Let’s throw everything you & I know about web design aside for a moment –

Now, let’s see how web design history can help us make better decisions for the future.

For starters, let’s see what the top 100 most successful web sites have in common:

• fast download times,
• few graphics,
• little, if any, multimedia,
• no frames,
• no splash (or intro) pages,
• similar navigation systems,
• high-contrast text with lots of white space,
• most links in “traditional” blue, underlined text,
• no background imagery, and,
• a solid database-powered back-end.

This study was printed by the Eisenberg Brothers, world-reknown specialists in web site conversions.

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Conversions, in this context, mean an individual web page that successfully turns (or converts) a visitor into a potential customer by them:

1. contacting you,
2. using your service, or
3. ordering your product.

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Okay, with those things in mind — let’s look at sites we know are ultra-successful and see how they do:

• Google.com,
• Nintendo.com,
• Apple.com, and
• Ebay.com.

Wow! They all seem to meet the criteria!

What’s the one thing that they all do, that you should too?

If you said – keep it simple — you’re right!

How do you “keep it simple”?

Here are a few hints:

• Make everything obvious.
• Offer simple and consistent navigation.
• Keep to 3 to 5 buttons on your home page.
• Try for “2 clicks from the home page to everything”.
• Respect conventions.
• Never assume your visitor is an expert.
• Earn respect by attention to detail (no typo’s or grammatical errors!)

Can you think of other things you can do? If so, by all means, take a moment and comment below — we’d love to hear from you!

If you’re interested in successful web design, would like to learn more, or have a question you’d like to discuss, contact me and we’ll set up a phone call, or meeting, at a time and day that works for you.

Also, my offer always stands — if you want a free lunch — yep, it’s my treat — we’ll discuss your idea, or questions, at one of the tastiest places in SW Florida - Something Special Cafe, in with Publix at Summerlin & Colonial.