to click on. The advantage of using graphics in this case, rather than plain text, is that now you can add arrows, numbers, or bursts to let your viewer know what they should be paying attention to.
If you're selling products, whether it's T-shirts, calculators, books, widgets or gadgets, you'll definitely want to showcase your best-priced and highest-profit items first, just as you would as if it were a retail store in a mall. The simple rule of thumb is as follows: every graphic on a site should have an action associated with it.
3) Spell It Out For Your Viewer!
Don't be afraid to limit number of choices you give to your visitors right away; you'll find that more often than not, it will work to your advantage. Regardless of your site's purpose, your visitors will appreciate fact that you've taken time to properly show them steps necessary to getting most out of your site.
If your site's focus is to help people make money online, combine Points 1 and 2 above and create numbered headlines to show your visitors exactly what they need to do to get started. This is far more effective than throwing a hundred links in their face and expecting them to know what to do next!
If you're selling a lot of products from your site, obviously you don't want to put them all on front page. Categorizing your products or services properly will ensure that people serious about buying will find what they want easily, and it will also increase chances that a first-time viewer will buy from you.
To sum it all up, your best bet in having an effective site is to think of a real-world application, be it a clothing store, grocery store, or hardware store. Lay out your site same way you'd lay out your store, with your best deals and highest-profit products or services first. Don't forget that headlines and color bursts are good at pulling in new customers, but be careful-- having a banner or button that's too flashy will have same negative effect as shining a strobe light into someone's eyes. Lastly, think about how you could hold your visitor's hand and show them around your site; having a site that's well-organized is always effective and always appreciated!
The three tips above are but a fraction of all tools in a marketer's toolbox. If you think your site needs some help, let me know! I'll give you ten tips on how you can make it more effective, regardless of what you're selling! If you contact me today, I'll take $50 off price of Worldprofit's famous Site Review Service! Come on folks, for $99.95, it's a steal! Hit reply or mailto:customerservice@worldprofit.com now!
Jody Hatton, Web Designer and Flash Extraordinaire, knows exactly how to market your message using the Web's most exciting medium: Flash animation! Have a look at his latest and greatest Flash piece, which has helped Worldprofit and other businesses pull in thousands of leads: http://www.worldprofit.com/uhbp/ Questions? mailto:customerservice@worldprofit.com