11. Provide Navigation Along the Top, Left Side, and Bottom
When people surf the Web, they love to slip and slide from site to site and page to page. Make sure
each of your pages has easy-to-find navigation options along the top and bottom of the page. When
visitors come to the end of an article, don’t make them scroll all the way back up to the top to get to
their next destination. Most well designed pages also have menu options in a left column. In this
column, you can either duplicate the navigation options you offer at the top and bottom or create a
separate set of links to pages directly related to the content on that page.
12. Adhere to the Three-Click Rule
Many experts advise that any piece of information on your site should be no further than three clicks
away from your home page. I suggest you go further and limit the rule to two clicks. Think of your
home page as the first level. All pages you provide a link to from the home page would be considered
the second level. Any additional pages you direct people to from the second level would be
considered the third level. Third-level pages are two clicks away from the home page. Don’t create
pages that go any deeper than the third level, if you can help it.
13. Stay Away From Autoplay Sounds
For some reason, many Web site owners love heaping musical ditties on visitors the minute they
arrive. It may seem like a good idea; but autoplay sounds take extra time to load. They can also come
blaring out of someone’s speakers when he or she least expects it, for example, at work near the boss’s
office or at home when the baby is sleeping.
14. Check for Browser Compatibility
The most common Web browsers display pages in pretty much the same way; but there are
variations. The last time I checked statistics; close to 80 percent of Internet users listed Microsoft’s
Internet Explorer as their browser of choice. You definitely want to make sure your site is designed
to accommodate Bill Gates’ favorite browser. However, Netscape Navigator is still used by a
significant number of people, as are many other, lesser-known browsers. Try to view your Web pages
using different browsers to make sure everything displays correctly. Three sites that can help you
determine the browser-friendliness of your pages are Net Mechanic
(http://www.netmechanic.com/maintain.htm), Web Site Garage (http://websitegarage.netscape.com/),
and AnyBrowser.com (http://www.anybrowser.com/).
15. Update Your Site Often
While your goal should be to make your site appealing to first-time visitors, you also need to give
visitors good reasons to return. Keep your site fresh by adding new content on a regular basis. That
doesn’t mean you should make radical changes to your design all the time, but you can add new
articles, products, giveaways, and so on.
No comments:
Post a Comment