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If you are responsible for guiding and monitoring your web pages,
let the experts worry about the technical aspects. Follow these age
old principals to make sure your project and results are on track
and you will be able to provide a tool that is useful to the people
viewing and using your hard fought efforts.
Location, Location, Location.
These words, often used in the real estate, state the fact that the
location of real estate is most important. The same concept applies
to the location of your web pages. For example when I chose "ahinc"
for my company's domain name, I made two mistakes. It is not descriptive
nor is it memorable. Of course, I didn't have this article to
guide me at the time.
Your domain name or URL should be...
- Short
- Descriptive
- Simple
- Memorable
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First Impression
Look Sharp, Be Sharp. When you first visit
someplace new, there is that all-important first impression.
The first screen a user sees should be neat and provide all the information
that is needed to access your site. If your web site doesn't look
like you know what you're doing, why would you expect the viewer to
think that your company knows what it's doing? Ensure that
your web site projects your company's attitude and quality. Don't
over project and become obnoxious.
Through out the site...
- Be consistent in the design, fonts and colors
- Don't go crazy with a lot of colors and fonts
- Be tasteful and professional
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Fast Access
Nothing is more aggravating than to wait for a page to display. Yes, a certain
amount of graphics are nice, but don't use exceedingly large graphics.
Don't use an excessive amount of graphics on one page. Keep in mind
that many people accessing your pages are still using slower Internet connections. If your pages don't display within a couple of seconds, fix it!
If your web pages don't use a lot of graphics and the access is still slow, check out
the ISP who is hosting your web pages. They may have a bottleneck
or not enough high-speed connections to provide the necessary throughput.
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In the Eyes of Your Viewers
See things from the eyes of your viewers. Pretend you know nothing about your company
or it's products. Now visit your site. What did you learn?
- Is it easy to navigate?
- Is it easy to find information?
- Are there answers to their common questions?
- Is there information provided to enable them to easily contact you?
- Is the information accurate and up-to-date?
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Customer is Always Right
- Provide an easy method to allow your viewers to send you feedback
- Listen to their suggestions
- Provide solutions to their needs
- If a viewer, who is a potential or current customer, requests or suggestions
a new concept, give it to them. Doesn't matter whether you think it is necessary
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