Top 10 Webmaster Mistakes!
By Carol Bird   ©2004 All Rights Reserved

Ever go to a site and than just leave it? Well we have complied the top ten reasons a person leaves a site before surfing it. Feel free to use these tips when upgrading or creating a web site.

Here they are: 1. Meta Tags contained misleading information in regards to the content of the site, or was not specific enough to the sites relevance to the Meta description. In simple terms, people could not immediately see what it was they expected when they opened the page. *Tip: Make sure the first thing your visitors will see is what you implied they would see! 2. Too busy! Meaning too many banners floating, blinking and demanding attention, or too many mixed colors with no color thyme. Over use of CAPS LIKE THIS WHICH IS REALLY ANNOYING! *Tip: Find a theme for your site. Make sure any banners you have do not destroy the look of the page. If you must have more than one banner on the top and bottom of your page put them in an interesting layout. Never have row upon row of banners, no one will read them, there for no one will click on them. 3. Bright unprofessional and plain backgrounds with big bold bright text headings. This looks terrible and people can tell right away you through your page together with a cheap program! *Tip: Take some time to find an attractive background if you plan on using one. Avoid using ugly large colored headings. 4. Unorganized text and button links in lists, or spread out here, and there, any everywhere! *Tip: Spend time creating your site with main pages then sub pages. This way you can organize the links into categories. Have a menu bar with your most important links to your other pages. Use customized dividers along the top for a profession and organized look. Using a mouse over technique on each category to let viewers preview what they will see if they follow that link is a great way to spruce up a plain Jane site. 5. Believe it or not crewed language, sexy images and illegal content are a sure way to make a quick exit from your site. *Tip: Many people are involved in banner exchanges, and those banners often are advertising porn sites, tabloid sites and so on. Make sure if you are in a banner exchange that you regulate the content. 6. HTML errors, like text over lapping text or not being lined up in the right cell area. Also not being able to view a part of the page because the scroll bar is not operating. This gives the reader the impression your site is ancient and has been abandoned, there for they will not waste time there. *Tip: Check on your site daily and be prompt in correcting any glitches. Have an email address that people can use to contact you if they find anything looks out of it's place. 7. Too much text and not enough white space. This is very hard on the eyes and most people would rather read short and to the point sentences rather than long boring paragraphs. *Tip: Break up your page with tactful headlines and simple short sentences. Having space in your page makes it look a lot more organized and will encourage viewers to stick around and surf your site. 8. Broken links. We have found on average if a person finds 2-3 links on a site that are broken they will leave the site all together. *Tip: Make it a regular routine to surf your own site and test each link on each page. Also have a note on your site that asks the viewers to email you if they find a broken link. 9. Taking too long to load! This one is a big one! I never wait more than 10 seconds or so to load a page, so if those fancy graphics are taking too long, it's not worth it because most people won't even see them in completion! *Tip: Choose backgrounds and other images that load quickly. 10. Most importantly the site looks plain and boring. No images, or the images are to loud, irrelevant or old fashioned. It has a simple one column layout and very little time and energy has been invested in the over all look. *Tip: If you want to take the time to make a web site and you want people to take your site and it's content seriously, you must make it look like you invested a lot of time and money into it's presentation and maintenance. Display a professional company name, logo, banners and links that are tasteful and that people would recognize, like Large corporate names and affiliations. People are much more likely to give you their money if they think you don't need it! Best of luck in 2001!

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CAROL BIRD is a true on line success! Executive E-Commerce Analyst for the Resume Resort Get a FREE Ebook on how she's created wealth on line and how you can to http://www.secrets2success.com/special80830 Ebook sells for $99, but free for you today! Email her if you would like paystub copies for proof of earnings. farmerbird@home.com

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