Reprints Online

We live in a world so jam-packed with excitement and new technology that at times it seems hard to believe. But this technology is designed in such a way that even the newest online business owners can make use of user-friendly web tools that make functions only a web programmer could have dreamed of doing just a few years ago into simple tasks.

And that is fantastic, right? Well actually it's not. Quite the reverse is true.

You see, the accessibility and ease of use of such web tools has resulted in hundreds of "junk" websites being produced that are so poorly planned that the web surfer is totally confused.

Some of these web pages have as many as 7 or 8 individual things going on at the same time -flashing header graphics, an opt in form, Google Adsense ads, numerous paragraphs of content, affiliate links, audio buttons and more!

Don't be attracted to make such glaring mistakes. It is doubtful if many web visitors will be able to successfully find their way through such a site. There are far too many choices to make. And the content is totally lost among all the technology and advertising.

So, what is the answer?

Most successful webmasters today will tell you that the answer is a clean, simple, easy to understand website. It needs to be designed with the best interests of the end- user in mind, not yours. You need to make it a pleasant experience.

Successful websites focus on 3 basic features: simplicity, clarity and speed. In other words, you need a site that is visually appealing, but at the same time downloads promptly and is simple to navigate.

To design a site that has visual appeal, you can make use of simple graphics, color and text. At all costs, keep away from flashing computer graphics and fussy backgrounds.

In fact, if you want the bulk of your visitors to be able to read your text easily a white background with black text is definitely best.

It isn't crucial to be an accomplished graphic artist to design a visually pleasing content site. Get a couple of photos from a free stock photo site such as www.sxc.hu, add some colored text and a tagline using a graphics program like Windows Paint or Paint Shop Pro.

That's all that is required for a header. And that's presuming you want a header in the first place as some studies have shown that some niche markets achieve better results without any headers or images at all.

Navigation should be simple text links or buttons, either across the top, straight under the header, or down the left or right side of the screen. Make sure the text labels plainly show what the user will find when he or she clicks on them.

An optin form and one or two simple ads can also be placed in the left or right columns, with your content in the center of your site so that it attracts the reader's focus.

Clean and simple web design applies to the layout of your content too. Text is most legible when it is in "chunks." This means brief sentences and paragraphs of no more than 2 to 4 sentences each.

Make generous use of colored subheadings and bullets. Sprinkle a graphic or two per page to break up the text and add visual curiosity.

Also use borders (padding) around your text, so that it doesn't end up against the edges of your navigation or ad panels. Plenty of white space is essential.

In summary, many brand new webmasters (and even some more experienced ones) think that cramming as much as they can possibly fit into every page is the right method. It's not.

What will keep folks on your site and keep them coming back is a clean, simple, easy to navigate design that doesn't give them a headache each time they visit your page.

About the Author

I'm John Leith. I own http://www.bettermarketingtoolbox.com/software - "Better Tools for Better Marketing". For more articles, visit my blog at http://www.bettermarketingtoolbox.com