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Showing posts from March 1, 2008

Incorporating search on your site

Include search if necessary to help visitors find relevant content. Keep search features simple and visible. On home pages, search should be a type-in field and not a link. Keep the search input field wide enough to contain a typical query. Try to keep search results useful. People rarely look beyond the first page of results. To increase sales, make sure your search results link to product pages.

Make simple page layouts

Improve the user experience with a good layout that employs a clean visual design and straightforward text. Use a consistent layout. Define global and individual page templates. Use a clean visual design—don’t clutter a page with images. Use color and contrast to guide a user through the Web site. Use headings, lists and consistent structure to increase legibility. Make sure pages can be seen on lower resolution screens (800x600. Keep calls to action at the top of the page, so the user does not have to scroll to find them.

Making your site easy to navigate

Help potential customers find what they are looking for as quickly and easily as possible. Design your site with a clear hierarchy. Use descriptive categories. Maintain consistent navigation. Use breadcrumbs to let visitors know where they are. Use color to distinguish between visited and unvisited links. Use local navigation to link to related content. Guide visitors to similar products, related products, background information, author biographies, product reviews, customer testimonials, etc. Provide multiple ways to find products. These can include browse, search, wizard, featured products, top-sellers, related products, etc. Make sure your logo is clickable and takes the user to your home page. Make sure each page is an effective landing page. Visitors should know exactly where they are in the site and what they are looking at. If your site promotes different items in the same category, visitors should be able to view other items easily. Remember, most visitors will not start out on

Call To Action for Customers

The “call to action” is the primary action you want customers to take when they visit your web site. For example, if you want someone to add items to a shopping cart, or even just go deeper into your site to learn more, you might put “Add to cart” or “Learn More” buttons at the top of the page, in a place that stands out from other content. Focus on one primary action per screen. Don’t clutter too many products on one screen. Make the call to action button clearly visible. Make sure visitors can see the call to action button without having to scroll.Don’t bury the call to action under pages of information. If you have a lot of information, consider using a pop-up box with additional info or tabs to consolidate.