By Earma Brown

You took the leap. You set up a website to display your

important message. Congratulations! As in life, first

impressions are important on the web. Web researchers found that

you have about 2 minutes to make that first impression a good

one. Visitors will judge your site in those few seconds on its

professionalism and appropriateness to what they are looking for.

In fact, a website can lose about one-third of its potential

customers due to poor design, according to a recent user study

conducted by Jakob Nielson, Ph.D., a principal of the Fremont

Calif.-based Nielson Norman Group.

Take a long hard look at your site. Or ask a friend to give you

a brutally honest review of your site. Does it pass the test of

professionalism? Are the graphics of good quality and clear? Is

the formatting, font size and font colors consistent throughout

the site? Or does your site commit design mistakes that speak

AMATEUR as soon as it loads?

There are some common mistakes website owners make that may

cause visitors to leave early. Correct these 5 mistakes to make

sure your visitors stay long enough to read your important

message:

Mistake#6 They post "Under Construction" signs all over the

site.

Under Construction signs posted all over the website spell

UNPROFESSIONAL in a big way. Seasoned site owners understand the

power of patience. They know that timing the launch of your

completed website is much more effective than doing it

prematurely.

Solution: Be patient. Wait until the website is complete before

publicizing your site. Doing it this way, your visitors will be

impressed and gain trust faster. They won't feel uneasy and run

away because they see UNPROFESSIONAL stamped all over your site

with each Under Construction sign.

Mistake #7 They place brightly colored counters on every page

as a badge of honor.

The truth is most everyone knows counters can be set to

whatever number you like. If you don't want to start your

counter at zero, you can easily start it at 10,000. It raises a

red flag of questions. Therefore, it may repel your visitors

faster than it attracts them. Why raise the red flag of

questions, if you don't have to.

Solution: Need to analyze your traffic? Look at your in-depth

statistics instead.

Mistake #8 They don't use copyright statements.

Some uniformed site owners don't know that their copyright is

effective the moment their creative work is set in a fixed form.

So they fail to put their stamp of ownership on their work.

Solution: If you truly own your work, claim it. Post your

copyright information at the bottom of every page.

Mistake #9 They write boring, long and sometimes complicated

copy.

It slows your visitor's reading to a standstill if they can't

quickly understand your copy (the words on your website.) Trust

me; your visitor will not stop and get a dictionary if they

can't understand something. They will leave quickly.

Solution: Invest time into getting your copy right. Keep it

simple. Get rid of passive verbs and too many adverbs that rob

your copy of power. Use compelling words in short sentences

full of action.

Mistake #10 They fail to identify the benefits of their

products and services.

Most visitors don't automatically know what your product or

service can do for them. The 'What's in it for me' is what

drives most of us. If that question is not answered quickly, we

may leave before we discover you have exactly what we've been

looking for.

Solution: Make it easy for your visitor. Place your best

benefits in your headlines, links and even picture tags.

Mistake #11 They forget to ask the visitor to do something.

Beginner site owners leave money on the table by not asking

their visitor to take specific action. They don't consider their

visitor may be distracted, busy or dormant to any desire for

their product.

Solution: Write marketing with the idea of what you want to

happen after they have read your copy. What do you want your

visitor to do? Write with the conviction that your prospect will

do something after reading-click through to the sales page,

contact you for more information, pick up the phone and order.

Don't forget the power of direct commands. Be specific in your

directives. Stop right now and fill in this coupon. Send for

this ezine before you forget. People love easy steps. They don't

have to decide. The work of deciding what to do is already done.

First impressions are important on the web. Follow the simple

design techniques above and stop turning your visitors away at

the door. Use your first few seconds to impress your visitors

with simple design that delivers your powerful message

effectively.

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