Suggested Methods to Improve Browser Rendering

Dec 102009
 

Obviously, keeping your website pages small is a great way to ensure your site loads quickly. I’m also guessing many of you want to add a little flair to your site, so at some point you will have to say enough is enough. Hands down, you announce you have made your site load as fast as it can. Unfortunately, if you thought you were done speeding up your site by crunching file size, there is still more to do. Download time is one thing, rendering that download into a page the visitor sees is a whole new game.

Google’s advice to improve rendering speeds heavily relies on optimizing your CSS file. They also mention to make sure to specify image sizes as well. You know, with width=”this” and height=”that”. Continue reading »

A Little Style

Mar 082009
 

biz

So what’s the difference between your site, and the 1,000 plus others out there that are doing the same thing you are? Anything? Is your topic at least unique? I came across this business directory and guide the other day, and saw something they did different than the 100,000+ directories out there. They gave it a little style.

They Are All The Same

In an effort to improve my sites visibility I often submit to directories. The one thing that I am really getting sick of though, is that they all seem to be made with the same crappy directory software, have the same hard to fill out forms, and look like they were made twenty years ago. I’m basically submitting to get a link, no one actually uses those directories. Do they?

This One is Different

When I came across IBizDir though, I saw a directory that had effort put into it. It was actually designed for people, not robots. In truth, most directories are designed for people, but this one was built in a way that visitors might just come back. They spent the time to give it a nice logo, they gave it some cool flash showing you it’s a little more than a directory, and they gave it actual content (the business guide). Adding the business guide is a nice touch for a business directory. It makes a simple directory a valued business resource, and that is how you can get your new visitors to come back for more.

You Are Special, Not

I recently watched a DVD of the comedian George Carlin. One if hit bits were about how kids are not all special. The logic is simple, and George’s. If everyone is special, then there is no one especially special. If no one is especially special, then there should be no special people. George was basically saying that we shouldn’t say to kids “you are all special” because the fact is, most of them are not (except mine).

Anyhow, the point is, I’m saying your site is nothing special, and if you think it is, you better have a better reason than the fact that you made it. Take the time to give it a little style, make it unique, and be the special good one that out shines the rest.

What to Click

Jul 052008
 

Ads, images, hyperlinks not underlined, clutter, miscellaneous who knows what, all adds up to a confusing site where visitors often don’t even know where to click. They are forced to mine sweep your site to find what is clickable, and what is not.

I was looking at this blog about cars. The site broke a few of my personal rules, but the webmaster used a tool that is number one in my book, site consistency. All headings were consistently the same size, color, and style. All text was consisten in style, and all links were underlined. Links were also different in color than non-linking text so it was easy to identify even if they were not underline.

Site consistency may seem like an obvious tip, but too often webmasters get carried away, adding special emphasis to several items on one page. Give that page enough time, and it can turn into a mess, even to the point a visitor doesn’t even know what to click on. They are forced to mine sweep your site, clicking almost randomly to find what they are looking for.

Take the time to review your site. See if you can see a defined hierarchy of emphasis on your site. Is it consistent throughout? Is it clear to your visitors what is clickable?

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