A killer website is one that engages its visitors, gives them what they want and doesso in a transparent manner that doesn’t require visitors to jump through several hoops.
Plus, it’s memorable, informative and compelling to bookmark and forward to friends
and associates.
Sound like a tall order? It is. What it means, simply, is paying close attention to the
“dos” and also the “don’ts.” Inasmuch as your site should be creative, it’s not really the
place to reinvent the wheel. There are tried and true tactics and techniques that have been
proven to work. Consider the following.
- Keep the design, look and feel, clean and professional. Every element on your site
should be there for a reason. - Use intuitive, predictable navigation.
Don’t force visitors to learn a new type of navigation method to get around your site.
Ideally, a visitor should be able to get what they want in no more than two clicks. One is
better.
- The design shouldn’t overshadow the content. It should complement it.
- Don’t use banner ads unless you have a lot of traffic or sponsors and ads are a potential
revenue source. - Keep the content digestible.
Web users tend to scan pages, rather than read them. Use lists when appropriate. Keep
paragraphs short and text blocks narrow. There’s little worse than having to read a block
of text that’s the width of your entire monitor.
- Be consistent throughout the site in terms of the content tone and overall design.