WEBSITE DESIGN - article index

• 5 Quick Tips for Creating an 'Effective' Website by Harmony Major
• AIEEEE! The Top 8 Web Design Disasters: Are you sending YOUR visitors screaming? by Harmony Major
• Is YOUR Website Ready for the Public? by Harmony Major
• The Three Words Your Web Site Can't Live Without By Terry Dean

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5 Quick Tips for Creating an 'Effective' Website
© 1999, by Harmony Major

Although I wouldn't call myself a website design guru, I know what works and what doesn't in creating a successful website. I'm a super-fast learner, and I want to pass on my knowledge of website design to you, in only a few short paragraphs. Of course this isn't meant to be a full-fledged course on website design -- I hope to tell you the main things that you should be doing to design an effective website.

First of all, what determines whether or not your website is "effective?" Whether or not your visitors come, are pleased by what they see, and return! And, whether or not they feel your website is excellent enough to tell their friends about, write about in their ezines, or submit to any of the "Best of the Web" awards out there is a good starting point. Here are the things that your website absolutely MUST HAVE to be successful in the home business world
 

1.) An easy-to-understand navigational system.

Can your visitors get around easily, or are they easily lost? Do you have a link to get back to your home page and/or "table of contents" on EVERY page or only a select few? What if someone decides that your website is so great they decide to link to one of your secondary pages?

Ten times out of eight, other Webmasters WON'T tell you when they've linked to you. So, if they link to a page that isn't connected to your home page ... how are they supposed to find it?? It doesn't occur to most people to take the base of the URL they've visited. 90% of the time, you've just lost a potential customer. 
 

2.) Your name and email address listed on your website.

Having an email address is just not enough. Who are your visitors supposed to address their mail to, and exactly WHAT are you hiding from?? What's the point of NOT putting your name on your web pages? Do you just forget, does it not occur to you, or are you afraid people are going to be able to figure out where you live and come stalk you just by having access to your first and last name??

Whatever the reasoning, it's absolutely ridiculous. Not having your full name plainly listed on your website is ruining your credibility and the credibility of your business. So, let me break it down for you ...

JUST DO IT! If you don't plan to list your full name and email address on your website as the BARE MINIMUM, you may as well pack it up now and call it quits. 
 

3.) A compatible screen size for most, (if not all), browsers.

800x600 pixels is an ideal standard for your web pages. You can control the width of your website by using tables, and setting the width of the outer table to the maximum size. So in this case, you'd set the table width to 600 pixels. If you're using percentages instead of straight pixel width, set the percentage to no more than about 85-90%.

4.) A reasonable background image and color scheme.

Those orange and green backgrounds with bright red text are just NOT with it -- no matter what the amateurs say. Stick to a background/text color combination that's actually READABLE. That makes sense, right?

If you have to squint just to read the words on your pages, your background is WAY out of line, and your site needs a major color scheme makeover! Use BLACK text, or very dark colored text on a WHITE or very light colored background. Save the white on black backgrounds for pages that DON'T have a lot of text on them.

But, if you feel that you absolutely MUST have those stars, triangles, or dinosaurs cluttering up your background, make sure that you set the image as the background for the page, and put a plain WHITE table on every page that will contain text. If done right, this can be a very pleasing addition to any web page. 

5.) Use mood colors.

This one isn't mandatory, but it can be helpful when setting the tone of your website. For example, green is usually referred to as a "concentration" color. So, on pages that have a lot of text, use a green background pattern (with your text in a white/light colored table) or green highlights throughout the page. But, be careful ... dark green is seen as a money color, while the regular, "standard" green is the concentration color.

You can use color to your advantage in website building, to make your visitors feel energized, relaxed, focused, more ready to make a purchase, or almost any other effect. You're only limited by your imagination! (And, of course ... color blindness.) ;-)
 

If you follow those five basic website design tips outlined above, designing your first website (or touching up an existing one) shouldn't be such a horror! Read all of the website design articles that you can to get a good working knowledge of design, and the do's and don'ts of effective design habits. There are a lot of quality articles (recently updated) at http://homebasedheaven.com/research/articles/#design

The articles on that site are some of the best that I've seen online, and the site is updated regularly. Check out those articles if you never read another word on website design! 

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Harmony Major is the author of Yahoo! Secrets, where she reveals how YOU can drive HUNDREDS more visitors to your site each day, by getting a #1 listing on Yahoo. Don't just settle for "getting listed." Use her instantly-effective tactics to boost your site traffic with a TOP Yahoo listing! Visit: http://YahooSecrets.com

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AIEEEE! The Top 8 Web Design Disasters: Are you sending YOUR visitors screaming?
© 1999, by Harmony Major

The following eight tips aren't meant to offend, but to teach. I want to help you avoid the same terrible web design mistakes that I made in my first few months online. And, believe me ... when I look back on some of MY first pages, I CRINGE with repulsion!

So brace yourself -- these could get kinda ugly. 
 

DISASTER #8: Center everything down each page. 

Centering ALL of your text makes it VERY hard to read, and even harder to pick out the important points. And, other than that, IT'S TACKY! 
 

DISASTER #7: Include at least 50 banners on each page. 

I, for one, am impatient. That makes me only one of THOUSANDS of Web surfers that simply WILL NOT WAIT for your banner-laden pages to load. When I visit a site and even see OUTLINES of tons of banners on the home page, I'm on the fast track to a DIFFERENT site. The statistics are true -- you're losing valuable visitors. 
 

DISASTER #6: Make all of the text H - U - G - E. 

Assuming at least 50% of the population HAS 20/20 vision, I doubt that this is necessary. It makes your text hard on the eyes, and your pages look less than desirable. 
 

DISASTER #5: Use backgrounds with at least three bright, clashing colors. 

Super-retro, clashing patterns and colors make your text hard to read, no matter WHAT color the words are. And, those wavy lines in the background make our heads vibrate. This is NOT "The Groovy Sixties," people. PLEASE spare us -- we need our eyesight for other things! 
 

DISASTER #4: Have absolutely NO way to contact you at all on your site. 

If your visitors have questions about the services, products, or resources you offer, they're going to need a simple way of getting in touch with you -- an e-mail address at the VERY least. We won't be happy if your long distance number is the only means of contact on the site. 
 

DISASTER #3: Don't put your name ANYWHERE on your site. 

Realistically, you're making visitors feel like Neanderthals when they have to send an email addressed, "Dear ... You." If you want us to trust you enough to buy from you, you'll need to disclose a bit more info than that! Employees of major corporations wear name tags, or have name plates on their desks. An Internet business should be run no differently.
 

DISASTER #2: Plaster things on your site that have NOTHING to do with its theme. 

If a visitor comes to your site after doing a search on Lycos for "free marketing tips," then by-gosh... that's what they'd better find. They didn't come to see the Amazon.com fishing books showcased on your home page, nor did they come to bid at an auction on the One-and-Only Network! Stick to your theme like white on rice. (Please forgive the cliche'. <g>) 
 
 

And, the number one "Webmaster disaster" that'll send your visitors howling is...

DISASTER #1: Have whirling, spinning, farting, bubbling animations on every page. 

Putting animated bullets next to important text is the WORST thing any Webmaster could do. This does absolutely nothing but distract your visitor's eyes away from the info that was intended to get them to subscribe to your newsletter, or buy your products. 

"And, just what makes ME Ms. Know-It-All Web Design Woman," you ask?

"Why should you listen to me," you wonder?

Let's just say that I've learned my share of Web design lessons the hard way. Take a look at the page I used when I first started out, compared to my website that I recently designed, and tell me what YOU think. Make sure you let the old page load first before scrolling down. It should only take a second. ;-) 

THEN: http://homebasedheaven.com/thispagesucks.html

NOW: http://ExpertOnEbiz.com

I'll bet you'll be MUCH more inclined to take my expert advice NOW ... after you're done laughing at my home page THEN. To coin a phrase, "I've come a long way, Baby!" 

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Excerpted from 'Simply, eBusiness', Harmony Major's online business and marketing startup guide. Learn how to start an online business, acquire money-making online marketing techniques, and profit like never before! Get the guide at http://SimplyeBusiness.NET

Is YOUR Website Ready for the Public?
© 1999, by Harmony Major

It truly does pain me to see the number of "business" websites out there that just don't belong. If you conduct a search on Alta Vista for "home business tips," I guarantee you you'll see at least six out of the top ten listings that are breaking some of the most important web design rules, and yet others that wreak bloody HAVOC on your eyes.

You know the ones I'm talking about. They make you cringe; they make you holler; they make you glad that YOUR site doesn't look like that grade school horror show ... Or DOES it?

And, how do you go about finding out?

As much as we'd all like to think that our Web design skills are Utopian perfection, in actuality, they leave more than a little to be desired. A website consultation is a very good and final way to make sure that a website is ready to be released to the public ... and to eliminate the embarrassment that's sure to come if we don't wise up and find a good consultation service.

Make sure that you choose a top quality service to maximize your website's potential for success. Here are some of the things that any website consultant should be able to tell you when you request their service:
 

a.) Meta Tag Diagnosis

Are your meta tags formatted correctly? This will involve looking at the meta tags on your web pages, and letting you know if you have any errors that search engines will penalize you for, (like if your meta tags have too many characters in them, if you've repeated keywords too many times, etc.).

The consultant should be able to give you an idea of whether or not you can expect a high placement in search engines with your meta tag format. The meta tag diagnosis should also include ways to improve your tags, correct any penalties, and get you a higher placement in search engines if your tags aren't already optimized correctly.
 

b.) Website Load Time

Do your pages load fast enough? Are your images causing your pages to load slower than necessary? Load time is very important, because a visitor to your site won't wait more than a few seconds for your pages to load. You could be losing valuable visitors with a slow-loading website.

The load time check should tell you approximately how long your pages are taking to load, what could be causing this, and how you can fix it. This check should also include any tips that you can use in the future to keep your pages loading as fast as possible.
 

c.) Navigational System

Do you provide your visitors with an easy way to get around your website, or will they get lost easily? A confusing navigational system will cause you to lose valuable visitors (customers!), and is imperative for a successful website. The navigational system diagnosis should let you know if your system is effective, and if not, give several ways to improve it. However, there is usually at least one way to improve ANY navigational system to thoroughly ensure that it's as easy as possible to use.
 

d.) Content Value of Your Website

The "content" value is simply how valuable the content or information on your site is to your visitors. A high content value means that your site is very informative, has fresh, updated, and original information, and gives your visitors a reason to come back. This test should also tell you how to maximize the effectiveness of your website content, and perhaps even where or how to find information that your visitors will enjoy.
 

e.) Browser Compatibility

This very important test will tell you if your website is being viewed properly in all of the major browsers. A lot of websites aren't optimized for Netscape's browser, due to all of the plugins that Netscape's customers may or may not have, and also because of the unique (crazy!) way that Netscape can tend to read your HTML code.

One small error that would be overlooked by Microsoft's browser can cause Netscape's browser not to even display your pages! The browser compatibility diagnostics test should also be able to tell you how to properly optimize your website for maximum compatibility in most browsers.
 

f.) Spelling and Grammar

Do you have a slew of spelling and grammatical errors? This diagnostics check will let you know. Although you may proofread your website for errors, it's very likely that there are still quite a few that you overlooked. It's much harder to proofread your own work. When your brain knows what a word is SUPPOSED to be, it can tend to make your eyes read it that way, regardless of what it really says.

You can help to eliminate this problem by asking one of your colleagues or friends to proofread your site for errors before you release it to the public. This will cut down even more on the amount of spelling and grammatical errors that you'll find. However, the spelling and grammar diagnostics test should point out any existing errors that may have been overlooked, and may even offer suggestions to correct the errors.
 

g.) A Continuous Theme

Does your homepage have a myriad of different ideas, concepts, or programs that have absolutely nothing to do with the main focus of your website? Are all of your pages related to one similar topic, or is your site a veritable cesspool of unrelated ideas?

Most visitors will come to your site for one reason only -- the reason that you advertised to get them there! Don't confuse them by having tons of unrelated content on your website, or you'll be sure to turn them away. This diagnostics check should tell you if your website sticks to a constant theme, or skips from subject to subject. It should also give you a few tips and pointers to get you moving in the right direction.
 

Now that you know all of the things that a quality website consultation will tell you, are you going to spend weeks trying to optimize your own website? Or, are you going to invest a few extra dollars into the success of your business by hiring a professional website consultant?

If a professional website and image is important to you, this will prove to be a very small and reasonable investment -- especially when you could potentially waste hundreds of dollars later on down the road on tweaking and perfecting your own soon to be "out-of-control" site.

NOTE: For a few of the categories above, you can use a free service to evaluate your site, like the one at http://NetMechanic.com.

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Harmony Major is the author of  Yahoo!  Secrets , where she reveals how YOU can drive HUNDREDS more visitors to your site each day, by getting a # 1 listing on Yahoo. Don't just settle for "getting listed." Use her instantly-effective tactics  to boost your site traffic with a TOP Yahoo listing! Visit: http://YahooSecrets.com

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That Left-Hand Side: Turning Your Website Into a Potent Sales Machine
© 2000 Harmony Major

Only a few of the millions of business websites online actually generate a *consistent* profit. There's one critical thing that nearly all of these websites have in common, which is how they use their upper left-hand corner. Are you using YOURS correctly? I hate to sound cynical, but probably not.

The following methodology will help YOUR website generate a consistent profit by putting its left-hand side to use:

1. Define your main goal.

What do you want your website to do? It can do several things at once, (i.e. build your subscriber list, build your credibility, get the sale, etc.), but there should be ONE thing that you want it to do above all others. What is that one thing?

With business owners, this can prove to be a difficult decision to make. For instance, I want all of my websites to do several things. Get subscribers and sales, build my credibility, and increase my publicity. However, I have several sites, and each one of those accomplishes a different task on its home page.

It's alright for your site to have several goals, but make sure you know what the PRIMARY goal is, so you can apply that to this next step.
 

2. Make sure the top left corner of your home page is ONLY used to achieve that primary goal.

After you've defined your main goal above, your job is now to be sure that your website is streamlined to accomplish that goal. And, not only your website, but more importantly, the upper left corner of the first fold. (The "first fold" is the part of a Web page that a visitor sees before having to scroll.)

You should NOT have a logo taking up that space -- unless your site is designed for branding purposes. But, most small business sites don't have the budget to drive people to their websites to build a brand name.

You should NOT have a huge portrait of yourself taking up that space -- unless your site's main goal is to show the world how beautiful you are, and how well-suited you'd be for somebody's runway. ;-) Now, make no mistake -- having your picture on a business site is certainly a good thing. Even so, you don't want it to be the main focus of your website. But more on that later.
 

3. Review examples of exceptional sales sites.

Learn by example. A few sites I've come across that have their goals clearly-defined on the front page are:
1. Bizpromo Internet Marketing Center: http://bizpromo.com

Notice the subscribe form prominently displayed in the upper left corner of the home page. This site's main goal seems to be to sign up as many ezine subscribers as possible. And, if you'll take a minute to browse through the site, you'll notice that this subscribe form is on the top left of EVERY page. In this case, Terry Dean is using his newsletter list as his own personal sales machine. His subscribers are his prospects, who may later become customers.
2. BizWeb2000: http://www.bizweb2000.com

Judging by the links in the top left corner of this site, its main goal is to help the webmaster build rapport and credibility with visitors. Then, the search box is to drive people deeper into the site. But, this "credibility" goal ties into something bigger -- getting sales. The credibility goal is to get customers in a buying mood, to trust Jim Daniels and his accomplishments, and to eventually lead them to the sale.
3. What's Next Online: http://whatsnextonline.com

This is one system that I personally love. The focus of this site is SO clear, I have a hard time believing that this isn't one of the most successful sites on the Web. It states the goal up front and immediately -- "Want to sell the pants off your competitors?" WOW. Go to this site and check out B.L. Ochman's goal statement, which is actually presented right on the page, after that goal.

First, she draws you in with a question. If you relate to that question and want to learn more, she tells you straight out to "come on in," and "let's get to work." Her picture on the right side of the page is to start building credibility, and you'll notice that her navigational system is ALSO on the right. Which leads me to the next point...

4. Don't be afraid to break from the norm.

Sure, most Web visitors are "used" to seeing the navigational system on the left side of a page. But is that really the best place for it? Does it HAVE to be there? Would you achieve better results with that list on another part of your page? It depends on your website's main goal and how your navigational column is structured. But, in this case, there's no reason to conform to "the norm" unless this standard method of site design is helping YOU achieve your site's main goal.

Unless you want navigation to be your visitors first thoughts, move that to the RIGHT side, or even the top and bottom of your site. What is the first thing you want your visitors do to? Pay attention to the message you have in your top left corner, or lose focus, clicking away from that all important home page to less goal-oriented pages of the rest of your site? Or worse, click away to ANOTHER site? If you don't want either of these, you may want to think about using an "unconventional" system of navigation.
 

5. Get help making your site achieve that primary goal. I've done enough talking about it. Now is the time to SHOW you how to create an effective business site of your own. What do you want your site to do?
1. Increase credibility and perception of your website, and YOU.

In this case, it IS a good idea to post your picture on the left-hand side of your home page. NOT a huge picture, (because you'll need that first fold for other important things), but a small, pleasant head shot will do the trick. Then, either have a blurb about how you or your site can help your visitor accomplish what they came to do. See <http://HomeBasedHeaven.com> for an example of a site designed to increase credibility and perception of the site.
2. Get more subscribers.

If this is the main goal of your website, you want to have an enticing description for your ezine(s) and a subscribe form in the top left corner of your home page. Again, have a look at <http://BizPromo.com>. If you only have one ezine like Terry Dean does here, you have an advantage. You can use a small subscribe form, and use the rest of the left side of the first fold to introduce any free subscription bonuses you offer, like a bulleted list of benefits of a free e-book.
3. Get the sale on the first visit.

Granted, getting your visitors to buy on their first visit can be difficult. But that isn't to say that you shouldn't do everything you can to increase the likelihood of getting that sale! For example, check out the Online Marketing Letter website at: <http://activemarketplace.com/w.cgi?mizel_codes-10287> You'll notice that this site doesn't even HAVE a navigational system. Why? The owners want you to go in only ONE direction -- to the order form.

You'll also notice that most sales sites don't really have a dominant left-hand corner. Instead, the entire first fold is the most important part of the page, and is used to draw visitors further into the site. They do this by having powerful headlines, and usually powerful, summary bullet points to introduce the product.

For more information on writing headlines that sell, go to <http://BizProfitBuilder.com/headlines.html> and get "Great Headlines Instantly, by Robert Boduch. AWESOME product!


Well, there you have it. I hope the examples in this article have helped get your mind working on how YOU can create a website that really sells. If you're an *advanced* webmaster of a business or marketing related site, please feel free to e-mail me at <MissH@SiteSellingPower.com> to ask quick questions about this article, or your website. (NOTE: Newbie and intermediate webmasters, please post your questions to the forum instead, at: <http://ExpertOnEbiz.com/bbs/>).

Good luck. Now go out there and use that left-hand side!

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Harmony Major is the author of Yahoo! Secrets, where she reveals how YOU can drive HUNDREDS more visitors to your site each day, by getting a #1 listing on Yahoo. Don't just settle for "getting listed." Use her instantly-effective tactics to boost your site traffic with a TOP Yahoo listing! Visit: http://YahooSecrets.com

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The Three Words Your Web Site Can't Live Without
By Terry Dean

There are three words which are major keys to success of any web site. Understand these three words and you will find yourself halfway to success on the Internet. Disregard them, and you will always be struggling to find any type of financial success through online marketing.

1. Free

The key word that the entire Internet is built on is the simple word "Free." It is a word that you will need to get to know if you want to create a successful Internet business.

The easiest way to get people to visit your site and to keep coming back is to offer something for free there. It can be a free report or a free service such as a free-for-all links page or a free search engine submission program.

Although everyone out there is trying to tell you exactly how to get traffic, the secret to getting traffic is contained in that one word...Free.

You have to come up with something interesting that is full of benefits for your targeted market and give it away for free on your site. This will be your hook for fishing out the right prospects continually 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Here are some "hooks" I have used very successfully to constantly get traffic to come to my site and to keep coming back: Free Reports, Free Electronic Books, Free-For-All Links Page, Free Classifieds, Free Discussion Group, Free Newsletter, Free Real Audio or Real Video, Free Recommend a Friend Script, Free Postcard Site, and Free Search Engine Submissions.

The best free thing that you can provide though for most markets is a free report that leads into your product. For example,create a free report on 11 Traffic Generating Tips if you sell a Internet Traffic Generation report. Or create a report on how to get dogs to stop chewing up your stuff if you sell dog training courses.

If you create a free report which is a natural lead-in for your main product, you can use one of the automated follow-up systems and create an automated follow-up system for your sales letters to follow-up on those who requested your free report.

So, you would put your free report on the multi-responder as the autoresponder's first message. Then, you would have it programmed to automatically deliver your sales letter the next day to anyone who requests your free report. Each of your next 8 or so follow-up messages would then be programmed to complete the sales process.

The Free Report which is on the first autoresponder message will be the key to getting the hits on the autoresponder. The follow-up sales messages will be the keys to getting automated sales for your site.

2. Lead Product

A key to any successful site is that they have one main product as a lead product. You DO NOT want to focus on all of your products to each new visitor to your site.

Too many choices will confuse the average prospect. Give them one main choice that you focus on continually throughout your site and all of your materials.

I have tested both methods...offering one product mainly and having a web site which resembles a catalog approach. The one product approach actually outsold the catalog approach by around 2 to 1.

Too many products only caused confusion for my visitors, and confused prospects that can't decide what they want usually don't buy anything. Although a few major companies have been able to get away with the catalog approach, it is just too difficult for the average small business.

Use your other products as backends for multiple streams of income.

3. Backend

The principle of the backend sale is so neglected by most businesses that many people don't even realize how powerful understanding it can be.

If you develop a good backend product which many of your first time customers go on to purchase, you almost have an unlimited money machine for your business.

For example:

Let's say you are in an information business selling a low cost audio tape set and a larger video package. The first product you have sales for $50.00 (and costs $25.00 for dropshipping from the owner) while your second package sales for $300.00 (and costs $150.00 dropshipping from the owner).

If the first product you sell to customers salls for $50.00 and costs you $25.00 to fulfill, you have $25.00 potential earnings from it where you have to pay advertising expenses from. If it costs you on average $20.00 advertising expense for each new customer, you would only be earning a $5.00 profit on every new customer.

What would happen though if you included a sales letter for your $300.00 course in every $50.00 package people bought?

If 1 out of every 5 customers you brought in on the first product would also buy your second product for $300.00, you would be earning an extra $150.00 off of every 5 customers. Your front end profits would have been $25.00 for these 5 customers and your backend profits would have been $150.00 without spending more than a couple of cents extra for the sales letter included in the packages.

The money is in the backend sale. Don't forget about it.

Successful Internet Marketing can be accomplished by just understanding these three words: Free, Lead, and Backend. It may sound a little too simple, but these words are the three major keys to creating a profitable Internet business.

The more you understand about each of them, the closer you will come to the dream business you are continually creating online...

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Terry Dean, a 27 Year Old Indiana Farm Boy, Reveals His Secret Formula for Generating New Automatic Streams of Internet Income For Any Business In 72 Hours Or Less...Free Report: mailto:formula@bizpromo.com
http://www.bizpromo.com