Get Visitors For Your WebSite

Starting the Process

It is very important that the initiator work closely with the designer(s), copywriter(s) and developer(s) ensuring that they have access to all information regarding the project, including:

1. Target audience
2. Competitors
3. Technology to be used (XHTML, Flash, Java etc.)
4. Site Map, or basic structure of site including pages and on page requirements

Once an initial design has been produced it is advisable that a web analytics or user behavior expert be brought into the
discussion to ensure that the proposed design will convert as expected.

Visitors do not like to think when they are on a website. Present them with the content that they are looking for and make it easy for them to find related information or make the desired action such as purchasing, downloading or signing up to whatever it is that you wish them to do.

There are a few generic details to look out for to ensure that the design is on the right track, including:

1. Name of Site: The name of the site (and logo) should be clearly visible and legible within the header of the site. This instills brand awareness and if a catchy name and logo are chosen, you will mostly likely find that your return visitor rate increases.

2. Instinctive navigation: Is it always clear exactly where you are within a site when you are on any given page within the site?

3. Underlining of Links: Ensure that all links are underlined. This way the outgoing page path and related information is immediately determined and visible to the visitor on page load.

4. Actions: It almost seems redundant to say, but ensure the actions you would like your visitors to take are always clear. During a page heat map research project, it was proven that the most attention lies on the right hand side of the page. The top right corner being the most effective area for actions to take place.

The design is one of the first, but none the least the most important area of site production that needs to be taken into
consideration. Equal parts of design, development and content are needed to effectively prepare your site for visitors.

Having previously dabbled in all three of these areas myself, I can appreciatively say that developers prefer to be handed an
accurate story board of the site that they are intended to build, including a detailed page by page briefing. Just like site visitors, it is not in the developer's job description to determine where design meets copy or the initial ideas of the
initiator of the project.

Ensuring that the various departments converse at least once pre-site design is vital, and will ensure that the website
launched will depict the story board initially requested.

It was quite a change for me as a previous "old school" developer to change to the W3 Standards, but I must admit that
it really is the best way to ensure cross browser compatibility. No more having multiple browsers open to ensure the design is always standard. I will recommend this to anyone still developing "old school".

Ensuring content delivers the most effective message, capturing the audience whilst still enticing the search engines is the third part to the equation. Also confirm that your page titles accurately convey the message of the page.

Gone are the days of writing M-amount of key-words within content to try and push your pages higher. Content is king in the land of search engine optimization. You will often find that just by writing relevant, on-topic content the copy is optimized by default. Both spiders and visitors will appreciate this from your site.