Schewanick Computer Services

Good web sites take full advantage of the features of HTML (and the
various client- and server-side scripting languages), which allow
pages to be linked together at will. You need to remember that your
web site is not a book, a poster or a brochure - it is a web site. By
taking full advantage of this fact, you can increase the time people
spend reading your pages, looking at your images, listening to your
sounds, and possibly purchasing your products.

Some people actually debate the need to keep visitors on your web
site for any length of time. I have heard the argument that it
doesn't matter how long they stay - you really just want them to
purchase something and then leave. Unless you have created a very
specific, extremely targeted, one or two page web site, then that
thinking is hogwash.

Look, you've gone to a lot of work to create a wonderful web site.
You have tons of great content for people to look at. Perhaps you
have some awesome products to sell or a message to get across. The
longer that people stay, the more likely they are to see your message
or purchase your products. You can almost translate the length of
their stay directly to interest in what you've got to say.

So how do you get people to stay on your site for any length of time?
Well, you include great content which is linked together in such a
way as to pull people deeper into your site. Give them plenty of ways
to explore what you've got.

Don't design your site as one huge long page. Remember that you are
creating a web site, so split those long pages up into short articles
and link them together logically. Your visitors like seeing one or
two screen's worth of information at a time ... any more and they
will just not scroll down to see it.

Link your pages together in all manner of ways. Give your visitors
plenty of ways to explore the fullness of your site. You should have
a normal navigation method (let's say a standard menu down the left
side) which is very organized. In addition, you should strategically
place links to random but related content all over your site. And
remember, all of these links should be internal to your own site, not
external links. You want people maneuvering around your pages, not
leaving to someone else's site.

As you write a paragraph think about concepts that can be expanded.
For example, if you write about birds and you mention the Amazon
jungles, you might include a link to a page with more data about
those jungles. Be sure the link is in a different color or format
(underlined) so your visitors can see that they can click on it.

You can also include graphics which link to additional information.
In this case, embed the image within your document as you normally
would, and include a hyperlink to the appropriate page. You should
also include sufficient ALT text to describe the image in case your
visitor has graphics turned off.

The idea is to give your visitors lots of options as he is reading
your text or looking at your graphics. Don't give him so many that
every word is a link (that's getting ridiculous) but by including
additional links to more information you cause him to want to explore
your site. In other words, you make your web site more interesting.

As you include more and more content (which happens normally as your
web site ages) you may want to link to older content. This tends to
get additional use out of those older pages which normally get
relegated to archives and never get seen again. You can also go back
to the older content and add links to the newer content if
applicable. This helps to keep your web site looking very fresh and
increases it's usefulness.

So the idea is simple. Link and cross-link content within your site.
By doing so, you create a tapestry for your visitors to look at, read
and admire. If you are selling something, this adds value which
causes your visitors to trust your opinion and your recommendations.
This often leads to additional sales. If your goal is to deliver your
message, then by using these techniques you make your site more
interesting, which causes people to want to explore further.



About the Author
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This
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