"Oh, my eyes, my eyes! What an eye sore. Quick, click away! Click away!"
Suddenly I wake up in a cold sweat. What happened. Oh, then I realize: it was just a nightmare.
O.k., I'm not crazy, and no I haven't had this dream before. But think about this: what would you do if you came to a site littered with either tons of different colors, loud pinks, purples, greens and reds mixed incoherently, or more animations and graphics than the rods and cones of your inner eye can possibly absorb? If your like me I simply go "click, bye-bye".
Our visual stimulus is ever more so important on the web than almost anywhere else. Most definitely the internet is about information. But, that information is shown graphically. So, if you want to keep people at your site, first appeal to their visual stimulus.
There are a few guidelines that you should adhere to when designing your site, following known research results on colors that elicit certain psychological responses people. The bottom line is that it is hard enough to market on the internet today, why make it harder by bugging your visitors.
(1) Colors and Their Effect: I prefer blue and white. In general blue seems to elicit a sense of trust and white a sense of purity. Gold, on the other hand is the color of wealth and prosperity, something we are all working towards. So, with respect to general internet marketing, these colors tend to work the best. They are easy on the eyes and don't strike up a sense of danger, such as with the color red. Of course, the colors also depend on purpose of your site. If selling baby items, pink, which represents femininity, and baby blue, representing weakness may work quite well. It depends in part on site content. A high tech site selling electronic components may do better with greys, silvers, and black.
(2) Animations and Banners: Animations are nice, but can take time to load and be distracting. Use them to focus the attention of a visitor. Place them at a single page location, at the center or all at the left side for instance. If you use more than one and they are scattered all over the page, where can you expect your eyes to focus. Yep, you heard right - click, bye, bye.
Banners can also give you problems if there are two many and not well organized. Pay attention to the color design to ensure that it matches your site. Remember, no eye sores here. Overall, banner are known not to have the highest clickthrough rates.
(3) Flash Media: Flash media animations are steadily gaining popularity and many sites are tailoring their start-up page to include large flash animations. Beware. In online home businesses, your primary purpose is content. Only fit in flash where it is strictly meant to guide the visual stimulus to a part of your site. I know, I know, it does look cool. But cool doesn't and never will build sales out of potential prospects.
A few further resources that are of particular interest here are
(1) http://www.internet-marketing-research.net,
(2) http://www.internet-marketing-research.net,
(3) http://www.internet-marketing-research.net.
As a good rule of thumb, if it hurts your eyes, it probably hurts others as well. Keep it simple, professional, easy to look at with color used just in the right place to highlight your content. Content is what will build your home based business. Elicit a visual response from your visitors to drive them to your content.
About The Author
Dan J. Fry is an independent researcher and owner of http://www.internet-marketing-research.net, a site devoted to providing resources for small budget home businesses. He has a PhD in Physics, two daughters and two cats. Subscribe to his free E-Zine on home business resources at http://www.internet-marketing-research.net or by visiting his Home Based Business site.
http://www.internet-marketing-research.net
recurring maid service Buffalo Grove ..Navigation must be simple. Since it's the backbone of your... Read More
A successful website is something that everyone venturing into the... Read More
The best things don't come easy. - QuotedThe finished web... Read More
Mechanical spiders have to eat. In fact, they usually have... Read More
Whether you're hiring a designer who has created 10 sites... Read More
In this article, I will attempt to cover the basics... Read More
Every action has a beginning phase where you launch your... Read More
About two years ago, I had a go at commercial... Read More
The importance of choosing your website keywords carefully is very... Read More
So your web site's online and you've got high rankings... Read More
A long, long time ago? In a galaxy far, far... Read More
Do you have a website? If so, you need an... Read More
This article gives free tips on how to find a... Read More
Square buttons, round buttons, flashy buttons ? will they match... Read More
There is no doubt that reprint articles can serve lots... Read More
For most people graphic design does not come easy. Unfortunately... Read More
I do site reviews. Needless to say, I see a... Read More
When you start building your online business and search for... Read More
We've all read the countless publications about effective web site... Read More
Everything you say and do says something about you. This... Read More
Most of us at times need advice on different aspects... Read More
In today's world, a web site is virtually mandatory for... Read More
Don't knock it; "Keep It Simple, Stupid" is a great... Read More
As a webmaster, you want to keep your visitors content... Read More
In cascading style sheets you can specify how your web... Read More
premium house cleaning Glenview ..Home-based businesses need a strong web presence to combat the... Read More
We all want high impact graphics for our Web sites... Read More
Well it is not Elvis, that's for sure.I am a... Read More
A client asked me, at what point do you change... Read More
Just what is web copy? Some people think that web... Read More
Have you ever thought about the real stories behind all... Read More
The internet is filled with sites and they are good... Read More
10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Reader's Buying... Read More
Making a successful online business can be a long and... Read More
You've thought about it and you're ready to go. You're... Read More
Do you have a website? If so, you need an... Read More
Here's the single most important part of your website: YOUR... Read More
Content is the most important part of any website.The Internet... Read More
When you develop a sales brochure, you have a mental... Read More
In this article I will give a few tips of... Read More
Never put form over function. Why? Because it's crucial that... Read More
Designing your own successful web page can seem difficult and... Read More
So your web site's online and you've got high rankings... Read More
Have you put a lot of effort, time, and money... Read More
Selling on the internet is a challenge. There is no... Read More
Graphics are fun, but if you put in too many... Read More
Remember the day that you got your new computer (or... Read More
By following feng shui guidelines and techniques, you can build... Read More
Most web designers and web design companies will try to... Read More
The HTML editor is usually a webpage design software that... Read More
Web Design |