Would you buy meat from a grocer that you knew left bad meat with good meat or wasn't clean? Would you buy a car from a sales lot that had totaled automobiles on the front row? I wouldn't and neither would you. Your website is your grocery store or car lot. You must have an atmosphere that is pleasing to buyers and one that tells the buyer that you aren't an amateur, but that you are a trained and seasoned professional. Your site is a direct reflection of you and your business, and that is why having a well designed website can make or break your sales.
The first thing to keep in mind when designing your website is "surfability". Take a few minutes and look around at several web pages. What makes them appealing? Were there some that you closed out of immediately? Why? Take notes and do your research. Keep in mind that when a person visits your site, they have a goal in mind. They are either seeking information or shopping for a product. Give the person what they want without having to search for it. Be sure all the information on your site is relevant to your product. Make the buyer think that they need your product to solve their problem.
Your main page serves a very specific purpose. It should be an avenue by which the customer can shop your site. It should be easy to view and needs to load very quickly. First impressions of your business will be determined here, and we all know that first impressions can either close the deal or loose it. Make it simple. It's best to have links that are easily viewed by the reader and that will allow them to navigate with ease. Tables are often a great choice when deciding on a way to design the main page of your site. Again, your main page should load very quickly. Chances are, if it takes the page more than ten seconds to load, even on a 56k modem, the customer will click away to save time, hoping to find the information or product elsewhere. To increase the loading speed of your main page, you should avoid large graphics or excessive graphics. Too many banners or special effects can cause a page to load slowly as well.
To make your web site more appealing to the eyes, you should stick to mild colors. If your site is a content site where the user will be doing a lot of reading, it's best to stick to black and white. Color can be added when using tables as a way to brighten up the page, but you need to remember to keep the overall look of the page professional and appealing to the audience that will be visiting most often. Since screen resolutions vary among monitors, it is a good idea to set the pixels to a standard 800x600. You may also choose to set the tables in your web page to span a percentage of the page rather than a set number of inches. This will help to accommodate all screen sizes. You should remember that a lot of internet users will not use the same browser as you, and therefore you should be sure that your site looks as good on other browsers as it does your own. You can do this by downloading several browsers through which to look at your page.
Be aware of the fact that the overall look of your website can enhance your ability to make money. The appearance of your site, if designed properly, can be an excellent marketing strategy for your product or service.
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