Top 5 Mistakes that May Drive Your Visitors Away in Less Than 2 Minutes

You took the leap. You set up a website to display your importantmessage. Congratulations! As in life, first impressions are importanton the web. Web researchers found that you have about 2 minutes tomake that first impression a good one. Visitors will judge your sitein those few seconds on its professionalism and appropriateness towhat they are looking for.

In fact, a website can lose about one-third of its potentialcustomers due to poor design, according to a recent user studyconducted by Jakob Nielson, Ph.D., a principal of the Fremont Calif.-based Nielson Norman Group.

Take a long hard look at your site. Or ask a friend to give you abrutally honest review of your site. Does it pass the test ofprofessionalism? Are the graphics of good quality and clear? Is theformatting, font size and font colors consistent throughout the site?Or does your site commit design mistakes that speak AMATEUR as soonas it loads?

There are some common mistakes website owners make that may causevisitors to leave early. Correct these top 5 mistakes to make sureyour visitors stay long enough to read your important message:

Mistake #1 They use large, squeezed or out of portion graphics.

Beginning website owners mistakenly post large graphics that seemlike a good idea but usually will bloat the website. Large graphicswill slow your page load and turn away impatient web surfers beforethey have a chance to read your message. Even so, do use them forgraphics and photos help illustrate your communication and sellonline.

Solution: Use optimized, web-ready photos and graphics. Web WitTip: If a larger image is needed to help illustrate your message, adda link that says, "Click here to see larger image." That way largeimages that slow your page load will only be displayed by people whoreally need to see a larger image.

Mistake #2 They use distracting elements that blink, bounce, scrollor turn circles.

Most novice websters are sure this will get the attention of theirvisitors. It's true visitors may enjoy the cutesy elements or flashpresentations. But they may never focus on your important message aswell. Unless the flash empowers your presentation, use the adage"Less is More."

Solution: Limit or eliminate any distracting elements from yourwebsite.

Mistake #3 They use too many different formatting styles

Unless your formatting is consistent throughout your site, it willspell UNPROFESSIONAL to its visitors and may cause them to leaveearly. Inexperienced site owners change formatting with too manydifferent size, colors and styles of fonts throughout the site. Theycreate text blocks that are out of alignment.

Solution: Use a consistent style and size of text throughoutwebsite. CSS style sheets are helpful. Learn basic HTML and exploreCSS style sheets; it will improve your command of webbing for profit.

Mistake#4 They use colored backgrounds and graphics that make textillegible

Some colored backgrounds, graphics or textures make it difficult toread the type on a web page. Anything that hinders the readability ofyour message may cause visitors to give up and leave quickly.

Solution: Choose colors that will enhance readability of your site'smessage. Light backgrounds with dark text improves readability ofyour text every time.

Mistake#5 They use mismatched graphics that are inappropriate forthe content of the site.

Unseasoned site owners will sometimes use graphics or photos that donothing to help illustrate their message. For example, they choosecutesy stars and flowers on a site selling accounting services. Lookfor clipart and photos that will support your important message.

Solution: Select graphics or design elements that will harmonize andillustrate your site's message. Web Wit Tip: For non-techies like theauthor invest in inexpensive clipart/photo sets that will enhance andhelp illustrate your communications. Additionally, unless you aretraining to become a graphic artist look for graphic programs withtemplates to shorten your learning curve.

First impressions are important on the web. Follow the simple designtechniques above and stop turning your visitors away at the door. Useyour first few seconds to impress your visitors with simple designthat delivers your powerful message effectively.

©Earma Brown, 10 yr. Web Developer, Author, Small Business Owner
Helps entrepreneurs and writers with full featured hosting, domainnames,websites and a host of other web solutions
eBk: Jumpstart Your Website to Success
P.O. Box 612, Wylie, Texas 75098-9998
http://www.bestarrowhosting.com
Free eZine: Web Wit mailto:webwit@arrowproduction.com
earma@bestarrowhosting.com
877-846-9908

The Most Affordable Way To Start A Web Hosting Business lonad News Have you ever before wanted to start up your own web hosting corporation? If so, reseller hosting is the way to go. Reseller hosting is when you have been ...

RFU renew web hosting deal with Attenda CIO UK By CIO Staff | Published: 12:03 GMT, 07 September 10 | CIO UK Rugby governing body the Rugby Football Union (RFU) has again renewed a web hosting deal with ... and more »

What are the Web Hosting Options at your Disposal? PRWire First and foremost, you should undertake extensive research to find out as much as you can about the different kinds of web hosting services on offer today. ...

Westchester.com

WestchesterInternet.com Westchester.com You need JavaScript enabled to view it Affordable web hosting and web design solutions. Designers and web hosting providers for some of the region's largest ... and more »

DigThisWebhost.com – Helping You With Effective Yet Easy Web Host Promotion PR-Services (press release) Are you a web host in dire need of an effective yet funky platform for web hosting promotion? If so, you need not look any further than digthiswebhost.com ... and more »

The Ultimate Hosting Plan Gets Even Cheaper HostReview.com (press release) Gossimer, one of the top 25 world's most popular web hosting and domain name registration company, has further reduced the price of its web hosting plan ...

HostGee.Com Web Hosting Now Supports JSP PR-USA.net (press release) Leading domain and Web hosting provider HostGee.Com announces that the company's UNIX® hosting packages will now support JavaServer Pages. ... and more »

Web Hosting Sales and Promos Roundup - Sept. 4, 2010 Web Host Industry Review (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- There were many Web hosting sales and promos this week including a riddle contest from ...

Choose your Cheap Web Hosting Option with Care FPRD (press release) (blog) Web hosting services are extremely essential if you want to be available to your Internet users round the clock. The decisions you take, especially when it ... Webhost.UK.Net : UK's Top Shared, VPS, Reseller and Dedicated Web Hosting ProviderSBWire (press release) Shared hosting 'allows a hands-off approach to IT'Global Gold Internet Services all 3 news articles »

Local Web Hosting Company SingleHop Ranked as #1 Chicago IT Company by Inc ... PR Newswire (press release) SingleHop, which provides dedicated servers and complex web hosting, is ranked #1 among all web hosting companies, #2 in the Chicago area and #3 in the ... and more »