When developing a personal or small business website, it is important to make sure that the user feels interested in each page and that they are motivated to fully explore the website.  There are many strategies to accomplish this and we will explore several such ideas below.

Tip 1:  Make each page count

If a user is going to click on a link, they want it to be informative, interesting, and worth viewing in its entirety.  One way to ensure this is to craft each page to be either new information or content that is useful to the reader.  Each new page on your website should answer the questions “Why is this page important for the reader?  And why should they click the next link?”  If the page includes advertisements, the ratio (and placement) should reflect this goal.  At the very least, each page should contain a 3:1 information to advertisement ratio.  The ads should also be broken up within each page to ensure that the page is fully viewed; nothing dissuades a customer like a long block of ads with no original content.

Tip 2: Avoid clutter

Nothing undermines the professionalism of your website like distractions.  Do not rely on animation and sounds; they can be distracting.  A visitor’s eye is best trained on the text of each page and the links you provide.  Unnecessary flair detracts from this purpose.  It is like trying to read on a crowded bus while being constantly jostled.

Web site garnishes are splendid, but should not dominate the plate.  This is especially true for scrolling text as they prevent the reader from proceeding at their own pace.  No one wants to be distracted from their browsing by trying to read what is rapidly scrolling at the periphery.  This brings to mind another important point: the interests of the customer should override your own.  While sounds and other accoutrements in your website can show off your programming expertise, they should always be utilized with the viewer in mind.  After all, your layout should be about your customers, not you.  To this end, also avoid using image backgrounds.  Do websites like Amazon, Google, Ebay, or the New York Times use them?  When in doubt, follow the lead of these major websites.

Avoid unnecessary distractions in your layout.  In addition to increasing your website’s clutter, they can add size to your website’s layout, thus increasing the time your website takes to load.  Increased load time can drive users away from your page.

Tip 3:  Make your layout easy to navigate

Put as few clicks between the user and your content as possible.  The more times that a user has to click on a link, the more likely he or she is to go to another web site.  The corollary to this is to minimize each page to 1-2 screen lengths.  No one wants to scroll through hundreds of lines of text to understand your content.  Equally important is to make sure that there is an easily accessible menu in your layout, on each and every page.  This ensures easy backtracking and navigation throughout your website.