Things to Do

Optimize your site
The three top complaints about webpages were speed, ads, and broken links. Speed and ads both had 60% of people surveyd indicate that these were a major deterrent. Web ads continue to get progressivly annoying, but the larger ones also increase the download times. Optimizing web sites takes the ads into account to keep your visitors from leaving because the page loaded an ad immediately, but left your content floating in cyberspace. To keep the download time of pages at a speed most visitors expect, maintain a size of about 30K.

Keep it simple
Use standard layouts. There are some that like to use 6 or 8 frames on one page. Other sites use a layout where you have to scroll to the right to read everything on the page (but you never have to scroll down). These layouts can be amusing, and you might think that they are fun to build, but they will drive your visitors insane. The reason that the 3-column layout is the most common form on sites and newspapers is because it is effective. You might think it's dull, but you'll maintain more visitors if you stick with something familiar that they can understand. In design, be aware of the blank part of the page. Whitespace is not wasted space, it is a function of your layout. You should pay attention to the whitespace on your pages and how it affects how the content is viewed. Whitespace is just as important in a Web layout as it is in a paper layout

Use standard fonts
Serif for headlines and Sans-Serif for other content. If you've sstudied any kind of print design, this is probably the exact the opposite of what you learned. But the Web is not print. Sans-serif fonts are much easier to read on computer monitors because the screen resolution is not as high as in print. When you use serif fonts for normal text, the serif fonts can blur together on the screen making them hard to read. Your pages mean to be printed should use the opposite fonts (serif for headlines and sans-serif for text). Also, limit the number of different fonts that you use. The best ways to make your site look amateurish is to change the font over and over ad infinitum. Sure, it's possible to do, but limiting your page and site to 2 or at most 3 standard font families is easier to read and is more professional.




Things not to Do

Don't be greedy with Ads
As mentioned before, Web ads are often complained about by web surfers. on the other hand it can be an effective way to increase revenue. So how do you strike a balance. If you have any control over the number of web ads on your website, be aware that your readers are not coming to read the web ads, they are coming for the content. If the web ads overwhelm the page, many readers won't stay around long enough to enjoy your content. Yes, it's important to earn money from your site, but if your web ads drive people away, you'll ultimately lose money. Treat web ads as you would any other image on the site. Keep them small, avoid flashing and blinking, and keep them relevant. Just because you can have an ad on your website, doesn't mean that you should. If the content is relevant to your visitors, they're more likely to click on it.

Do not use images that blink
Try to avoid content that blinks or moves or changes or rotates or flashes or do anything on your page. At the very least, use them sparingly. There have been countless studies that show that flashing graphics are annoying and distracting to people. In fact, in many focus groups browsers have been observed to actually physically cover up with their hands flashing graphics so that they could read the rest of the page uninterrupted.

Don't make users overclick
Put as few clicks between your visitor and your information as possible. This is so important I'll repeat it: Put as few clicks between your visitor and your information as possible. The more you force your visitors to click around your site the more likely they'll abandon it. Even if they don't leave they might get annoyed, or not view as much of your content -- either of which is bad for you. Is your home page a splash page (a page with no meaningful information on it, that simply "welcomes" visitors to the site, along with an "Enter Site" link)? If so, get rid of it. After someone takes the effort to visit your site, give them your site right away! Don't make them knock on two different doors. A related idea is to put meaningful amounts of information on each page. If a page doesn't have at least 400 words, you probably should combine that page with another short page.