Jessica Parker's super easy tutorial

Many sites waste valuable space on their home pages with either a “welcome message from our CEO!” or a mission statement – sometimes both. Most often, that’s about as interesting as reading the tax code, so visitors nod off before the page even finishes loading.  Few visitors are interested in a company’s CEO. Give him his own page and bury it deep in the site, because really who cares.

> Use Bulleted items: People often scan these first and ignore text.

> Make It Short And Simple: Be brief: you’re writing for the Web. Visitors have different expectations when they read online than when reading printed materials. It’s more tiring to read online, so make it easy for visitors to find the information they want.

> Use Clearly defined sections: Use color, header tags, or horizontal rules to structure your page into sections.

> Use Columns: These are easier to read than long text.

> Use Short paragraphs: Make your major point early, because really who wants to read all that text.

Tell Them Where To Go: 

>Accessible navigation: Give visitors multiple navigation options to avoid locking out visitors using  PDA’s, or non-graphical browsers.

Your sites navigation has to be easy to use. You’re wasting your time tantalizing visitors with exciting copy on your home page if they get lost while trying to learn more.

> Earn Their Trust:

Visitors can’t see you; they’ll never meet you in person, or speak to you over the phone. That means they have to be extra comfortable with your site before they’re willing to buy anything.

> Company name, address, and phone number: You’d think this would be automatic, but many sites don’t include this

> Contact email address: Always provide a contact email address, but be careful to avoid the dreaded email spiders that harvest your address for spammers!

> Customer ratings: Sites such as BizRate, eBay, and ResellerRatings allow customers to rate a Web site’s sales and service level. If you’re a member, be sure to list your high rating with these services and provide links so visitors can see for themselves. Careful online shoppers do use these services!

Don’t forget to emphasize your site’s accessibility on the home page and link to the site’s accessibility policy. Visitors with disabilities are loyal consumers who spend twice as much time on the Internet as people without disabilities. Show them you want their business!