Building a Better Web Site for the Novice

It only takes a user 7 seconds to decide if they want to stay on a web page. If they found your site through a search engine then chances are there are multiple sites about your subject or topic. If the user finds something they don't like or something that's amateurish then they will turn around and look for a different page that talks about what they need. Here are a few tips to keep the user visit your page and stay there.

1. Learn HTML and CSS.

HTML or Hyper Text Markup Language is a markup language used by web professionals to create web pages. It is a very basic language that is certainly a quick learn. The occasional WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor will create the code as you drag and drop elements onto the area. Sure it sounds easy but taking the time to learn html gives you more control over your web site. CSS or Cascading Style Sheets are used to show web browsers how to display HTML elements. CSS allows you to separate the look of the page from the actual content of the page.

2. Make the site easy to navigate.

Making the site easy to look around is definitely a plus. Don't have the navigation bar (an area of a web page that contains links to other pages) be in different locations on different pages of your site. You want the user to get used to the site as soon as they enter the page. Also make sure the links all link to pages, don't have dead hyperlinks on your site. You don't want the user to enter your page then happen to click a dead link, they'll leave almost instantly.

3. Color Scheme.

The second someone views your web page they notice the color scheme. If they see horrible colors that don't go well together or text that is unreadable because of the colors then they are more than likely to leave. They won't even get to the content before they click the back button. Don't have colors that don't work well together, do some research online about color schemes and colors that go well together.

4. No flashy Content