| 291 | IS YOUR WEB SITE UNFRIENDLY? Part 1 of 9 Preview: First, let's pay a virtual visit to a web site that is my definition of unfriendly, although it doesn't have all the faults I will cover in this series of articles. On a group to which I subscribe, someone posted an invitation to check out a free story. He even included some glowing reviews to whet our appetites. And the story sounded really inte... (more) Published By: Laraine Anne Barker Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 292 | Ten Tips for Building an Ecom Web Site Preview: You've implemented online sales, now how to convince the customer to buy? Here are nine tips for building a site that encourages rather than discourages online shopping. 10.Design for your target market. Find out who your potential customers are and why they come to your site. Use surveys, focus groups or usability studies to discover their prefe... (more) Published By: June Campbell Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 293 | Learn from the Masters (of Web Design) Preview: If you've ever been to the Louvre, you know it's chock full of art students, who spend hours in the museum with their sketchpads, copying the works of the Masters. Poets do it too; that's why English majors spend hours doing "close readings" of Shakespeare before they begin to write their own stuff. The "Learn from the Masters" philosophy is what... (more) Published By: Stefene Russell Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 294 | IS YOUR WEB SITE UNFRIENDLY? Part 2 of 9 Preview: Part 2: IMAGES: make every one count Don't load your page with graphics, especially those "under construction" things. If the graphic has nothing to do with the content of your page it is best left out. "Why," I hear you ask, "shouldn't I have as many pictures as I want?" Well: 1 Visitors who still have very slow modems will simply get tired of ... (more) Published By: Laraine Anne Barker Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 295 | Web Design: Integrating e-Commerce Preview: For web developers who prioritize graphics and design work, reconciling the art of web development with building an e-commerce platform can be somewhat problematic. Design and programming are the foci - and these are the skills developers spend years refining, weekends investigating, and long nights tweaking. That's why for many people providing w... (more) Published By: Kurt Thumlert Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 296 | IS YOUR WEB SITE UNFRIENDLY? Part 9 of 9 Preview: Other "unfriendly" things often found on web sites are: 1 "Blinking" text--fortunately not so common these days. 2 Words marching across the page. 3 Words marching across the status bar at the bottom of the browser. That's where I want to see the URL of the link at which my mouse is pointing, for goodness' sake! These gimmicks, along with animate... (more) Published By: Laraine Anne Barker Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 297 | Fix My Website: Practical Graphics Preview: Despite my lousy eyesight, I'm a hopelessly visual person. When I dink around with the site I co-edit with my friend Mary, I scan large stacks of photos and pictures from old pamphlets, and use them liberally. I admit it: I'm a graphics abuser, though sometimes I can't help myself. This week, I stumbled on two separate articles (one online, one i... (more) Published By: Stefene Russell Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 298 | I'm Here. Now What? Preview: I'm here at your web site. Now what do you want me to do? Left to my own devices, I'll click around aimlessly. Maybe I'll read your articles and tips. Maybe I'll take a look at your About page to find out who you are. Then, in about three minutes when I become bored, I'll hit the Search button on my browser and off I'll go. Is that what you want... (more) Published By: June Campbell Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 299 | IS YOUR WEB SITE UNFRIENDLY? Part 8 of 9 Preview: 1. Don't use __"click here"__ for your links (the link should be attached to where you want your visitors to go: "Return to __home page__" rather than "__Click here__ to return to Home Page"). "Click here" is meaningless and the visitor has to keep scanning the text to find the link's content--very time-wasting. 2. It's a good idea to put the URL... (more) Published By: Laraine Anne Barker Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 300 | Turn your website into a workhorse Preview: Putting up a website is an every day occurrence for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately there are some common mistakes made on many websites that can detract from the products and services offered, and often times cause a loss of income without your even knowing it. Here are some hard and fast rules for maximizing the responsiveness... (more) Published By: Kathy Burns Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 301 | IS YOUR WEB SITE UNFRIENDLY? Parts 5 & 6 of 9 Preview: Part 6: Feedback. You DO want people to tell you they like something? 1. Make it easy for visitors to tell you how much they enjoyed a particular item on your site by putting an email link on every page. Not everyone wants to sign a guest book, and if visitors have to go back to the home page to find your email address they might forget what the... (more) Published By: Laraine Anne Barker Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 302 | IS YOUR WEB SITE UNFRIENDLY? Part 7 of 9 Preview: The following tips will help make sure you don't inadvertently make your page, or part of your page, invisible to visitors: 1. If you use a textured background GIF make sure you also specify a background colour that is similar to the main colour in the GIF or your text could be unreadable to someone browsing with text-only. Believe it or not, I h... (more) Published By: Laraine Anne Barker Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 303 | IS YOUR WEB SITE UNFRIENDLY? PARTS 3 and 4 of 9 Preview: Part 3: Sound Files If you must put MIDI sound files on your page make them so that visitors have to ask to hear the file--maybe by pressing the "start" button. Apart from the fact that visitors may find the music objectionable, there's a good chance: 1 they are surfing late at night or early in the morning when other people are sleeping; 2 they ... (more) Published By: Laraine Anne Barker Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 304 | 10 Web Site Add-Ons That Can Catapult Traffic! Preview: 1. Add a message board to your web site. People will visit your web site to ask questions and answer other people's questions. 2. Add a directory of web site links to your web site. People will visit your web site to find related web site links for the topic they're interested in. 3. Add an article section to your web site. People will visit you... (more) Published By: Larry Dotson Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 305 | 10 Concerns To Have Before Creating A Members Only Web Site! Preview: 1. What will be the title of your member's only web site and will it have a subtitle? Will you have a logo, slogan or graphics for your member's only site? 2. What type of content will you include in your member's only web site? ebooks, articles, software, interview transcripts, etc. 3. Will your member's only web site host a member community? m... (more) Published By: Larry Dotson Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 306 | Translate Your Web Site and Expand Your Market Preview: Want to double the number of people who read your Internet sales materials? Try translating your web site and sales letters to reach the Web's non-English speaking majority. In 2001, more than half the users of the Web do not speak English as a first language. What's more, the number of non-English speaking newcomers is growing at a much faster ... (more) Published By: June Campbell Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 307 | Anatomy of a Brilliant Site Preview: I love sciplus.com. Not only because it sells Bomex separatory funnels, mug warmers, and gallon drums of plastic ants; not only because they have a great mascot named Jarvis; and not only because their URL is a clever play on words ("sciplus," sounds like Bugs Bunny saying "surplus." Surplus is their specialty, with an emphasis on science. In this... (more) Published By: Stefene Russell Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 308 | WRITING A WEBSITE THAT SINGS! Preview: If your online sales have taken a dip lately, your product or service isn't necessarily to blame. Even the best products and services can be hidden in obscurity when covered by a blanket of bad website copy. So what can you do to make sure your copy sings the praises of not only your product, but your business smarts and credibility as well? Firs... (more) Published By: Meredith Pond Submitted: 03 December,2001 |
| 309 | Building a Successful Web Site: What NOT To do: Preview: These days, there's no shortage of "how to" guides and articles out there that purport to explain what one must do in order to become a successful Web site owner. If you want to build a successful site, however, it's equally important that you also learn what NOT to do on the Web. Most experienced Webmasters are aware of a number of major no-nos ... (more) Published By: Marc McDonald Submitted: 04 December,2001 |
| 310 | How To Use Viral "Refer-A-Friend" Promotions To Increase Traffic And Sales Preview: "Viral Publicity" and "Viral Marketing" are really just new buzz words for the oldest form of publicity in the world... "Referral" or "Word of Mouth." The Internet takes this ancient form of "buzz" and promotion and amplifies it with a global network of people connected digitally. "Word of mouth" now has an Internet version called "word of mouse... (more) Published By: Matt Hockin Submitted: 04 December,2001 |