Tips for an effective website
Tips For An Effective Website
by Michael Perini, ABC
Perini & Associates
There were 20,340,000,000Â web pages indexed as of November 2009, and 70,392,567Â websites were indexed by Yahoo! as of August 2005. These are the most recent figures that I could find.
Every day, more sites get created. Basically, you could check for sites one day and then the next day check again and countless more sites could be up!
With so many sites being developed it begs the question: Â “What makes an effective website?” Â Based on my years of experience with website development in business, government, academia, medical, non-profit, associations and communities here are some of the lessons I have learned. Â I would really like to hear from you. Â Add to the list, please!
1. Simple is best (quicker loading and more pleasing to the eye)
2. Â Theme the site according to the target audience; no image backgrounds
2. Â Make information easy to find — thought must be put into organization.
3. Â Keep navigation to other pages easy — minimize clicking!
4. Â If possible, include a web forum (blog, Q and A, etc.) to allow visitors to discuss topics.
5.  Remember, it’s really about useful or interesting information.  If  pages don’t have that it won’t matter how pretty the template looks.
6. Â No ads, if at all possible.
7. Â Animation and sounds are distracting.
8. Â Be careful with scrolling text. Folks must read it at the speed we deliver it at.
9. Â Remember, we need to please the visitor and not ourself.
10. Â No POPUPS! Â Include a menu on each page. Â Include a way to get back to home.