Technique 1: Website loading time should be ideally below 30 seconds on a dial-up modem.



This can be checked using available online service at http://www.netmechanics.com. Using this service you can also check loading speed, links to ensure that they are working. You can also get feedback on graphics you need to reduce in order to increase speed of loading as size of graphic files tend to reduce speed of loading.

Size of tables also will reduce speed of loading of website. You will notice when you navigate slow loading website that the entire site doesn't appear for 15 to 20 seconds and then suddenly entire table appears at once. This is due size of the table you create with all sales content just in one table. It is advisable to break big table into 2 or smaller tables for them to be loaded in phases for the user to read upper tables while next tables are being loaded.

Technique 2: Make site navigation easy and simple to follow.

Website navigation should be made obvious, simple, and uniform from page to page.

Texts underlined are just as affective as tabs used by sites such as Amazon.com. The key point here is that you must be able to predict what your customer expects from your website and provide it to them in an easy format.

Simple text links ordered either vertically or horizontally will be batter rather than making navigation system fanciful. So do button and the most effective of all, filling-cabinet-like tabs.

Technique 3: Form must follow function.

Without reading one line of text your website should convey a message through its design and feel. This is a very subjective area and achieving this objective is your creativity as there are no real ‘standards' and ‘controls'.

Technique 4: Watch out for ‘minor details'.

Did you ever hear saying that it is the little foxes that spoil the grapes? It is true for your websites as well. Following points should be considered:

1) Don't use a visible stats counter. Statistics counter will not help except for showing off how popular your site is and you should keep it private.

2) Ensure that your site prints well. There are many web surfers prefers to read printed page rather than on computer screen. You should provide ‘printable' option for such readers.

3) Make sure website ‘scannable'. Many web surfers will do a quick scan of your website before they decide that it is time well spent reading. For this reason you should emphasize (through use of bold, colored, underlined text, and appropriate headings) the high points of your website.

4) Don't use large header graphics that take away from the topfold of your website. The ‘topfold' of your Home page is what the visitor sees before he or she scrolls down the page. If your header graphics with your company logo takes much of the space, then less space is left for the text that carries major weight of your message.

Technique 5: Eliminate unnecessary doorway Flash pages.

As time is a big factor on the web and Flash presentations take lot of time to load, it is best to avoid them taking into consideration that many visitors are still using dial-up connections.