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Good web design practices:
- Make sure the site is fast.
Slow sites frustrate customers. Avoid too many unnecessary graphics. Optimise graphics so they are as small as possible. Don’t skimp on web hosting. $5 per month web hosting services are not worth it in the long run. They are probably used by marginal sites and could have more than their fair share of banned IP addresses.
- Make sure the site is available.
Use a website monitoring service to ensure you know what your website is doing. Without website monitoring, your website could be down for days before you realise something is wrong.
- Don’t use visible counters.
Especially if it reads “you are visitor 17”. You lose credibility if your website is obviously unpatronised.
- Make sure your site navigation is intuitive.
First time users must be easily able to navigate their way around. If you expect users to spend more than a few seconds to find their way to the home page or contact us page, you have lost them.
- Don’t use automated submission programs.
There are a limited number of search engines worth submitting to. The rest are of no benefit to you, on the contrary; they collect your email for spamming purposes.
- Don’t have a flash intro!
First time web owners want to wow users with a fancy intro, but the fact is they just get in the way of what people really want – information. Worse still don’t show the intro more than once. If a user is expected to sit through an intro on every visit, they will quickly lose patience.
- Don’t use smileys.
Or other unnecessary animated graphics – how do you spell amateur?!
- Avoid too many graphics and too much javaScript.
JavaScript is sensitive to browser versions and even the best sites have broken code. Too many graphics slow down the site.
- Use an email signature file.
What does this have to do with good website practices? Nothing, but its important to mention. Every email you send should include the company name, phone numbers, and web address (possibly even postal address). Make it simple for people to find your website!
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