Recommended Affiliate Programs
By - Mandy Porta
Is your website producing
the results you hoped for? Are you serious about the effectiveness of your
online investment? This article explains eight basic ingredients of a successful
website. Take note, because missing an ingredient can result in a poor
aftertaste for your website visitors.
1. Original, Fresh Content
Content is king in the web world. People visit websites for the primary purpose
of finding content, so make sure you deliver. Website content should be unique
and up to date. Fresh content will keep visitors and search engines coming back
for more. Don't forget to proofread!
2. Target Audience
From a quick scan of your website, visitors should be able to determine what you
offer and how you can benefit them. A good website will have headlines and text
that speaks to the target audience's needs and wants. Many websites simply list
what their company does without saying how they can benefit their target
audience. Keep your audience in mind when designing your website to be sure that
it will appeal to them and encourage them to take action (whether that is to
submit a contact form, sign up for a newsletter or buy a product).
3. User-Friendly
Navigation
A good website has content that is easy to find. Pages should be organized and
named in a way that the target audience will easily understand. For instance, a
services page would be better labeled "Services" than "Business
Solutions." Keep your navigation consistent from page to page to avoid any
possible confusion. Double check all your links to make sure they are working.
Make sure that your most popular content is no more than a click away from your
homepage. If your website has a lot of content, provide a search box so visitors
can quickly find what they are looking for.
4. Simple and Professional
Design
A good website will have an attractive layout that is easy on the eyes. Be sure
your colors contrast well and your text doesn't require a magnifying glass to
read. Personally, I can't stand reading large amounts of content written in
white on a black background. It strains my eyes. Reducing the contrast a bit can
help (light grey text on dark grey background).
Lots of text can overwhelm
a user. Breaking up text into subheads and bullet points will improve the layout
of the page and make the text more scannable. No one has time to read every word
on a page.
Use design elements to
draw attention to or to enhance the content of a page. With every design element
added, take a step back and make sure it serves a purpose and does not detract
from the usability of the site. Put things where users expect them to be.
However, do try to make your website look unique. Just remember that simple,
professional design will be much more effective than flashy, overcrowded design.
5. Speed
How many seconds will you wait for a page to load before you give up and leave a
website? Many factors can affect the loading time of a website including coding,
number of graphics, the server speed, traffic volume on the website and the
capabilities of a user's computer.
Make sure your server has
the proper amount of space/bandwidth for your website and that your website code
is lightweight. Use large graphics sparingly. Use CSS styles in place of
graphics where possible. Waiting for large graphics or a fancy flash animation
to load on each page will surely turn away some visitors.
6. Search engine
optimization
SEO is one of the most commonly neglected aspects of a website, but a website is
useless if no one can find it. Think about the keywords that users may search
for to find a product or service you offer. Do some research to see how often
those keywords are searched for through a tool like Google's Keyword Tool. Use
keywords in titles, meta tags, headings, file names and in the content of your
site. Search engine optimization can mean the difference between getting 500
visitors a month and 500+ visitors a day.
7. Link building
Links are an important factor in determining where your website appears in
search engine results. Find as many legitimate sites as you can that will link
you your website. Add your link to your business profile in directories like
Google Local, Yahoo! Local, Merchant Circle, Insider Pages, Yellow Pages,
LinkedIn and more. Submit articles and PR to sites that will include a link back
to your website. The best way to get links to your site, however, is to provide
unique and interesting content that people want to link to. You can make it easy
for them to share your content by providing links or buttons such as the
addthis.com button.
8. Tracking
A good website is a work in progress. A nice tool like Google Analytics will
keep track of the number of people who come to your website, what pages they
viewed, where they came from, what keywords they used in search engines, how
many left after the first page and more. Unlike other media, websites can be
easily tracked to see what is working and what isn't. This data will help you to
improve the quality and structure of your site.
Conclusion
Remember to include these characteristics in your next website design project. A
professional-looking website with interesting content that is easy to navigate
and can be found in search engines is sure to bring value to your business.
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About The Author:
Mandy Porta is the owner
of Success Designs, an Ascension/Baton
Rouge website design and marketing firm that creates custom,
conversion-focused websites and marketing materials including brochures, logos,
catalogs, email campaigns and more. More articles can be found at the
SuccessBlog, a marketing
resource for small businesses.
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