Studies done by Jakob Nielson the man touted as the, "King of usability" by Internet Magazine showed that people do not read on the web like they would normally read offline.
So what does this mean to you and why should you care?
Visitors to your web sites are in a rush, they want the information you promised and they want it NOW.
If they don't get the information they want they will leave and this means you lose the sale, the opt-in or whatever action you want the visitor to take while at your site.
The following 3 tips will help you give your visitors what they want and in a way that will increase your web sites usability.
By keeping your paragraphs down to one single idea you can help speed up how your visitor absorbs your information.
For example, instead of:
"In today's market place many people tend to become overwhelmed with the over hyped and highly charged writing that most web sites employ to gain visitors business. This causes people to be turned off by the sites language and ultimately they will click the back button on their browser and leave."
Why not say,
"Today more than ever people are turned off by over hyped marketing language of websites they visit and because of this frustration they will end up leaving your site."
See how that short, to the point paragraph says the same thing but quicker?
Go through your home page first and take out long, multiple thought paragraphs and edit them down to be precise. One idea per paragraph once you finish your thought (in 3-4 lines) start another paragraph.
Web site users do not read online text. They scan it.
Use short bold text, for example in the form of a hyperlink, to make important information stick out from the page.
Bullet lists are an invaluable tool as well. Put your important sets of words in bullets. For example instead of,
"You will learn how to create your own web site, design pages that load faster, pick the right color scheme, and improve your sites navigation."
Use this,
"You will learn:
How to create your own web site
Design pages that load faster
Pick the right color scheme
And improve your sites navigation."
Use Subheadings through out the page.
As you go through your pages pick out the important points and put them in heading tags. Heading 2 and 3 work the best but the heading 1 tag will also work.
This will break the page up for the reader and they will be able to get the information they want simply by scanning your pages.
Far to many web sites are "me" oriented. In other words your site is about making money for you and you want your visitor to stay at your site and buy from you.
So what do you do?
You force them to stay at your site even if they are not interested in your product or service any longer.
Doing this only serves to damage your reputation and cause visitors to leave with a bad taste in their mouth.
Being objective means putting links to other related sites through out your web pages and allowing the visitor the free will to either stay at your site or leave and find the information they are looking for somewhere else.
In the end this is not a bad thing because you, as the site owner, can direct them to the sites you want them to go to.
However, seeding your pages with a bunch of recommendations to other sales sites is not the smartest way to do this.
Offer them free information along with sites that you receive compensation from as well.
This way you are being objective and offering your visitor valuable information they can use at the same time.
Take a few days and walk through your web site and find the long paragraphs and make them more concise.
Bold important text, create subheadings for extremely important points and create more bullet lists where needed.
Finally, add more out bound links to your information and show them you are objective and care about their needs.
Internet users are getting tired of the hype and they are speaking out with their browser's back button.
By taking the time to make these changes you will improve your sites usability and your visitors will thank you for it by doing business with you.
About the author: Jason Mann is a profitability consultant for online businesses who specializes in finding untapped profit areas and showing business owners how to increase their revenues by tapping these unseen resources. For more web business articles visit: http://www.majorprofitmargins.info
eco-friendly cleaning service Buffalo Grove ..Due to the large number of people offering web design... Read More
Using CGI scripts to add automation to your web site... Read More
Typos, misspellings, hideous grammar, exclamation overkill and run-on sentences all... Read More
Whenever singer John Mayer sings his romantic song, "Your Body... Read More
Just about every list of the "Top 10 Web Design... Read More
Many websites make the mistake of being all flash and... Read More
When you're self-employed, choosing a website designer is a crucial... Read More
We have all seen websites showcasing their testimonials either spread... Read More
Most websites use similar fonts and as a result have... Read More
The landing page or entry page of your visitors is... Read More
Mechanical spiders have to eat. In fact, they usually have... Read More
Never put form over function. Why? Because it's crucial that... Read More
In my last article entitled, Maximizing The True Value Of... Read More
Creating your own website is great fun! But how is... Read More
Squeeze pages are a very hot topic in the internet... Read More
All websites have a homepage. It is the most important... Read More
Projecting a professional image is paramount to your website's success.... Read More
You have probably viewed many Flash-based components while surfing the... Read More
For online businesses with their main goal of selling products,... Read More
1. Loading time:try to be below 20kbless number of imagesspecify... Read More
Creating your own website is actually easy in today's world... Read More
It starts off simply; a few HTML pages, a few... Read More
Designing your website can be a difficult task especially if... Read More
Why is the quality of your text layout and design... Read More
Building a website can be overwhelming, here are some design... Read More
express cleaning service Arlington Heights ..When considering whether or not to incorporate Flash into your... Read More
We've all surfed the web and seen some awful web... Read More
Most NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) don't understand these important aspects of... Read More
I hate to imagine that in your web development project... Read More
Regardless whether you manage a small business, charitable organization, or... Read More
Wether you design your business brochures, flyers, web page, or... Read More
First you need original content. Content is the heart beat... Read More
Flash is a powerful technology that can help you create... Read More
When a prospect lands on your website will he or... Read More
Web design is a very competitive area and there is... Read More
We will take a look at why your visitors may... Read More
A picture is worth a thousand words.And it still is... Read More
Whenever singer John Mayer sings his romantic song, "Your Body... Read More
Every action has a beginning phase where you launch your... Read More
The most important person that you need to please when... Read More
You have created your custom error page so now all... Read More
One of the biggest problems with Web sites is that... Read More
When designing elements for your webpage, you will often be... Read More
As of September, Smartads went through what so many have... Read More
Even after you've managed to bring traffic to your site... Read More
Are you looking for somebody to build you a website,... Read More
I have written before about long sales copy on the... Read More
When building your website you might not have a large... Read More
Gone are the days when you had to rely on... Read More
With so many different configurations internet users have their computers... Read More
Web Design |