You never get a second chance to make a first impression and you only get thirty seconds to do that! 

If you haven’t uttered those words, chances are someone has said them to you! These insights offer a practical guideline for designing a website. A major challenge facing any business today is getting their product or service to market ahead of the competition and making it stand out.

First, you must alert the audience that you are available and able to fill a need. In general, with any form of advertising you have approximately thirty seconds to get your target’s attention before they turn the page or click on another website.

You must immediately demonstrate to the visitor what is in it for them and why they should care about your offering  or you have failed to illustrate why the visitor should stay. Focus on the visitor instead of solely on your offering and you will save yourself the grief of low conversion rates. Remember conversion rates are the number of lookers that become buyers. The higher the conversion rate the higher your bottom line. The lower the conversion rate the less profitable your business will be.

It is important that you maintain the idea of simple website design. As your business starts to gain momentum you can always create a more complex site that incorporates flash, surveys, and any other bells and whistles that are likely to positively impact your prospects and visitor.

Here is a a test of simplicity and success:

• Can your home page can be viewed and understood without explanation
• Are your visitors able to view your site without being blinded by an explosion of color that detracts from your message
• Have you ensured that your visitors are not overwhelmed by a flash presentation
• Are your visitors able to decide in under thirty seconds that your product or service adds value to them
• Do your visitors feel that your offering is legitimate

If you are able to answer yes to the above statements, you have achieved a powerful but simple website design. If not keep trying until the above statements are true, and remember Keep It Simple Stupid!

About Author

The Web Diva is here to help entrepreneurs and support small and home based businesses. www.Thewebsitediva.com offers everything a business needs to get started on the web.