1. Avoid Pop Ups.

They come in many different varieties: entry pop ups, exit pop ups, delayed, small, large, multiple, flying, scrolling, browser locking, surf stopping, must be cleared to move on.

Web surfers hate pop ups! So why do they continue to appear all over the Internet? Simple. They work.

2. What good are Splash pages anyway?

Why would you put up your company logo and make your visitors hit a click here to enter link when there is no reason for them to not have entered already?

Get to the point! You only have about eight seconds to interest the typical visitor so do not throw any obstacles like splash pages in front of them.

3. Flash introductions are another example of annoying your visitors.

Why would someone download a 2 meg Flash intro when the only thing they want is information? Provide your visitors with the option of skipping the Flash presentation.

4. Get rid of those dead, dead links.

Nothing gets rid of a visitor faster than clicking on a text link that goes nowhere.

5. Requiring your visitors to register first before visiting your website.

You need to build trust with your visitors before expecting them to give up their name and email address.

Provide some useful information and stroke your visitors interest before asking for any information.

6. Slow page downloads.

When I have to wait more then a few seconds to see any information, guess what? I am gone, never to return.

If your ISP has slow servers, then find a new one. If you have alot of files that load with your site, then get rid of them. Use links instead. Why no let your visitors decide if they want to watch a movie?

7. Update your websites content often.

Take advantage of new Internet technology and have the content of your website updated daily. Have you heard of RSS Feeds?

8. Filling your website with small, hard to read text.

Follow this simple rule. Your text needs to be easy to read if you want people to absorb your message. Font size 2 is the smallest that should be used.

9. Make sure your site is easy to navigate.

What do the search engines prefer? Underlined text links. Top and bottom, on every page. Do not make your visitors waste their time trying to find the link to the information they are really looking for. The simpler the navigation the longer your visitors will stay. Use clear and descriptive labeling for buttons and text links.

TIP: Avoid underlining words that are not links. You do not want your visitors getting annoyed when they try to click on what they think is a link. Use italics or boldface instead.

10. Can your visitors find your contact information?

I have been to many sites where I could not find a phone number, address or even an email address. What does this tell you about a website that does not want anyone to contact them?

11. Do you have a search tool for your website?

If you have a website with dozens of pages, then you should provide a search box for your visitors to find what they need.

Many search engines will give you a free search tool for your site. So use it.

12. Why would anyone have lots of links to other websites from your homepage?

We spend alot of time and effort into attracting visitors to our website, so why would provide them with an option to leave? Visitors are you prospects. You need to not only get them to your site but you must keep them there while providing them with information and other pages within your site.

13. Disabling the back button, a big mistake!

If someone hits the back button on your site then they probably have not found what they are looking for.

What else may upset your visitors?

- Colors that hurt the eyes or make it hard to read anything on your page.

- A company logo that takes up half of the monitor.

- The site menu is hard to find.

- Homepage goes on forever. Visitors have to scroll down, way down, before finding any useful information.

- Website contains text which is full of spelling and grammatical errors.

- What do you think may be the best way to confuse your visitors? Clutter your pages with a ton of ads and banners. This will surely frustrate your visitors and cause them to leave, quickly.

There are many ways to frustrate your visitors.

So try visiting your website while keeping in mind that anything that you find annoying, may be one reason for your visitors not to stick around.

Copyright 2007 Joe Rispoli