How To Design A Website That Works

Thursday 22 February 2007 @ 11:28 am
How To Design A Website That Works

After you’ve completed a website, don’t look at it. Leave it for a couple of weeks, then come back, pretend you are a potential customer and ask yourself these 10 questions.

Does your text sound hype-filled and salesy? People hate to feel like they are being sold. Sure, they want to buy. But they don’t want to buy from someone who sounds like a used car salesman. They need to trust a website, and they will trust a website that gives them concise, honest, and unbiased information. There is never any reason for a double exclamation mark!! AND RARELY IS THERE A RIGHT TIME FOR ALL CAPS. You’re excited about your products (or at least you should be), so let your natural enthusiasm show. Don’t try to dress it up with overused sales jargon.

Count the number of times you said “we” in your text rather than “you.” Did you use the word “we” more than you used the word “you”? People don’t care about we. A common mistake of first-time website content creators is that they tend to want to talk about themselves. We offer __________. We are the only company that __________. We have unparalleled ________. Sound familiar? But what people really want to know what’s in it for them. Start a few sentences with “you” and you’ll be surprised how much more likely people will be to buy.

If I had never been to this site before, would I know where to click to buy? The action your potential customer should take should be clear from the homepage. Never, ever let your customer get lost looking for the “buy now” button.

If I was visiting this site for the first time, would I know what it was selling and would I be able to find what I need? A visitor should know what you’re selling and how they can benefit from it by the second line, preferably by the first. Don’t babble. Get to the point. Once a visitor knows what you’re selling, he should be able to find the answer to any additional questions within just a few clicks. And remember, just because he can get to the information in a few clicks doesn’t mean he will be able to find the information in just a few clicks. Make sure your navigation is straightforward and consistent throughout the site.

If I read my navigation for the first time, would it be clear what information is behind each link? Your navigation should be conventional and easy to understand. Don’t label your products page “goodies” or “wares” unless you have a darn good reason.

Are my prices displayed? Do NOT expect the customer to call you for prices. Always always always always display prices. Always. If it has to be custom quoted, display example quotes, display hourly rates, display ranges of rates for example jobs, but display something.

Does it look like the website creator paid attention to detail? Check your details. Check each link. Run the spell check. Check your website on different screen resolutions. Check your website in different browsers. Make sure the text font, color and size is consistent on all web pages. Pay attention to little things, like text wrapping around graphics in a less-than-conventional manner, or too much space at the bottom of a page, or your text running farther down the page than your navigation bar. Little things can spell the difference between a clean, professional looking website and a sloppy looking one. If you aren’t being a perfectionist about your website, then people will assume that you won’t be a perfectionist in your business, either.

Can I glance at the headers, scan the page and get the gist? Research had shown time and time again that readers on the web do not read. They scan. They scan headers and first lines of paragraphs. Only if they see something that catches their interest, will they read deeper. Do not expect every line of your text to be read, but write every line as if it will be read.

Did I build my website with my user (and not myself or my company) in mind? If you did, then your user will probably never realize it. And that’s a good thing. The website should feel smooth to him, natural. He should navigate through the site almost as if it were second nature, like a favorite pair of blue jeans.

Is the order process simple, straightforward and fast? Once the client has decided to buy, the process should take no longer than a couple of minutes. Don’t ask him for any information that you do not directly need to complete his order. Keep it short, sweet and super simple.

About the Author:
Wintress Odom is a professional copywriter with over half a decade of experience in writing technical and advertising copy. She runs a successful copywriting agency, The Writers for Hire.
Article Copyright © 2007 The Writers for Hire, Inc. All rights reserved


BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | ma.gnolia | reddit | Shadows |



How To Implement Page Specific 301 Redirects

Tuesday 16 January 2007 @ 4:34 pm
How To Implement Page Specific 301 Redirects

Follow the simple code example below in order to implement a page specific 301 redirect. This is also a handy redirect for informing a search engine spiders that a web page has permanently moved.

Warning, you will be editing your .htaccess file, so please be careful and make a backup of the original just in case there is a problem.

First, download the .htaccess file via FTP. Next open the .htaccess file with a plain text editor such as notepad. If there’s already code in the file be sure you skip a line before adding the code below. Now copy and paste the following code into the .htaccess file;

(without the “<-- -->” part)

RedirectPermanent /old.html http://www.yoursite.com/new.html

Next, replace the “old_page” portion with your unique “page name”, save and upload.

Now when somebody requests old.html they will be automatically redirected to http://www.yoursite.com/new.html.

Note, be sure to include a space between the old page and new location portion, see below;
/old_page.html space http://www.yoursite.com/new_page.html

For more information about 301 redirects, please see http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/mod/mod_alias.html#redirectpermanent

About the Author:
Sean Odom runs a Houston, Texas based SEO Consulting firm specializing
in search engine marketing and Social Media Optimization.


BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | ma.gnolia | reddit | Shadows |



Linux Web Hosting

Friday 3 November 2006 @ 6:32 pm
Linux Web Hosting

Once you have designed the pages on your site, you have to search for a suitable hosting server depending on your website requirements. Web hosting is a process by which your website can be placed with a company server to display and maintain your site. The effective web presence is built by using Windows or Linux Web Hosting.

Linux Web Hosting permits business corporations to design their web sites on the Linux Operating System, which is an open-source variation of the Unix Operating System. Using this hosting for web development allows companies to control over the best and most popular in open-source technologies such as PHP, MySQL, Python, and XML. Most


Continue Reading »


BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | ma.gnolia | reddit | Shadows |



Beginners Guide To Playing Fantasy Sports

Thursday 2 November 2006 @ 7:21 pm
Beginners Guide To Playing Fantasy Sports

Playing fantasy sports isn’t just for egg-heads anymore! Number chunchers beware, the age of the Internet has ushered in a whole new set of fantasy sports enthusiasts!

What used to take a degree in mathematics now just takes a couple of clicks from your mouse. The fantasy sports world is inundated by thousands of newbies every year as a result.

playing fantasy sports overview

playing fantasy sports lets you compete against others using real stats and performances from real athletes. Your fantasy team gains points for each stat category (check your league’s scoring to see how this is tabulated- every league differs) an individual player gains during


Continue Reading »


BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | ma.gnolia | reddit | Shadows |



Fantasy Football Tips - Continued

Thursday 2 November 2006 @ 7:20 pm
Fantasy Football Tips - Continued

Waiver Scavenger

Since it’s impossible to predict 100% what will happen in a given fantasy football season, it’s also impossible to conduct a pre-season fantasy draft that will reflect 100% of what the upcoming NFL season has in store. What this means is that there will always be a large list of solid fantasy producers who are left on the draft board each year and who will be available on the Waiver Wire.

Don’t overlook the strategy. Player projections can be suspect at best (you can’t totally discount them, however), and sometimes having good football instincts, or maybe the proverbial “ear to the ground” can allow you to pluck the next superstar off the waiver wire.

Keep a close watch early in the season on names you’ve never


Continue Reading »


BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | ma.gnolia | reddit | Shadows |



Fantasy Football Tips

Thursday 2 November 2006 @ 7:20 pm
Fantasy Football Tips

Grab that rookie….or not….

When drafting for your fantasy football league, the thought always comes up….whether or not to draft that high-ranking rookie. You know the one. The one that has all the potential to be a breakout star.

I’ll give you some food for thought if you’re considering picking one of these “can’t miss kids” up for your team. Hesitate.

Normally the highest draft picks, no matter how good they may have been in college, and no matter how good they may be in the pros, get drafted by the worst teams. That right there is enough for me to balk at selecting them. If it’s a running back you covet, think about whether that team has the offensive lne to open holes for


Continue Reading »


BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | ma.gnolia | reddit | Shadows |



Fantasy Basketball Introduction

Thursday 2 November 2006 @ 7:12 pm
Fantasy Basketball Introduction

Fantasy basketball gives basketball fans an opportunity to experience what it is like to manage their own team. If you are usually a back-seat driver during the basketball season, now is the time to enforce your own decisions when it comes to trading and drafting by creating your own fantasy team.

First you need to come up with a name for your fantasy team. You can ch0ose any name you wish, but most owners tend to choose a name that is fun. In the end it doesn’t matter but it is important to pick a

 


Continue Reading »


BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | ma.gnolia | reddit | Shadows |



Fraudulent Sports Books

Wednesday 1 November 2006 @ 8:06 pm
Fraudulent Sports Books

It’s one thing to have to beat the odds; it’s another to have to beat the book. Betting sports online is a fun and entertaining activity, but danger looms around the corner. Most sports bettors constantly seek out new sportsbooks to play at and to use for line comparisons. However, not all sportsbooks are legitimate–as you can imagine. How does one protect against being ripped off? That’s the focus of this article. You are about to learn some quick and important signs that will help you escape the potentially fraudulent sports book.

Online Sportsbook Bonuses

The sportsbook bonus is one of the most used tools for fraudulent sportsbooks. Many legitimate sportsbooks will offer deposit and re-load bonuses of 5-15% and usual cap the amount you


Continue Reading »


BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | ma.gnolia | reddit | Shadows |



Sports Handicapping Services Explained

Wednesday 1 November 2006 @ 8:05 pm
Sports Handicapping Services Explained

If you bet on sports, or perhaps even if you don’t, you most likely know what a sports handicapping service is. Most people know that they give out sports picks, but what is happing behind the scenes? Are all sports handicapping services the same? Do they really win often? What is inside information? This article will explain the sports handicapping profession by answering these questions. While every sports handicapping service operates in a different way, there are some common elements integrated into each one.

Inside Information

For decades sports handicapping services have touted their “inside information” as a reason why you should pay them. Before the Internet really took hold in the mid 1990’s, this was by in large accurate. It was necessarily that the sports handicapping service knew the players, it was the fact that they had access to information


Continue Reading »


BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | ma.gnolia | reddit | Shadows |



Sports Betting - Bet on Both Sides

Wednesday 1 November 2006 @ 8:02 pm
Sports Betting - Bet on Both Sides

It seems like a dream or a fantasy. Can you really bet on both sides of a sports contest and come out a winner? How about a big winner? The answer is a surprising yes. It’s something that is not talked about too much, but it exists. This article is going to explain how you can win at sports betting by betting both sides of an NBA game. The concept is very easy to follow and you will be able to go out and use it in just a minute or two from now. Are you ready? Here we go.

Line Movements & the Basics

The concept is based off the fact that the NBA line normally moves up and/or down with each NBA game. For example, a team might open as a 2 point favorite and close as a 2 point favorite, but during the day, the team might have been up to a 5 point favorite.


Continue Reading »


BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | ma.gnolia | reddit | Shadows |



Next Posts »» «« Previous Posts