BY RONNIE SMITH
FOR RAIN: RADIO AND INTERNET NEWSLETTER
As
you work on improving your Web site, one key component that
you must remember is consistency!
You don't want to provide your users with an inconsistent experience.
This tends to be difficult for many because it really weighs
heavily on paying attention to detail. And although users may
not realize things are different from page to page, it will negatively
affect their experience.
Here
are some key areas to focus on when reviewing your site.
1.
Font type
Pick a font type and stick to it throughout your site. This
means not only within each page but also through all facets
of the site. If you choose Arial font, use it for your text,
navigation, graphics, etc. This is not the place to mix and
match.
2. Color
The color scheme of your site should be consistent unless
you formulate a coordinating
method to your madness. If you can enhance your message by
color coding different areas then go ahead - make the "purchase"
section green and the "about us" section blue. Do not just
randomly change the colors. You don't want to waste your user's
time while they adjust from purple to bright orange.
3. Logo
Don't think you're cute by changing your logo from page to
page. Your logo is your identity - the way people remember
you. Don't confuse the readers with variations. Take Coke
as an example. You'd be hard pressed to find them using a
different treatment on their logo.
4. Navigation
The "back" button is said to be the most used on the Internet.
It's no wonder! Without consistent navigation throughout your
site, users have no other choice but to hit "back." Try to
help them out and make your navigation standard.
5. Naming Again, you're NOT trying to frustrate your
users. Don't confuse your product names or any type of naming
on your site. For example, if your product name is "The Best
Product 6000," always refer to it that way. You may know that
TBP6000 means the same thing, but your users may not make
that connection. Don't take the chance. |
So take the time to really check your site for consistency
throughout. It's well worth the effort and your
users will appreciate it!
Ronnie Smith is owner of Your
Site Voice, based in Sicklerville, NJ. Contact
Ronnie at: ronnie@yoursitevoice.com or 1.856.906.6941.
From Reuters: "The planned farewell fall to
earth of the fabled Russian space station Mir this week will be
filmed and broadcast about four hours afterward over the Internet
for all the world to see, a Los Angeles space aficionado says.
"Sponsors ranging from RadioShack to AOL and Internet
auction site eBay pulled together by attorney Richard Citron and
his space industry businessman brother Bob Citron will track the
splashdown ending 15 years of circling the globe on MirReentry.com.
"The site, which offers a countdown to the big day,
currently target's Mir's 'latest probable deorbit date' as March
22."
Read this entire article here.
From Businesswire: "Taco Bell is offering a free taco
to everyone in the United States if the core of the Mir space
station hits a floating Taco Bell target placed in the South Pacific...
"Taco Bell has created a 40 by 40-foot target, painted
with a Bell bull's-eye and bold purple letters stating: 'Free
Taco Here.' The floating target will be placed in the
South Pacific Ocean off the coast of Australia in advance of Mir's
descent...
"If the core of Mir hits the designated Taco Bell
target upon its re-entry, every person in the United States will
have an opportunity to obtain a coupon for a free taco, valid
at participating Taco Bell restaurants.
"Coupon distribution, redemption and offer details
will be made available to consumers on the Taco Bell Web site
and in press materials should this event occur. Taco Bell has
purchased an insurance policy to cover the anticipated cost of
the free taco redemption should the core of Mir hit the target."
Read the press release here.
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From Inside: "Napster's filtering system -- which
searches for and excludes banned file names rather than using
more high-tech identification methods -- has thus far proved up
to challenge: a study published by the Cambridge, Mass.-based firm
Webnoize found that
Napster users are sharing nearly 60 percent fewer music files since
the court-ordered screening program went into effect...
"In the days to come, Napster presumably will close
the obvious loopholes. But even if the filtering isn't foolproof,
it might already be good enough to spell the end of Napster as we've
known it. Napster has always billed itself as the Napster Music
Community, and a community needs to maintain its population in order
to flourish. In the case of Napster, that community consists of
the users and the files they are sharing. What the court-ordered
filtering has really done is put pressure on both populations of
the community.
"Let's look at the RIAA's decision to have Napster focus
on filtering top-selling artists. Turns out it makes
sense not just because these artists have the most sales to lose
to people who choose to download, rather than purchase, their recordings.
No, removing these especially popular recording artists prevents
people from even going onto Napster in the first place. If Napster
is a mall, then top-selling artists are the anchor stores, Sears
and Home Depot, that bring the foot traffic to the smaller stores.
Without the big names easily available, fewer people will even bother
logging into Napster, and the number of people sharing and downloading
files will decrease."
Read this article
here.
From the MeasureCast release: "MeasureCast today introduced
the 'MeasureCast Internet Radio Index' (MIRI), which shows that
Internet radio listening of stations measured by MeasureCast
has increased 48 percent since January. Updated weekly, the new
index gives the Internet radio and streaming media industries a
timely and concise look at on-line listening trends...
"The MIRI has a starting value of 100 for the 10-week
base period from October 30, 2000 to January 7, 2001. The index
for each subsequent week measures the level of total online listening
to stations for that week compared to the total listening during
the base period. Just as with stock indices, the MIRI is used to
track percent changes over time."
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