SEO Service Stop Articles

Welcome to the another set of website design tips, and I am writing this post in the middle of Holy Week 2008 so I couldn’t help but put some “religious-ity” ; if that’s even a word, in it.

Website Building Commandment 1 - Thou Shall Not Use Too Many Graphics
Break this law and you will get what is known as the click of death. Your readers do not have all eternity to wait for your web page to load, and if it doesn’t in 5 seconds or less they will simply close the browser window. Using too many graphics or images that are not scaled to the rights sizes or saved in appropriate formats will prolong page loading.

Website Building Commandment 2 - Thou Shall Make Proper Color Choices
We live in a world of color and they are so important that experts say that colors even affect human behavior. Here is another bit of human behavior you wouldn’t want on your site; you don’t want to annoy your website visitors with colors and color combinations that cause eye strain, or confuse them. The click of death is again dealt you by visitors who have problems reading the content on your site. There are colors appropriate for backgrounds and there are those for text, choose wisely. If you can test designs among test subjects like friends or regular internet users/surfers, do so and find out which one they found less straining.

Website Building Commandment 3 - Thou Shall Not Use Too Many Moving Graphics
Every website has a specific goal, and each page laid out to achieve a part of that goal. If you want your visitor to concentrate on what your message, and eventually perform the conversion you want them to do, use moving images sparingly.

Website Building Commandment 4 - Thou Shall Be Prudent In Using Flash or Video
There is such a big hype about how video and multimedia components on websites improve message delivery and conversion. However, if you can try not to use a large flash file on a welcome page that would prolong loading and cause a visitor to leave. Each element of a website serves a specific purpose and if your site can live without a flash intro then don’t use it. Otherwise if flash is necessary,there should be visible “Skip Intro” button for users who do not have time to wait.

When using flash video or mpeg’s on a page, try to deliver the best quality image at the lowest possible file size.

Website Building Commandment 5 - Thy Page Must Load Properly On All Browsers
This has something to do with browser compatibility. Always perform a check on your site by viewing it in the main browsers such as Firefox, Internet Explorer, Netscape, and Opera. Sometimes a page will look fine on one browser but broken on another. Don’t wait for your visitors to discover this themselves.

Website Building Commandment 6 - Thy Page Must Not Have Dead Links
Dead or broken links are links to pages that no longer exist and when that happens you usually get a “page not found” error.

Website Building Commandment 7 - Thou Must Provide Easy Navigation
Simply put, your visitor should find what they need on your site in two clicks; and you have to be able to reach any page on your site also in two clicks. If your site is huge, a site map can help. Every visitor should be able to breeze through your site stress free, and it should be your commitment to make it easy for them.

Website Building Commandment 8 - Thou Must Provide Complete Information
Your site should always have complete details about who your are, the service your provide, how to reach you, privacy or policies, etc. In the same way you should provide as much product information about what it is you are selling, if you do. Under construction pages are a mortal sin.

Website Building Commandment 9 - Thou Must Update Your Site Regularly
I can give you two good reasons why you need to do this; for your visitors and for the search engines. Your visitors will eventually stop coming back to your site if they see the same old stuff. There are many ways to keep your site fresh, in fact it helps to have constantly updated information that visitors will find informative and useful. New content gives search engines something new to index, they thrive on original and unique content. Give them what they want, and they will reward you through good listings and search engine traffic.

Website Building Commandment 10 - Thou Shall Obey This Rule Above All Else
Every element that goes into a web page or website must serve a purpose!

Again your website has a goal, whether it be to advertise a product or service and then get a business lead or sale; or to simply get a loyal bunch of blog readers. Every item on a web page should contribute to achieving that goal.

Every time you consider using an image, a color scheme, an animated graphic, flash video, or anything that will go into the page, ask yourself what purpose it serves, if the page will be alright even without that item, and if that item will in a way lead a visitor towards your conversion goal.

The traditional marketing mix or the 4 P’s of marketing are the variables business owners or marketing managers control in order to satisfy customers. Business or marketing decisions and their corresponding tasks are also categorized under these 4 P’s. The four P’s are product, pricing, promotion and place or placement with the latter referring to a product’s distribution channels or points of sale. Simply, this is where the customer meets product and makes the purchase.

If you open a store one of the important things to consider is good location, preferably some place convenient and with high traffic; hopefully to get more eyeballs and incidental walk-in traffic. In this case, what will get the eyeballs and attract a passerby is your window display or storefront. Once inside, your potential customer browses through the items for sale, picks them up and inspects, considers the prices, chooses a product and takes it to the cash register to pay.

If you want to sell items online, you would need a website that duplicates the same processes and in the end allows the customer to come to a decision about a purchase that concludes in a purchase. You would then need your website enabled for e-commerce, and here are the key features your site would need.

Here are some website design tips if you are planning to build an e-commerce website or an online store.

Product Information Pages
Provide plenty of content pertinent to a product being sold. This includes product description like sizes, dimensions, colors and even comparisons with other similar products. It must allow the customer to choose a product, get a clear pricing and shipping costs on the product, complete the transaction and get an order number, and/or invoice confirmation via email. Allow your customer to choose a shipping method. Think of every possible question a customer may ask about the product, and include it in the product information page.

Always indicate if an item is in stock or not, or delivered against order. Ideally, you should have an email contact for inquiries or live help if the customer has a question. You must respond immediately! If you want to provide your own live chat and help desk services on your website, there are several specialized softwares are available for purchase.

Product pages with a SOLD notice or pages that are marked under construction annoy shoppers, so avoid these.

Create Clear Customer Service Links
Make sure that customer service links are clearly marked, visible and easy to spot so your customer does not have to dig around to find information, or search the entire page for a payment button, for example. A site with this trait allows ease in navigation and stress free online shopping.

Be Clear About Who You Are
Provide an “About Us” section or a section about your policies. If you have privacy statements and customer satisfaction policies, your customer will feel better about shopping in your store.

Publish Customer Feedback And Testimonials
Putting customer quotes and feedback especially if positive are a way of letting your prospective customer know that others are happy with your service, and help them decide on buying from you.

FAQ Pages Are A Must
To ensure that the customer is clear about the service you provide, provide an FAQ page with information about your return-back policies, guarantees, shipping prices and insurance charges if any.

Update Content Constantly
By adding new content frequently or additional product information, your returning customers will not be bored by seeing the same products they saw months ago. If your site has a date tag or current references, be sure to change these references frequently so you don’t give the perception that nobody is attending or reading your site, your site should look fresh and constantly updated.

If you need more website design tips, please feel free to send us an email using our Contact Form at  http://www.seoservicestop.com/Contact-Us.html or click this link for a Website Design Quote.