Make Your Site Sticky - March 2001
By Jim Norris

You've managed to attract some visitors to your site but how do you get them to spend some time and to return to your site on a regular basis. This translates into better visitor relationships, increased sales and increased visitor feedback. Here is a list of factors that will make your site more sticky.

   Appearance

   Make sure your site is attractive, professional looking and consistent. Make sure your image is consistent with that of your business.

   Fast Loading

   Visitors will leave if they have to wait a long time for your pages to download. Eliminate unnecessary graphics and reduce the file size of those you keep. Visit www.gifoptimizer.com.

   Get To The Point

   Make sure visitors see quickly who you are, what you have to offer and a way to contact you.

   Feature benefits

   State your product or services' benefits clearly and concisely and let your visitor know what your site can do for them.

   Deliver what you promise

   If you want visitors to return, make sure you underpromise and overdeliver on your goods, services and customer service.

   Navigation

   Make sure your site is easy to navigate. Make sure your visitors are never lost and that a menu leading to all important pages appears on every page.

   Change content often

   Make sure your content is updated regularly (at least once a week) and that you are constantly adding new features.

   Make it interactive

   Add features that make your site interactive such as guestbooks, forums, polls, contests, information forms, audio and video. For hundreds of scripts visit www.scriptsearch.com.

   With some additional effort and some imagination, you can make you site a place for your visitors to spend time, return often and become steady supporters.

Resources

• Beyerdynamic has completely revised their website at www.beyerdynamic.com. New features include a search engine, ability to view product in JPG or PDF format, product information, product white papers and a company history.
• For a killer selection of scripts for your website visit hotscripts.com at www.hotscripts.com. The scripts are well organized and documented and are presented in a variety of platforms.
• Line 6 introduces FAQTRAQ for web enabled customer support. Visitors can take advantage of a self learning database to guide them to detailed information on any aspect of Line 6 products from technical data, to application tips, to feature descriptions. Visit their site at www.line6.com.
• SMR Cables has a handy Digital Audio Glossary at their website at http://www.smr-cable.co.uk. Within each definition where other defined words are used, there is a hotlink to that word's definition.
• Soundrangers supplies an extensive range of Sound Effects and Music Loops available for instant download or on CD. Using a mouse-over you can get a low-fi demo of each sound, add them to your shopping cart and charge to your credit card. Drop by at www.soundrangers.com.
• Lockimage Pro is image encryption software to protect your images from theft. Images can be distributed and viewed using the Lockimage Pro Viewer. The images cannot be altered, screen grabbed, or manipulated. For more information, visit www.lockimage.com.
• Music Books Plus has greatly expanded their catalogue and now features online over 4,000 books, videos and CD-ROMs on music, recording, audio, songwriting, MIDI, multimedia and the Internet. You can join the electronic newsletter or request a printed catalogue online at www.musicbooksplus.com.
• Norris-Whitney Communications operates The Music & Audio Connection, the international on-line resource for music enthusiasts, musicians, music and audio professionals. Included are classified ads, products for sale, company showcases, discussion forums, associations, music education, music & audio resources, career information and file libraries. New additions are the Calendar Plus personal information systems and Music News, updated daily. Updates to the site are available by electronic newsletter. Visit at musicandaudio.com. For more information, e-mail to [email protected], Fax (905) 641-1648 or call (905) 641-3471.