The 8 ‘Must Do’ rules for effective website design

To succeed at your online business (whether you are selling yourown product/service or are selling for other merchants as anaffiliate), you need a Web design must be just for that – asimple, focused site. One that is easy to build,maintenance-free, low cost, credible, and a powerfultraffic-builder and customer-converter.

Having the right tool and the right product alone doesnt insurethe success of your website. There are many factors to beconsidered in effective website design. Unfortunately, most ofthese are overlooked by offline business owners using theinternet to promote their business.

Web Design Rule #1 – Build It for Speed It’s a fact of modernlife – people are in a hurry. This means that you have between10 and 30 seconds to capture your potential customer’sattention. To minimize your load time, keep graphics small.Compress them where possible. Use flashy technology (JavaScript,Flash, Streaming Audio/Video, animation) sparingly and only ifit is important to your presentation.

Web Design Rule #2 – Target your Market Know who your market isand make certain that your site caters to their needs. It iscritical that your site reflect the values of your potentialcustomers. Is your market mostly business professionals? If so,the site must be clean and professional. Is your product aimedmostly a teenagers and young adults? Then your site could bemore informal and relaxed. The key here is to know your marketand build the site to their preferences.

Web Design Rule #3 – Focus the Site Make certain your web siteis focused on the goal, selling your product or service. A siteoffering many unrelated products is not necessarily unfocused,but this is often the case. If your business does offer manyproducts, dedicate a unique page for each instead of trying tosell them all from one page.

Web Design Rule #4 – Credibility Is Crucial The mostprofessionally designed site won’t sell if your customers don’tbelieve in you. A clear privacy statement is one way to buildyour credibility. Provide a prominent link to your privacystatement from every page on the site as well as from anylocation that you are asking your visitors for personalinformation. Provide legitimate contact information on line.

Web Design Rule #5 – Navigation should be simple Make sitenavigation easy and intuitive. Simple and smooth navigation addsto the convenience of the visitors. Add powerful search andcatalog features. Many times a lot of visitors do not have thepatience to navigate through the whole website to find what theyare looking for.

Web Design Rule #6 – Consistency is the key Make sure the siteis consistent in look, feel and design. Nothing is more jarringand disturbing to a customer than feeling as if they have justgone to another site. Keep colors and themes constant throughoutthe site.

Web Design Rule #7 – Make your site interactive Make yourwebsite interactive. Add feedback forms as well as email formsthat allow your prospective customers to ask you any questionsthey might have pertaining to a product. Personalization of yourwebsite is another key element that can lead to customer delightand can increase your sales. Personalization technology providesyou the analytic tools to facilitate cross-selling andup-selling when the customer is buying online. It would give youan idea of what products to cross-sell and up-sell. For example,when a person buys a CD player, a disc cleaner can also beoffered.

Web Design Rule #8 – Content is King Good content sells aproduct. Ask yourself the following questions. Does your copyconvey the message you wish to get across to your visitors? Isit compelling? Does it lead your visitor through the salesprocess? Have others review, critique and edit your copy toinsure it is delivering the intended message. Always doublecheck your spelling and grammar.

These eight, simple rules will go a long way toward aneffective website design, and most importantly, turning visitorsinto customers.

About the author:Article written by Rudi Ashdown and first posted athttp://www.whywebsiteswork.com . This is article 1 of 10 – getthe other nine free at http://www.whywebsiteswork.com