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F
act is; not everyone surfs the web the same. Between computer user settings and connections, and your server quality, every user coming to your site sees it differently. The following is true:
- 76% use the internet explorer browser
- only 13% use FireFox
- 53% use a screen resolution of 1024x768
- 26% use a slightly larger screen resolution
- 87% of all users set their color to 32bit
- 96% use the Windows operating system
- Tuesday is the busiest ecommerce day
Thus, we can conclude, that when designing your website, we must design according to the majority of users. Therefore, we design for internet explorer browsers first and foremost, and we can safely design for a screen resolution of 1024 x768. When going through the design process for your own website, we highly suggest that you set your computer settings accordingly, so that both you and your designer are on the same page.
A
ccording to the latest internet statistical data available, 78% of the U.S. population is currently on the internet. As of December 2008, 64% of internet users are now using a high speed internet connection greater than 2mbps. Leaving nearly 36% of your internet audience and potential customers who rely on dial-up and slow DSL connections (under 2 mbps which is not much better than dial-up). Data sources compiled from: http://www.pewinternet.org, http://www.internetnews.com, psra.com, accessbroadband.com and more
Therefore, it is imperative that your website loads quickly under these conditions. Flash and heavy graphic use has no place on a business website. The average internet users attention span, for page load, is 15 seconds, down from 20 in the year 2001. Example: For a 1mb (small) video or flash item to load on your page with a high speed internet connection is 11 seconds, vs. 2.5 minutes on a narrowband connection. Thus, even on high speed, you have eaten up 11 seconds of your 15 seconds to catch your visitors attention. Hardly a wise business decision.
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e
Commerce
sales now account for 3.1% of all retail sales in the United States, totaling approximately 125 billion dollars annually. It is projected that by the year 2011, internet sales will account for 15% of all retail transactions.
It is also important to note that no longer are the days when you could open a store on the internet and easily drive traffic to your site. The following shows how traffic is now brought to your website:
- 37% Television advertising
- 15% internet advertising
- 14% Email newsletters
- 10% Direct mail
- 7% In person events and demos
- 6% Radio advertisement
- 1% Radio advertisement
i
n Reviewing
the above information, it is evident that there is a great deal of money to be made on and off the internet through retail and services sales. Your website must be designed in accordance with the majority of users while accomodating all users. The overuse of eye candy on your website will not increase your sales and will most likely have a negative affect. There are better ways to get your visitors' attention. For instance, a site that is easily navigated, attractively designed, well organised and makes appropriate use of eye candy in moderation.
What most designers won't tell you is that Google will not make you rich and it will not get your product out there. Real life marketing 101 will. Know your budget and have a non-internet marketing plan in place.
In short, your website should be designed by someone with a background in art and/or photography; by someone with a solid business background, and who has traveled the entrepreneurial world for decades. It should be designed by someone who understands advertising and its affect on consumers with the skills necessary to complete the task.
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