What to Do and What Not to Do on a Website – Beginner's Perspective
When you're creating a website, be it for business or pleasure, there are certain common "beginner's mistakes," that you should avoid at all costs. Even if you already own a website and find that you have made these mistakes in the past or that you are currently making them, be aware that it is never too late to go back and fix them.
Before going into the What to Do's and the What Not to Do's for websites, there is one general tip that every site owner should take into consideration. Sit down for a moment and think about some websites that you have visited. Is there anything that annoyed you about those particular sites? Chances are that you have been on some sites that had annoying features – such as too colorful backgrounds or fonts, pop ups that wouldn't go away, or such busy graphics that your computer froze. A good rule of thumb then is to not do anything on your website that you personally would find annoying or that you would grow frustrated with. If a particular feature bothers you about a website, there's a good chance that it will bother most of your potential site visitors.
One thing that you should avoid whenever possible is an overabundance of advertising. Not only is advertising annoying and distracting for the site visitor, but it is also somewhat unprofessional. Most internet users today are savvy to the fact that outside advertising on a site means that the company or site creator is paying less for the use of the online space. This sends a very unprofessional and unreliable message to potential customers or potential repeat visitors. In some cases, these ads may even be for similar products. Just think – you could be advertising for your competition! While a small amount of tactful or related advertising is acceptable, it is best to avoid any site hosting service, especially free hosting services, that fill your page with outside ads.
Furthermore, you will want to be sure that you are not using a ton of flashy graphics, overly large and difficult to load pictures, or other distracting features. While these can look nice in test mode, you must remember that not every person will have a computer capable of loading all of this information. Even some of those that do are not interested in waiting ten minutes for a busy intro to complete itself. If you simply must have this kind of introduction or you feel that the large pictures offered on your site are well worth the time it takes to load them, you will need to, at the very least, offer a "Skip Intro," option or give a disclaimer that photos may take a while to load. Site visitors will appreciate your courtesy and will be more likely to wait for your page to finish.
Finally, be sure that all text on your page is spelled correctly and is easy to read and that you do not have any profanity or offensive materials on your site. Keep your online image clean by making social networking sites professional and courteous, or keeping them private, and promote your website (without spamming) as often as possible. Following these steps will help you to maintain a professional and well reputed site for yourself or your small business.
