I get several email messages a day - and occasional phone call - about questions and problems from visitors to my website. Those people are more valuable visitors and potential customers because they care enough to ask their question rather than simply taking their business elsewhere. Are you losing them to your competitors?

Contact information is more important when your visitors can't see you in person, such as on your website. A real address, phone number and email address establishes credibility and reassures people that there is a real person behind website that can help them if they have difficulties using website or products they purchase.

If they can't contact you, many people just won't do business with you. Yahoo! has recognized this and now refuses to list business websites without contact information, including a physical address.

You must include your physical address (preferably NOT a PO Box) and an email address. I recommend you also include your phone number and a fax number, if you have one. To look truly professional, and encourage more people to call, your phone number should be a toll-free number.

Clarity Is Everything. How "User Friendly" Is Your Site? In general, we designers will often find ourselves preaching about keeping things simple when it comes to our design... but is that all there is to it? If all one does is achieve simplicity, will that person produce a successful design as a result? Well, chances are that they will be well on their way, but there is still more to consider. I would like to discuss reason to use simplicity as a tool in first place. Not for it's own sake, but rather to create clarity in conveying information. This is whole point of graphic design in first place... to communicate as clearly and effectively as possible. Instead of term "Graphic Design," I would prefer it be called "Information Design."

Some tools that one can use to achieve clear and effective design are: use of subtleness, and implementation of an obvious hierarchy. The use of subtleness will help create an obvious hierarchy. How can anything be important on a given page when every second word is in bold, italics, highlighted color, 25pt type, exclamation points... or worst of all, all of above. One has to be allot more subtle about things; competition between elements in a given space is not a good thing (as a general rule, there are exceptions). This way when something is highlighted or stressed, a clear hierarchy is created. The use of subtleness and simplicity, will create clarity and readability.

What is one of first things to look at when you want to achieve simplicity, subtleness and clarity? Well, to begin right, it is advisable to start with bare bones. Think about underlying grid structure- should you use a three-column grid, or a five-column grid. The use of a grid structure when creating layouts should not become restrictive, it should help to create consistency and order; and of course, consistency and order become skeleton for a good hierarchy. What is chosen all depends on content; how much of it is there, and how should it be presented? Remember, you may understand content, but that doesn't mean that everybody else does. The content must be dissected and put back together in such a way that it becomes clear and easy to follow for your audience.