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Further
Reading ...
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Defining The Traits Of A Successful Leader - Archie R Lawhorne
What makes a good leader? For starters, leaders don't wait for other people to give them permission to do something. They just do it. Leaders accept responsibility for the choices they make in life. They don't get sucked into the "victim...
Making Valuable Contacts Online - Angela Booth
Making Valuable Contacts Online Copyright (c) 2003 by Angela Booth Remember the old saying: "it's not what you know, it's who you know"? It's true. Your contacts determine whether your business succeeds or fails, and for reasons of credibility,...
Reap Lifestyle Rewards from Improved Time Management - Gerry McRae
Increase your motivation to improve your time management. Provide yourself with more time for family, fun and recreation. Transposing your success of managing your business activities over to your non-business life can reap surprising rewards. ...
Ready to Do Marketing Full Time? 10 Important Points to Consider - Olga Farber Becker
So, your income from your marketing efforts starts to be somewhat tangible. Or you just see that you could grow your income much more than if you keep your job - focusing on your marketing activities only. Count me in. ;) Here are several...
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The Top 6 Website Sins
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Written By:
Niall Roche
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They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Your website then is the window to your business. What would a passerby think of your "window"? Would they want to stop and maybe come inside for a few moments? Or would they just pass by without giving it a second glance?
The goal of any website is to make the visitor stay. The desired visitor response might be that they make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, enter a competition or simply complete a survey. The end result is the same - you need the web surfer to hang around your website for as long as possible.
There are, however, aspects of your site which can stop visitors from staying. Some of these are:
Sin #1
Slow loading
The ultimate website sin. Your homepage must, must, must load in 30 seconds or less. This is not optional. If a visitor has to wait more than 30 seconds they will stop what they're doing and move on to the next website. Optimize your website to load quickly by using as few graphics as possible and then only use JPEGS and GIFS. Your website should be no more than 20% graphics and at least 80% text. Why? Text loads faster and also keeps your visitor reading about your site as it loads up.
Sin #2
Poor layout
A visitor should be able to find what they need on your website in 3 clicks of the mouse or less. Any more than that and you're losing valuable visitors. Your navigation menu should be easy to use and every single link must work properly. Make use of a sitemap. Do not use fancy cursors. Do not use complicated menu systems. Text should be legible but not too big. Keep it simple. Imagine how a new internet user would react to your website. Would they love it or hate it? Could a new visitor to your website easily find the information they're looking for?
Sin #3
Awful color schemes
There's nothing worse than searching for a website for hours only to find what you need and then realize that you cannot read the text on the pages because the owner though yellow text on a light blue background was cool. If you need guidance on how to choose colors for your website look at any magazine for examples. Black or dark blue text on a white background is the simplest and most effective color scheme.
For your menus and other background colours bear the following in mind:
Red is stimulating and agressive.
Blue is - continued below ...
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continued ...
peaceful and tranquil.
Gree is calm and refreshing.
Yellow grabs peoples attention.
Purple is wealthy and luxurious.
Brown is solid and reliable.
Orange is bright and optimistic.
Sin #4
Poor spelling and grammar
If you're selling a product or service online and your website is littered with spelling and grammar mistakes then you're on a loser immediately. I recently reviewed an ebook that had 4 very bad spelling mistakes including the word business misspelled in the opening paragraph. Inexcusable. We all make mistakes but keep them to a minimum. A visitor may forgive one typo. You may not get a second chance.
Here's 3 tips for checking your webpages.
1. Use a spell checker. Every word-processor has one.
2. Proofread anything you write from bottom to top. You'll spot more mistakes that way.
3. Always proof read anything you've written 24 hours later. You'll be amazed at how many mistakes you'll spot.
Sin #5
Flashing graphics
Banners or logos that flash, spin, fade in and out and/or perform any other gimmick are a no go area. Don't use them. Flashing banners and logos say "I've never put together a website before. Cool, huh?" Any website with this type of graphic element turns me off. A website logo or banner should be a static graphic or text. Online marketing surveys consistently report that animated icons and graphics on a website are a major turnoff for visitors.
Sin #6
Hit counters
Only used by amateurs. Take them off your website. Please. Any decent webhost can provide you with traffic stats which will provide much more accurate information than a hit counter. Having a hit counter on your website was a good idea 8 years ago. The online world has moved on. You should too.
There's an old rule of sales:
"If I could see through John Smiths eyes I could sell John Smith what John Smith buys".
Design your website for your visitor and not for you.
http://www.affiliate-advocate.com is packed full of web marketing advice and ebook reviews. Niall Roche is the content author & owner of http://www.affiliate-advocate.com
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| _Additional Resources ... |
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Become a Certified Success in the World of Business and Finance - Matt McAllister
By Zach Chouteau There’s no denying that today’s business and finance sectors have become more competitive than ever. It has become critical for professionals to not only have the necessary skills to succeed, but the certification employers...
Do you know the Difference between Rates and Wages? - Ellen Zucker
The difference between rates and wages is not always clear to newly self-employed people and their wage-earning clients. Both look similar on the surface; both are expressed in dollars and cents per hour. But they each represent something very...
Business Coaching - Ten Ways of Dealing with Mistakes You Made - Ruth Zanes
You can either choose to dwell on what happened and get stuck in the past or you can choose to start using your energy to build your future. Either choice is okay. But ask yourself which choice is the most empowering? Should you choose to start to...
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