Everyday thousands of websites are being created based on the needs of website owners (business companies, web design agencies clients, etc..) and not the needs of their visitors. When the visitors are being ignored, this is the biggest reason why most websites are not successful. Neil Patel with his article on pronet advertising web site outlines some of the most important points you should keep in mind when developing a new project:

1. Become the visitor
   Put yourself in the visitor's shoes. What would a visitor browsing your website want? The goal of your website should not just be to fulfill your needs, but also fulfill your visitors needs. A good way to figure out what a visitor would want is to survey a few people who are interested in your products and services and adjust your design to fit their needs as well as your needs. (This may not have to cost money, no reason why you can't just ask a few of your friends or volunteers!)
2. Simplicity above all !
   If you look at some of the most successful websites on the web such as Google, Flickr, and Blogger they are all simple. Why add extra tools to your website when 80 percent of your visitors will only use 20 percent of these features?
3. Content is the king
   Make sure the content on the website is laid out in an effective way. If you just concentrate on the look and feel of a website and ignore the content, how high of a conversion rate do you think you will have? You need a concise, convincing message and solid information architecture if you want your visitors to buy your product or service. And most importantly, make sure that the content is readable and easy to understand.
4. Little things make a big difference
   Every aspect of your website design needs to be thought out and scrutinized. Things such as colors, shapes and even gradients can make a big impact on the overall message. Using colors such as blue, green, turquoise, and silver can create a calm effect, red and orange can create a warm environment, etc...
   Using rounded corners instead of hard edges within your design can enable a soft and personalized feeling. Shapes can be combined for greatest impact.
   By combining color, shapes, pictures and effects together you can create a strong message that can help create a memorable experience for your visitors: let's them feel confortable!
5. Guide your visitors
   Reduce confusion and guide your visitors through links, navigation menus, short and clear descriptions or call to actions. Show them the right path so they only have to make a few clicks instead of 10 to buy a product or find an information. By reducing the amount of clicks your visitors make you will decrease their frustration and increase your conversion rate :-)

These methods of optimizing your design may seem simple, but in most cases they are overlooked. Give them a try; you might be shocked on how effective they can be and how much you can save on advertising by maximizing your design!

To know more about web site usability also read J. Nielsen's "Design Web Usability" or have a look at his web site...

Based on an article by Neil Patel