Although our crime scene cleanup company website must convey a sense of professionalism, be easy to navigate and informational in nature, it must also attract new customers. How many times have you refused to go deeper into a website simply because it was annoying? Or, how often have you visited a website that fits the exact keyword term you entered, but you just can’t seem to take the company seriously after viewing their website?
In an effort to impress the visitors (potential clients) who find your website, here is a list of common website design mistakes that you should try to avoid.
1. No splash or intro page. We’ve all seen the beautifully designed intro page with flash text and music that we can’t wait to get rid of. Have you ever waited until if finishes playing. No, you find the button that reads “Skip Intro”, hoping that you’ll be able to get to the information you’re looking for. Spare your visitors this extra step and a bit of aggravation, don’t use a splash or intro page.
2. Nothing screams amateur more than page counters, scrolling text boxes, swirling email boxes or “last updated on January 5, 2008”. Refrain from using any of these.
3. Try to keep the color of your pages light in color with black text. A dark color background with white text is more difficult to read, especially for individuals who may have a slight visual impairment.
4. Download speed is a critical issue. Not everyone who visits your website will have a DSL or high speed internet connection. Many people still use standard modems with a 56k download speed. Thus the size of your webpage should not exceed 50k. Anything larger and you may be unknowingly eliminating 30 – 40 percent of your potential visitors who will not want to wait for your website to load.
5. After you design and launch your website, open it up in every different type of browser on the market. Although Internet Explorer and Firefox may be the two largest, many other browsers are used by a large portion of your viewing audience. Unfortunately, browsers will not always display the content of your website in the same manner. It’s important that each page be formatted in such a way that it will be displayed correctly by a wide variety of browsers.
6. A footer should be found on every page of the website. A footer should contain your contact information and links to your privacy policy, disclaimer and copyright pages. Either in your footer or directly above it, text links to your main pages should be located.
There you have it. Six easy tips that will make your website a more enjoyable experience for all who visit.
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