When I visit a site, I make a point of looking for some standard features which increase value of my stop. One of these things is a guestbook - why? Because I want to sign it and let webmaster know that I appreciate his or her efforts. This is important to me, as someone went to some trouble to communicate, and I like to communicate back, even if it's just a "nice site, thanks". Sometimes I have to spend an extra few minutes to find something to compliment, but I usually am successful.

I also look for a link to send an email to webmaster. This allows me to send private messages, which are more useful for feedback not appropriate for a public forum such as a guestbook. I don't always send an email or make a comment, but it's useful to know that I can if necessary.

It's always a huge delight to find a message board, and it's even better to find that board is active and in use on a regular basis. You see, this means that I can have discussions with people about a subject, knowing that most of them have some interest in conversation.

An example of my own message board can be seen if you click link below.

http://www.internet-tips.net/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi

A good message board allows people to register (as does mine), lets people set up profiles with information about themselves (all voluntary), and informs people (optionally) of updates via email. Additionally, people should be able to post replies and add messages anonymously (at discretion of board master).

What does all of this do? It allows people to have conversations about specific topics with a group of interested individuals. What is value of this? Well, suppose your site is all about X-Men comic series. It has some great stories which you have written, some graphics and a few videos from movie (all with permission, of course).

10. DO have an easy to use navigation system in place on your site. One of quickest ways to lose visitors and thereforesales, is to have a navigation system that works like Winchester Mystery House (an attraction in California that has doorways leading to nowhere). If your visitor gets lost and can't find their way around, or if they have to keep clicking a back button to return to your homepage just to visit another page on your site, they will tire of this and just leave, taking their business with them. Make sure that you not only have a navigation bar at top of each page, but also put a text navigation bar at bottom of every page, so they don't have to scroll to top to travel through your site. The easier it is for them to move through your site, more they'll see, more comfortable they'll feel and more likely it is that they will purchase from YOU and not your competitors.

9. DO NOT use too many large or active graphics. Graphics can increase your load time and most surfers don't want to wait around to see a large but 'cute' animated graphic of your service - they'd rather be informed about your products or service. So keep your graphics simple and use them sparingly - especially animated graphics. Too much animation will detract them from where their attention should be - on your products or services.

8. DO make sure your text is clear, concise and error-free. Keeping your text concise and easy to read is important because if your visitor is confused about what you offer, you will lose them to a competitor. If writing intelligible text is not your forte, hire a professional copywriter to make sure that your text describes your products or services in an intelligent, yet easy to understand manner. And make sure your site is 100% proofread! Nothing lowers opinion of a potential customer more than a site filled with typos and errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation or syntax. (Gee, if they can't even spell 'electrical' properly, or don't know difference between 'their' and 'there', they can't be very intelligent, therefore what would quality of their service or product be?) And that's another point that must be made here - NEVER rely on a 'spellcheck' program to do your proofreading for you - they have no idea if you mean 'there' or 'their' so therefore you can run a spellcheck until you're blue in face and you will still have those kinds of errors on your site! And again, if this is not one of your strong points, hire a professional proofreader to check your site.

7. DO NOT overuse audio effects on your site. Nothing is more irritating to a visitor than to have some new age music or some strange noise blaring over and over and over during their visit to your site. A brief one-time sound as a special effect on home page can catch their attention and be beneficial, but don't loop it so it plays on and on. And even if you provide a way to mute a sound effect, they still have to deal with locating controls and hope they work properly - and they did not come to your site to be an audio technician, they came to your site because they were interested in what you have to offer them. Make your products or services most interesting items on your site, without repetitive, annoying audio to distract your visitors.

6. DO use colors that are complimentary and subtle. There is nothing that will make a visitor leave a site quicker than that day- glo lime green background with fire-engine red graphics! Always make sure that your colors compliment each other and blend well together. If you choose to go with primary colors, then stick with basics (true red, true blue, etc.) and if you choose to use more dusky colors (teal green, dusty rose, beige, cranberry), then stick with those. Use bright colors sparingly and for accent only - not as background or for your larger images. And you should have only THREE main colors in your design. And those three colors should always be from a 'web-safe palette' to ensure all your visitors will see colors you intended. You want your visitors to focus on your products or services, and using correct colors to showcase them properly will increase your sales.