| First, I have to admit
that I am not a web design guru. I've
built my own sites and have occasionally helped others for several
years, and I started out doing it the hard way. Nowadays I prefer to
use effective software tools to save me time and still get good
results. If you'd rather spend time in the
shop than on the computer, I recommend these
programs to help you create your website and edit your pictures to
make them presentable. If you have a site already, or if you're interested in selling some things on the web but don't have the time or inclination to build a web site, I can build pages for you. Click here for details. |
So what free advice can I give you?
First, before you go out and submit to all the big search engines, make sure your site is ready for traffic. Things I suggest looking at very carefully are:
1. Load times. In my
opinion, any page that takes more than 15 seconds to load is too big, and
remember that most people are still on 56k modems. It's a
net statistic that over 30 seconds, over 60% of your visitors will give up and
leave. This is especially important for your front or main page, other pages
can slide a little.
2. Clean design, again especially on the main page. Don't go hog wild with the colors, your guests are already there, you don't need to get their attention, you need to keep it. That means you shouldn't annoy them.
3. Clean navigation. It should be evident to your guests how to get to the areas that interest them.
4. Contact information. It can be as simple as an e-mail link, or you can have a special contact page. Either way, guests should be able to get in touch with you easily.
5. Comments. When you solicit comments and ideas from your guests, you are inviting them to help shape your site. They know what they want and this is very valuable information to you.
6. Current links. Make sure that all the links on all of your pages are current and accurate. They should also be of similar interest. I am of the opinion that the more scrollers get together to offer products, the better. The fact of the matter is that most of us have our favorite projects, and by pointing guests to another scroller that has what they are after, they will come back to you, and the benefactor will remember you when someone asks them for something that you like to do.
7. Meta tags! These
little invisible wonders will help your site out.
8. Site address. If your scrolling site is a hobby site, this isn't real important. You can use one of the free hosts, your ISP page, or whatever else is available, because you don't need visitors. But if your site is going to be part of your business, your own domain is very important! It will make it easier for guests to remember, and they won't be annoyed by pop-up banners that you are required to carry. I use Seanic.net and have been very happy with the service. At $46.99 a year, they are hard to beat.
Got all that? Well then,
it's time to promote your site!