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Guest Article

20 Things That Should Never Appear On Your Web Site

1. Undifferentiated Products or Services
   A surprising number of sites offer products and services with no online ordering advantage. This is especially true of health- related items, business services, book and information sellers and MLM reps. You must give your visitors a compelling reason to buy from you online.
   
   
2. Large Useless Graphics
   Web surfers have the need for speed. Yet far too many home pages open with Large Useless Graphics (LUGs) that load slowly and make no contribution to the effectiveness of the page. In most cases, your home page should be 40K or less in file size - including graphics. Spinning globes, stock photos, massive company logos, etc., take up precious real estate that could be better utilized for benefit-related information.
   
   
3. Welcome to My Site
   Phrases like this, repetition of your company name and other self-serving statements only cloud your message. Your home page and virtually every other page on your site should begin with a compelling, stimulating, interest-generating, headline or opening equivalent that tells your viewers what's in it for them if they read your page.
   
   
4. Blinkers, Spinners, Scrolling Marquees, Counters, etc.
   There was a time when these things were new and unusual. Now they are passé - and in many cases, distracting and annoying. Counters especially have lost their usefulness. They are self-serving devices that have no purpose because most visitors really don't care how many alleged hits your site has gotten.
   
   
5. External Links on Your Home Page
   This is equivalent to having an office or storefront that leads to a choice of doors that go to other businesses. When a potential customer arrives, why give that person an immediate opportunity to leave and never return? If you must link externally, do it on a page that can only be accessed after viewing the important pages on your site. (Exceptions: You have a pure resource site or have a commission arrangement to promote another company's product or service.)
   
   
6. Just About Any Award Logo/Banner
   Most Web awards are dubious at best, and meaningless to most of your visitors. Awards are self-serving space-wasters that should be replaced with visitor-focused information that gives people a reason to stay at your site, not leave it to investigate the award sponsor.
   
   
7. Typographical or Grammatical Errors
   Seems obvious, yet many, many Web pages contain common spelling and grammatical errors. Your copy is a reflection of your professionalism (or lack of it), your attention to detail (or lack of it) and your commitment to excellence (or lack of it). Why give visitors any reason to doubt you? Use spelling and grammar checkers to make sure your copy is first-rate.
   
   
8. Over Use of We, Our, Us, My, Me, Mine and Your Company Name
   These are self-serving words that turn off readers. Instead, you should use words like you and your. Before you post copy to your site, run a find and replace utility and check for the number of you-words against the number of us-words. The ratio should be 2-3 you-words for every us-word.
   
   
9. Name, Rank and Serial Number Information
   It's amazing how many home pages begin, "The Acme Widget Company is a family-run business located in Cornfield County, Nebraska..." Who cares? What does this have to do with the benefits of your products or services? If you must include boring vital statistics like these, put them on an About Us page and give some reasons why these things are important to readers.
   
   
10. Frames
    Many older browsers don't support frames. Many search engines don't index them properly. Many frames require scrolling to read the text and activate links. Frame scrolling bars take up precious real estate. Frames don't bookmark properly. Enough said? (Exception: Some shopping carts create frames and this usually won't hurt you because the pages are dynamically generated.)
    
    
11. Under Construction Signs/Notices
    What good does a page that isn't finished do for your visitors? It just wastes their time and could possibly frustrate or annoy them. Every page on your site should have a purpose or reason why it's there. Every page should also have a call to action - what you want the visitor to do after reading the information. And your site should *always* be "under construction" in that you should update your pages frequently.
    
    
12. Broken Links
    This should be obvious, but broken links are all too frequent. Broken links are annoying, frustrating and unprofessional. Why make your visitors mad?
    
    
13. Missing Graphics
    This should also be obvious, but missing graphics are all over the Web - even on professional sites whose principals should know better.
    
    
14. Incomplete Contact Information
    It's amazing how many companies try to remain anonymous and then expect people to do business with them. To maximize your credibility and believability, you should include complete contact information on every page. Use a physical street address, not a P.O. Box. Provide a live phone number, not a voice mailbox. List your fax number, and toll-free ordering number if you have one. And, of course, list an email hotlink to you, not your Webmaster.
    
    
15. Home Page That Scrolls Into Oblivion
    Despite the universal quest for information by Web surfers, most people will not read long home pages that scroll into oblivion. Your home page should be no longer than 1500 pixels (800 pixels is ideal). Give visitors links and benefit-related teasers that lead to separate pages.
    
    
16. Cookie Nags That Appear More Than Once
    Many people believe cookies are an invasion of their privacy. However, cookies can make browsing more convenient in some cases. If you use cookies, don't nag your visitors more than once per visit to allow you to set a cookie.
    
    
17. Free Offers That Aren't Immediately Fulfilled
    You should make some kind of free offer on your site that will allow you to capture visitor names and email addresses. But you should only do this if you can immediately fulfill your offer. Many sites offer free consultations or information, then fail to deliver. This can permanently damage your credibility.
    
    
18. Non-Secure or Confusing Ordering Procedures
    Many sites have non-secure or confusing ordering procedures. Better to not request credit card info, etc., if you can't do it securely. Offer a mail-in, call-in or fax-in alternative. If you have more than two or three items for sale, invest in a shopping cart ordering system. Make it easy for customers to buy from you.
    
    
19. Plug-Ins/JavaScript Pop-Up Windows
    Most people will not take the time to load plug- ins to view or do something at your site unless you give them a great reason to do so. They'll just click away. JavaScript pop-up windows can be annoying if they appear more than once or don't offer something meaningful. Why make it unpleasant for visitors to see what you offer?
    
    
20. Plagiarized Material
    This should be obvious, but many people take copyrighted material from other sites and pretend it's theirs. Doing this will eventually bite you and could lead to serious legal problems. The good news is, most people are flattered to let you use their material, if you ask for their permission and give them proper attribution

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