Page 274 - Duct Tape Marketing

258 Part IV: Getting the Word Out without Advertising

To help visitors get around your site, present them with clearly labeled selec-
tions. For example, labels such as Technical Support, Our Products, Our
Customers, News, Contact Us, and Frequently Asked Questions tell people way
more about what to expect than labels like Features, Information, What People
Are Saying or other more ambiguous descriptions. Keep these tips in mind as
you develop your site:

ߜ Start with a home page that tells visitors exactly what you want them to
know about your company — clearly and immediately.

ߜ Let visitors jump from section to section with ease.
ߜ Provide a link back to your home page from every page.
ߜ Keep choices clear and to a minimum.
ߜ Provide a site map so users can see how your site is organized.

Attributes of a good site

Good sites have some common strengths:

ߜ The purpose of the site is clear.
ߜ The visitor can tell who the company is and what it does.
ߜ The site is organized so visitors can easily find and access information.
ߜ Visitors can quickly learn how to contact people at the company.
ߜ The site comes up on all computers quickly and reliably.
ߜ The site is easy to read and use.
ߜ The look of the site makes a good impression for the company.
ߜ The site doesn’t crash or give error messages.
ߜ Content is well written, clear, and directed at visitors’ wants and needs.

As you build your site, aim for the following three attributes:

ߜ Speed: Your site must be quick because most visitors are only willing to
wait five to ten seconds for a page to load. Ask your site-hosting service
to provide response-time measurements. If you host your own site, con-
nect to the Web with a dial-up modem and time how long it takes each
page to load.

ߜ Graphics: A picture’s worth a thousand words only if it appears before
the user tires of waiting for it to download. Reduce the dimensions of