I just added some content to HBRD. Here is one of our newest articles for our FREE Content Directory:
Are You Chasing Your Visitors Away?
By: Terri Seymour
To keep your visitors coming back, the main goals of your website are for visitor participation and benefits. Provide an interesting, beneficial and useful website and they will come back! If your site is annoying you can be sure they will find another site to visit, never to come back to yours.
Here are some ways you can be sure to annoy your visitors:
(they might not annoy all, but probably the majority)
Frames - Chopping up a site with frames is a great wayto get your visitors frustrated. These frames are very obtrusive and make navigation and reading your site much harder. They are also disliked by the search engine spiders.
Overbearing Graphics - Not only are these blinking and flashing graphics distracting and unnecessary, they can also cause your site to download very slowly. Most people do not have the time to sit and wait for an extremely slow site, and will leave before even knowing what your site has to offer.
No Contact Information - I cannot stress enough howimportant it is to have your email address and other contact info on every page. This will add credibility to your site and always give your visitors a reason to be assured that you can be reached when needed.
Hard To Navigate -You want your visitors to be ableto get around your site without trouble. Have your links all together in a place that is easily seen. Have them in the same place on every page.
Inconsistent Page Design - I have been on some siteswhere after clicking on a link, I didn't even know if I was at the same site. The page was totally different and did not have any of the same information or links as the previous page. After trying to find what I was looking for and not finding it, I left. Please keep your site design uniform and consistent. This will make it much easier on your visitors.
Spelling and Grammar – Always proofread your web pages. Designing and building a professional website is a waste of time if it reads like a five year old wrote it. With spell checker, grammar checker, dictionaries, etc. there is no excuse for poorly written web pages!
Too Many Banners -If you want banners on your site,set up a banner exchange page for this purpose only. Do not have your homepage or other pages so loaded with banners that there isn't room for anything else.
Hard To Read Text - Do not use fancy text or pale text on a pale background. The easiest to read is a dark text on a light background. Also, if you use a textured or print background, be sure that it is not hard on the eyes. One site I visited had a weave look background that made the text so hard to read, after a few minutes of looking around I had to leave because I was getting a headache. If you think it is easy to see get a few more opinions just to be sure!
Music - Music used to be very common on the web.Practically every site you went to had music. More and more people started realizing that this was a major distraction and annoyance to a lot of people. If you really want music, have a choice for your visitors. Let them decide if they want the music.
Lack of Content -You've got to have content. Peoplevisit a website to see what the site has that will benefit them. Useful, helpful, practical content can't be beat! This would include resources, freebies, tips, ideas, information, interaction, contests, etc.
One thing you can do is visit several sites that pertain to your business. Study these sites and write down what you find annoying. Write down any reasons you have for leaving the site. Take note of what you like about these sites. Incorporate all these findings into creating a sharp, clean, useful website with nothing that will chase away your visitors!
Article Source: http://www.homebusinessresourcedirectory.com
Authors Bio: Find lots more tips, articles, and resources and a chance to own your own profitable ebook store with unlimited support at http://www.SeymourProducts.com Seymour Products offers a huge selection of ebooks and software only $1.00 each with resell rights. Business Marketing Bulletin loaded with resources, tips, fun and more! mailto:subscribe@seymourproducts.com
Note: You may use this article for reprint ONLY if you DO NOT change the article in ANY way, AND you keep the source and bio IN TACT with ALL links ACTIVE!
Thursday, June 29, 2006
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