Top Ten Web Mistakes
- Using Frames
Using frames, especially on home pages, prohibits search engines from seeing the content on your site which severely limits your page ranking. It is also a usability issue if you use frames to separate content from navigation. If the navigation page goes down, your site becomes unusable, and users will go some where else.
- Using Cheap Software
Using things like Front Page or Publisher to create a web site without the knowledge of how to build one ends up in poorly constructed sites that can't be found by search engines, aren't usable on all web browsers and platforms, and are a nightmare to update for any web designer. Basically, you waste money on software that will create a site only a few people will see correctly, most search engines will ignore and will cost you more money for a designer to fix, update or redesign.
- Not Optimizing Your Site
There are many free and easy ways to keep your site attractive to search engines and users. A common mistake also related to using cheap software is not knowing previously how to make the site work for you.
- Using Too Much Technology
Less is more. Web sites with tons of flashy animations and background music and rotating jumping smiley faces are over-kill. They confuse the user, take up extra bandwidth, make the page load slower, and convey the image of an amateurish organization.
- Using SEO Software
There are a select few companies that are reputable. but software like Web Position Gold, or services that offer to submit your site to 1000 search engines are a bad idea and lead to scams, spam and getting banned form search engine listings. Please see our Search Engine Submission section for more information and resources.
- Using Scrolling Text
This is a distracting and hard to read feature that was introduced sometime in 1996 before web standards and the popularity of the internet really took off.
- Not Validating Your Web Site
In today's internet technology there is an organization whose soul purpose is to create standards for web site design and development. The purpose is to make sure your site is seen by all browsers and platforms, and to give browsers a standard to live up to. Someday Web designers won't have to waste time and money on making sure web sites work 10 different ways, because a company made a browser to do what they wanted, rather than what users and designers needed and web standards are the way to do it.
- Complex or Long Domain Names
It gets harder and harder to find that perfect name as thousands of new web sites are launched every day. But using long or complicated domain names are hard to remember, and they confuse users leading to common misspellings that lead them away from your site, or frustrate them until they just give up. With all of the competition out there you need to make finding you online as easy as possible, and choosing a clear and concise domain name is a great start.
- Orphan Pages
In other words, pages with out navigation or even a back button. This is frustrating to experienced users and dumfounding to beginners.
- Not Updating Your Content
Search engines and users come back often when you update your content. Give them a reason to find you, bookmark you, and remember you by adding and changing things on your site often. The internet's main advantage is the fact that you can update your site regularly at a very low cost over print. Take advantage, and you will rank higher in search engines and people will come more often and stay longer.
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