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Make it Clear What Your Website is About
Just about every list of the "Top 10 Web Design Mistakes" includes at least one reference to either
1. Not clearly specifying the objectives of your website, or
2. Not making it obvious what your web pages are about.
Usually both of these things are mentioned. This usually stems from the inability to look at your business or products from the prospective customer's point of view.
Many marketing people confuse their own concerns with those of their potential customers. For instance they think that a sexy manufacturing technique, or the fact that the product uses "materials developed by NASA" will impress their customers. Generally it won't.
This is the classic mistake of confusing features with benefits. Saying that a vinyl banner is made of 13 oz vinyl is a feature. Saying that it is "virtually tear-proof" is a benefit -- namely, that it won't be ripped off its moorings and blown away by the first gentle breeze.
Web designers are just like all other business people in this regard. We have a difficult time stepping back from our little projects and looking at them from the perspective of our potential customers.
First and foremost we should realize that people who visit our sites have no idea what our sites are about until we tell them.
So we should tell them. And we should tell them very clearly and quickly. As Vincent Flanders says in Web Pages That Suck
Web design is the reverse of a magic trick. In a magic trick, you show the audience your right hand and perform the trick with your left. In Web design, you tell them where you're going first -- and then go there. People don't like surprises. It will certainly confuse them and it could make them angry."
Rick Hendershot is editor and publisher of the Linknet Marketing Resource Library.
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Will You Site be a BIG SUCCESS. 7 Reasons Why It Might Not!
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Simple Steps To Proper Web Design
Over the course of the last decade, the Internet has grown beyond all expectations. Each and everyday there is a new website that is being developed. The biggest challenge a new website will face is getting viewers to stay on their site long enough and to attain high search results with search engines.
Your Site Map: Spider Food or Just A Light Snack?
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Is a Web Site Builder Right for You?
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Learn the Truth about Your Web Design Company by Its Portfolio
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Ten Fatal Mistakes That Make Web Sites Stink
Since you'll spend lots of time and money to create your web site, don't you want to make sure you're not making mistakes that at best irritate users, and at worst make you lose customers?