| Do people visit your web site to view your graphics | | | | - Arrange your content in short paragraphs of 5-10 |
| or read your content? | | | | lines |
| People seek information when surfing the Web | | | | - Keep your lines short (15-20 words)..it makes them |
| therefore content is the most important aspect of | | | | easier to read |
| your web site. Without it your web site will not | | | | - Use plenty of white space between components |
| attract visitors or retain their interest. Graphics are | | | | on the page ie text and images |
| used to enhance your content. Even if you have a | | | | - Don't allow visitors horizontal scrolling..it annoys them |
| very simple design but have great content you'll | | | | - Don't make your page too long so visitors have to |
| attract lots of interested visitors. | | | | scroll down several pages to read it. |
| For example an offline store allows visitors to see, | | | | - If your page is gets too long link the content to |
| touch, smell, taste and hear their products whereas | | | | another page |
| online the content on your web site must persuade | | | | Navigation |
| visitors to buy your products mostly with text. | | | | - Use text links instead of images, flash or javascript |
| Types of content | | | | so the search engines can spider your content |
| Text | | | | - Place your navigation bar at the top or side of your |
| The written word is the most commonly used type | | | | web page |
| of content. Expert copywriters can write copy that | | | | - Include navigation at the bottom of your web page |
| captures the thoughts and emotions of their readers. | | | | if it's a long one to visitors won't have to scroll back |
| It prepares the mind of the visitor to subscribe to a | | | | up |
| newsletter of purchase a product. Keywords placed | | | | - Navigation links should change when moused over |
| strategically within the content attract the search | | | | so visitors know they've already been there |
| engine spiders thus boosting your web traffic. | | | | - Don't make the link colors the same color as your |
| Audio and video | | | | content |
| Some of your online audience prefers to listen and/or | | | | - Use textual links within your content to navigate to |
| watch content rather than reading it. Most people are | | | | other areas of your website |
| used to watching television, listening to music or | | | | Search engine optiimization |
| playing video games. Using audio or video content will | | | | - Include your main keywords the meta tags, |
| attract a wider audience. | | | | headlines, navigation, links and content |
| Images | | | | - Use h1, h2, h3 tags for headlines and sub headings |
| You've probably heard the phrase " a picture is worth | | | | - Use anchor text to link to other sections of your |
| a 1000 words." This is also true on the Net. Images | | | | web site |
| are used to add value or illustrate content. Site | | | | - Use the alt tag to optimize your image descriptions |
| owners use images to create slide show | | | | - Reduce page loading times by reducing image size |
| presentations, portfolios or photo galleries. | | | | and amount of images on the page |
| How to display content on a web page | | | | - Validate your code to check for html, xhtml errors |
| Design | | | | - Repair broken links |
| - Use headlines, sub headlines and bullet points to | | | | - Use cascading style sheets (CSS ) to style your |
| organize your content | | | | content |
| - Use the same font for the main content of all your | | | | Tip |
| web pages so it looks consistent throughout the web | | | | To attract a constant stream of visitors to your web |
| site. | | | | site, add fresh, unique content on a regular basis in |
| - Only use commonly used font found on most | | | | the form of articles, blog posts, comments, video |
| computers ie arial, times roman, georgia, verdana | | | | and/or audio. |
| - Use large or bold font for headings and subheadings | | | | |