The Flash may not be a hero for your website.
With all the talk about SEO, PPC, Twitter, Flash and other web technologies, sometimes we overlook what is *really* important in a website. Don’t forget the fundamentals! Here is a quick list of things you should do that will help your online visitors once they find you:
- You need an “elevator speech” – a short paragraph summarizing your organization. Imagine that you were in an elevator with someone and had only 1 minute to explain your company to them. It should be short, sweet and memorable – and right in a user’s siteline above the fold.
- Your site needs to inspire an action of some sort. What is your goal? Is it to have a visitor contact you? If so, make it easy for them to do so, but also give them a clear reason to contact you – Inspire them!
- Have an “About Us” page. People like to know more about your company. The “About Us” page is consistently one of my most visited pages on my website. This is your best opportunity to build trust – why should someone trust your organization? Experience? Knowledge? What is it?
- Most often, people on the web are hunting for specific information, and they want it QUICK. Waiting to see if that information is in a video or buried on a subpage is usually not an option – they will click on to the next site. Concentrate on making the key information available quickly and easily. Navigation at the top will help, and adding relevant textual info. Don’t get too wordy – get to the point.
- Don’t try to dazzle with Flashy intros, or moving graphics. A) It is distracting, and B) it isn’t search engine friendly. If it doesn’t help deliver information faster, don’t bother. Depending on your brand, the days of cool Flash animations are over for most companies. Information delivery is key.
