Designing Above the Fold

Written by Rich Baker


The most value part of any web page is that part which is shown in your browser beforerepparttar need to scroll. This is generally known as "aboverepparttar 132805 fold."

Arguably, you have just 10 seconds to grab your visitors' attention. That doesn't seem long, but asrepparttar 132806 brain can absorb thousands and thousands bits of information per second...10 seconds is long enough to get your message across!

The "aboverepparttar 132807 fold" part of a web page (especially ofrepparttar 132808 home page) isrepparttar 132809 most valuable real estate you have on your web site.

The first fold of your web site needs to communicaterepparttar 132810 biggest benefit you have to offer your visitors. This is often referred to as your Unique Selling Point or "USP". However, 7 out of 10 web sites are poorly designed aboverepparttar 132811 fold. Here arerepparttar 132812 4 top pitfalls that drive visitor's away.

1. Flashing banners

2. Too many links

3. No clear USP

4. Time consuming flash animation

So what should you do to capturerepparttar 132813 attention of your visitor? Here arerepparttar 132814 things you should include aboverepparttar 132815 fold.

1. Spell out your USP Answerrepparttar 132816 visitor's biggest question, "what's in it for me?" Use a main headline and supplement it with a secondary headline. Communicate benefits, benefits and more benefits torepparttar 132817 visitor. You should use a H1 or H2 tag forrepparttar 132818 main headline and H3 forrepparttar 132819 supplementary headline.

Is your USP to saverepparttar 132820 visitor money? Offer a guarantee? Make live easier? Helprepparttar 132821 visitor to earn an income? When you are working out your USP and benefits...rememberrepparttar 132822 difference bewteen "benefits" and "features." If you have a product that is reliable - that is a feature. The benefit would be peace of mind or lower maintainence cost.

2. Opt-in Email address or Bookmark If you offer your visitorrepparttar 132823 chance to bookmark or opt-in to a newsletter or request more information then placerepparttar 132824 links intorepparttar 132825 "aboverepparttar 132826 fold." You should do this for every page. You have worked so hard to build and promote your website and now you are attracting traffic, but if you can get an email address or allow your visitor to bookmark you, you will increase your chance to continue promoting to visitors after they have left your web site

Find a Hidden Fortune in Your Website 'Stats'

Written by Jim Edwards


Most people never bother to look atrepparttar statistics program that comes with virtually every website because few realizerepparttar 132804 goldmine of information it contains.

Your website statistics holdrepparttar 132805 key for understanding your traffic, improving sales and increasingrepparttar 132806 overall effectiveness of your online selling. Whether you realize it or not, your website has 'critical numbers' that enable you to measurerepparttar 132807 overall success of your Internet presence.

Any serious website operator should understandrepparttar 132808 four most important numbers: Hits; Unique, Targeted Visitors; Leads; Sales.

Hits - Hits are typically page views, whether byrepparttar 132809 same or different visitors, and indicate overall activity onrepparttar 132810 site.

A lot of hits shows activity (usually a good thing), but doesn't necessarily mean you've had a high number of visitors. Search engine 'spiders' and surfers hitting their back buttons also uprepparttar 132811 hit count.

Research has shown that, depending onrepparttar 132812 size of your site,repparttar 132813 ratio of hits to visitors will range anywhere from 2 to 1 allrepparttar 132814 way up to 12 to 1.

Unique, Targeted Visitors - people surfing to your site who have not been there before within a certain period of time. Depending onrepparttar 132815 statistics program you use, a unique visitor may be someone who hasn't been to your site in a day or a week, while in other programs a visitor remains unique until you resetrepparttar 132816 stats.

You must understand how your stats program classifies unique visitors so you don't mistakenly believe your site is getting 30 unique visitors a day only to find out it isrepparttar 132817 same 30 people coming back day after day!

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