(i) The layout of the website should be clean and preferably contain a lot of white space. All along the website, the layout should be consistent so that the pages look like they are part of the same website. The style of content presentation and the color scheme used should be the same.
(ii) The website should not take a long time to load. The optimum load time should not be longer than 15 seconds. Avoid the use of too much graphics, flash movies and scripts that will make your pages heavy.
(iii) Avoid the use of extra components and plug-ins that can be required to view the site. If the visitors are required to download extra plug-ins the first time they arrive to your page, be prepared to have lots of bounce back visitors.
(iv) Provide clear navigation information in your website so that the visitors can browse all the pages easily. The links should be placed at some prominent place that can be easily noticed by the visitors. A clear navigation increases the stickiness of your site (the time a visitor spends at your pages).
(v) The website should be compatible with all browsers such as, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Netscape etc. and should be able to load on computers with different screen resolutions.
(vi) The content should be clear and easy to understand. It must be unique, relevant and informative. Update your content regularly. Use fonts easily readable and professional looking. The most common fonts used are Arial and Verdana.
(vii) Before uploading to the web server, always check whether there are any broken links within the site.
