----------------------------------------------------------------- TERMS OF REPRINT copyright 2004You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as
bylines are included and you follow these rules: * Email distribution of this article MUST be opt-in email only. * You must forward a copy of
ezine or newsletter that contains
article inside to
author at: mailto:jason@oakwebworks.com * If you post this article on a website, you must set any URL's in
body of
article and most especially in
Author's Resource Box as hyperlinks. Please send us
URL. -----------------------------------------------------------------
I believe some people create and publish websites for
sole purpose of tormenting their visitors. Browsing various websites and navigating
Web can often be like trying to read on an airplane while a kid kicks
back of your seat and
baby next to you alternates between screaming, crying and drooling on you. There are some excellent websites out there to be sure, but there are also a lot of dreadful ones too. The latter are
bane of so many people’s existence, especially those who use
Web regularly.
The Net continues to grow in popularity and importance for consumers and businesses alike. Therefore,
quality of sites needs to keep pace. Creating and maintaining high-quality websites is more important now than ever. Higher quality equals more revenue.
The following lists
top ten ways that a website misses
boat and contributes to hair loss and nervous breakdowns. Notice
common thread that runs throughout each of these. Namely, a bad website neglects to consider
site visitor’s experience in some fundamental ways.
1.Animation Seven year-olds like watching animated cartoons on Saturday morning, business people, professionals and most other adults don’t. Sites that include showy Flash animations as an ‘Intro’, animated gifs on every page, or flying words are really annoying. They take away from
content and distract
visitor from achieving their goals. Unless your site is an entertainment site, try to avoid maddening motion. However, if your product or service can be better demonstrated using Flash, Quick Time, or other multimedia, which is common, offer your visitors
chance to click a link to view it. But don’t force them.
2.Too much scrolling Once I scroll down a full screen’s worth, my eyes start to blur, I feel slightly lost, my head spins and my interest wanes. Computer monitors really aren’t
best medium for reading. The Net and many sites are so big that it’s important to always provide a clear frame of reference for your visitors at all times while they’re on your site. If a page requires two full screens of scrolling or more, simply split it up into multiple pages.
3.Long, text-heavy and blocky paragraphs of unbroken text I really have to be into a topic or desperately need to glean
information to trudge through big chunks of unbroken text online. If I’m just shopping around for a product or service, you’ve lost me if I have to endure this kind of torture. Again, it is harder to read text on
Web than in other mediums such as books. Additionally, Web users are notoriously impatient, so make your content easy to read and non-intimidating. Use titles, sub-titles, small paragraphs, bullets and numbering.
4.No obvious ways to contact
company If all you supply is an email on your website, your legitimacy may be questioned. Why can’t you answer
phone? Why hide behind an anonymous and cold email address? Make it easy for your existing and potential customers to talk with you.
5.Unchanging or out-date content If I start reading content on a site and soon discover that
content was written three years ago, I split. Since there’s so much information out there, my reasoning is there’s got to be comparable information online that’s more current. If you keep your content fresh your site will attract repeat visitors. And repeat visitors are more likely to turn into customers.