The biggest mistake one can make when designing a website is to include too many fancy graphic works and flash files that needs endless minutes loading them for display. Let us discuss what makes up a good website design.
1. Splash pages is not a good solution
Splash pages are the first pages you see when you arrive at a website. Made up of pretty designs, they are usually lavish images and graphics with accompanying words such as "welcome to our site" or "click here to enter". These are merely distractions that can divert attention away from the purpose of your website. Do not let your visitors have a reason to click on the "back" button!
2. Banners can be counterproductive
Although these can be at the foot of a web page, adverts like this are primarily placed right at the top of the page in what is called the 'header'. Even the newbie to the internet have trained themselves to ignore banner ads so placing them would only waste precious real estate space. A better solution would be to add useful web contents and weave affiliate links artfully into them.
3. Keep navigation simple
Keep navigation simple so that the youngest user can use it. Do not use any form of menus that will complicate users, drop downs and multi-tiers are not a good idea. Any form of complicated navigation will cause them to leave your site for good. Your website design should include the construction a sitemap that will make it easy for them to find what they want.
4. Don't let your visitors feel as if they are lost
When visitors are deeply engrossed in browsing your site, you will want to make sure they know which part of the site they are in at that moment. This will provide the visitor with their exact location at any point while they look around your site. Ensure every page of your website has its title and a tracking system is used to allow visitors to see where they have been and where they are. If you confuse your visitors in any way they will leave.
5. Do you really need to include audio?
Avoid the use of music if you can. A sound file should not be played continuously it can be irritating on the user. Adding audios may seem cool but provide some form of user control such as muting ability or volume control so that your visitors can adjust accordingly. If you wish for the visitors to return to your site, learn to apply all these website design rules and you can reap the benefits of long term traffic.
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