Here are the simple ABC's of web development.

A. Graphics

Graphics is very essential in web development because this is what visitors gauze your site if it is worthy of their time.

So what really makes a graphic to be effective?

First, the graphic should be small. Consider using images that are 10 to 12 KB per image because if you will use larger images, it will slow down your site.

Visitors to your site will likely to leave if your site takes too long to display so it is better that you use images that are attractive and easy to load.

Second, when it comes to graphics, you have to use images that have direct relation to your site. You would not display an image of Hollywood artist to promote the product you are selling, as this will cause confusion to your visitors.

Lastly, blinking graphics are not ideal in web development because blinking objects are really annoying and distract readers. More often readers leave web sites with excessive flash or blinking objects most especially when these objects hinder them from reading the whole web page.

B. Advertising

Advertising is lifeline of web sites and you have to handle them effectively to ensure success of your site.

When in comes to advertising, you have to remember two things, the number of ads and how related it is to your site.

The number of ads should be just enough to give room to other contents of your site. If they are overlapping contents of your site, then maybe that is why your site lags behind in web searches.

Next, you should only post ads that related to products or services offered. If they are related, your readers will likely to open the links to your ads but if they are not related the ads might not be opened.

In the end ads generate income but if they are driving your visitors away, then maybe its time to remove some of your ads and just stick the ones that are related to the content of your site.

C. Web Content

Content is also another essential factor in success of your site. It will be better if you have articles that your visitors can read on a daily or almost weekly basis.

Informative content will likely to increase your visitors as they will bookmark your site and then send your links to other friends and family members to invite them to visit your site as well. But for others to recommend your site, you really have to offer not just ads or graphics but rich and informative content.

For example, you are selling a product, it will be better if the site not just offer the products but also give tips on "how to-" like how to choose, how to use and where to buy.

Meanwhile, if you are maintaining a web blog, make sure that the site is readable and the topics being discussed are really interesting.

Hello

I am a person who decided 3 years ago that I wanted to create or build my own websites.

The company I use to assist me not only has ALL the tools and All the advice and ALL the assistance and can prove ALL that it says and is SO cheap to purchase, just today it surprised me AGAIN.

It appears that they had a little setback with one of the tools they provide. This tool is a major tool for all of us who are building websites.

Did they deny the problem? No.
Did they try to pass the blame onto someone else? No.
Did they try to hide from a lot of angry customers? Again, no.

Here is what they did.
They sent an email out to everyone, yes that's right everyone telling us that there was a problem AND APOLOGIZING PROFUSELY!

In addition they compensated us for the inconvenience by adding credits to the tool that was affected.

They kept in contact with us all through a forum which was very easy to locate and use.

They received many, many words of encouragement from a lot of website builders basically saying - thanks for the extra credits and no problem with the glitch.

Then the company advised after many testings that the problems were all fixed and we were good to go.

NOW IS THIS THE TYPE OF SERVICE YOUR COMPANY PROVIDES?

I'm reasonably confident that a lot of people are paying a lot of money for a product which does NOT do all that this particular company does. Question is why do so many people stay with that type of website building company?

A part of web development is copywriting. Excellent copy means it has to be appealing to both readers and to search engines. This combination will help websites to rank highly. A problem occurs when there are space constraints to a site, page layout requirements or other issues.

Because appealing to both readers and search engines is so important, you don't want to sacrifice one for the other. Adding a big block of copy to the middle of a page may not be the best answer, however, if a page needs content, adding a couple of sentences to the bottom of each section is a good option. Your copy will still be readable and the additional content will appeal to the search engines.

There are some things to remember when writing content for a website.

• Web users are active. One click and they have left your site. If they don't see a reason to stay, they won't. There is a 10 - 15 second window available to capture a visitor's attention.
• The longer the text is, the less likely they are to read it. With long text, they will skim it, if they bother to read it at all.
• Web users don't believe in hype. If you want a web user to believe you and to believe in you, you must back up your claims.

Four questions must be answered on each page:

• What am I doing here?
• How do I do it?
• What's in it for me?
• Where can I go, next?

If your design and navigation isn't obvious, then you need to explain it in the copy. Most visitors will not take the time to figure this information out. If a first time visitor cannot find their way around your site, they will likely never come back.

Unless your visitors are expecting to read something on your page, don't expect that they will read more than one or two lines of copy.

Understanding your copy is as important as length. Don't make the copy so complicated that it is difficult to comprehend or make it so the customer will have to think about it because they won't.

What this means is you want to convey one key idea in just one or two lines. Don't try to add a third line because if you say too much, then even the first idea won't penetrate. If your site needs more content, break it down into sections that are one or two paragraphs each. Say what you want to say in the first sentence and then expand the thought into the paragraph. Use meaningful headers. Most people will only scan the headers to the paragraphs and not even bother with the copy on the page, unless it is something that appeal to them. It is better to write only one or two lines with links to another page with the longer copy.

Even when users are expecting to find text heavy content, don't expect they will take the time to read all of it. Longer copy doesn't have to be as abrupt as shorter text, but it needs to be as easy to read.

Make your copy clear, but not boring. Lively writing with an unassuming voice is best. Boring writing will turn your reader off and nothing you say at that point will make it through.