Marketing | Website Usability | Architeture

Keeping It Simple!
Easy navigation and usability are one of the most important aspects of creating a "USER FRIENDLY" WEBSITE DESIGN.

When it comes to GOOD WEB DESIGN, and great site navigation, think of your website as if you were having guests over to your house. Make your house, as well as your website, “neat and ready to greet!”

The Top 10 List Of Website Annoyances!
1. Music or any voice recording that automatically plays when entering a site, without proving the option of turning it off. Always the option of listening to any recorded information you have on your website. Don't automatically assume that your visitors will be captivated by your voice, or your choice of music.

2. Animated or spinning GIF's or of any kind. Websites that have the “Under Construction” sign.

3. Large numbers of “flashing” or “blinking” banner ads. You don’t need to shout to people to get you message heard on the Internet. Keep you banner ad’s limited, and your content plentiful!

4. Website owners that make it too hard to navigate their site. Make your product, price, or service, clear, precise, and easy to find. The "about us,” or "frequently asked questions" section of some web-sites, leaves me with more questions than answers. Design your content so that even elementary school children can understand the purpose of your website.  

5. Pop-Ups..and more pop-ups. One or a few is sufficient. Too many pop-ups may freeze your users computer screen. The same applies for any of those "fly-in" or "hover ads" that bounce across the users computer screen. If you have to use anything, incorporate a pop-up that loads when a visitor leaves, not before, or during their visit to your site.

6. A page full of dead links and constant "Page Not Found" error messages. Your links should be kept up to date and remove the links that are no longer active.

7. Cursing or using worn out phrases like "Kick Butt," or "Kick Ass." (Example: “Kick Ass Copy-Writing Service,” “Kick Butt Web Marketing”). Impress your visitors with intelligent, informative, advertising copy and content.

8. Avoid using "ultra" dark backgrounds accented with an equally dark font. Your users shouldn't have to be forced to adjust the brightness controls on his/her montior, no should they have to highlight the text in order for the information on your website to be read!

9. Marcomedia's Flash should be used sparingly. Unless you have a film site, or a product that requires a detailed visual description, just forget about using flash for e-commerce. There is a majority of people out there who still use those older dial-up modems and shouldn't be forced to waite to view your website. Even when if they use the skip feature, it will still take too long for the page to load. If you are using your site to sell a product, just stick with high quality, fast loading photos, followed up with good creative descriptions of each item.

10. Solid blocks of text with no breaks between paragraphs. The only industry that gets away with that format is newspaper, book, and magazine publishers. The Internet is a different world altogether. People not only want their information quick, but they also want to read it in smaller, "bit size" portions of content.