Fine Tuning your Website
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Checking your website
You've organized your files, created the directories and uploaded your web pages. Once your site is online the first thing you should do is go through each and every page as a visitor would, fine tuning it and checking to make sure all the graphics are displaying and the links work.
Graphics and content
Put yourself in the shoes of the people who will be visiting your website. Be as objective as possible and browse through your site with a critical eye.
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| Do your graphics tie in well with your content? Are the colors displaying correctly? Investing in some good graphics program like PaintShopPro or PhotoShop will pay off when optimizing images, both for quick downloading and clean image definition. |
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 - Professional Graphics
Checking links
Broken links are the nemesis of the webmaster. Search engines hate them and your visitors will dislike them as well. Check your links often to be sure that they are working properly. Links can change and websites come and go, so be sure that your visitors are being directed to the information that they are expecting. If you have organized your website and recorded the content and links in your website journal this job will be a lot easier.
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Loading times
Take note of how long it takes your pages to load; if it is over 30 seconds, you probably need to remove or shrink the size of some of your graphics. This is accomplished with the use of your graphics program. Excessive text can also increase the loading time of your webpages. You should always keep your text brief and to the point.
- Writing for the Web
Use flashy technology (Javascript, Flash, Streaming Audio/Video, animation) sparingly and only if it is important to your presentation. Too much of this will not only increase the loading time of your webpages it will also become a distraction to the people visiting your site. These techniques are more useful for entertainment and are not very good for information presentation.
- How to Optimize your Website the Easy Way
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Navigation
Now look at the navigation system. Is it easy to find and to understand? Will it take visitors where they expect to go? Does every page have a Back, Next and Home link? These issues are paramount to the proper functioning of your website. Website navigation should be user friendly and prominently displayed on every page of your site. Navigation bars, headers and footers are ideal for this.
Overall website design
Once your website is online it is easier to see it as an overall experience. View it as such. Look at the overall design of the site. Will visitors know what type of website this is? Are the pages consistent so that users will always know they are still on your site and where to find the navigation links? Have a friend look at your site now that it is online and listen to their comments. Take any suggestions that they may offer seriously.
- Website Navigation and Theme
- Beginners Guide to Sitemaps
- Content and Optimization
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Operational elements of the website
Do your message board, order form, survey and e-mail links all function properly? These are the elements that provide for user interaction. Through these type of things your visitors interface with you. Here is where you will receive feedback, fill orders and exchange information with your visitors. Check them on a regular basis.
- Connecting with Visitors
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