Welcome Your Visitors: Primum non nocere

play no musicA Latin phrase, dating back to Hippocrates, primum non nocere means, "First, do no harm". It is widely used in the medical profession but, I think, also applies here. If you want visitors to remain on your website and fully absorb your message your first concern must be to do nothing that might drive them away. That may sound silly but many website owners do just that. Even more so, many web designers are guilty of it too. Those designers, usually self-proclaimed artists, seem to believe their artistic vision is more important than the visitor's needs. Here are some common mistakes to avoid if you want to Retain your website visitors.

Don't Force Music or Video on Visitors

I've heard countless users report they quickly leave a site when it forces music on them. I've never heard of a single user leaving a site because there was no music. There is just no practical reason for having music or video play on your website unless the user elects to play it. It's like the difference between opt-in and opt-out for e-mail marketing. If you rely on opt-out only you are a spammer. Period!

Why? Just because you like a particular piece of music it doesn't mean the rest of the world will too. Many visitors will be in an office and don't want music to blare unexpectedly. Many computer users will have their own music playing or listening to a streamed radio feed. They don't want their preferred listening content interrupted. Just like changing the browser window size, forcing music or video on a visitor is just plain rude and most will think the site owner is arrogant. Not a good first impression, is it?

Don't Hijack the Visitor's Browser

Internet users have their browsers set up the way they want them. Trying to manipulate the size of a visitor's browser window will chase them away and they will be unlikely to return. It's rude, thoughtless and downright arrogant. A competent web designer will build the pages to look good at any reasonable browser size.

Keep the Page Weight Down

A good target weight today for a web page is 70-80K. That size page will download and display quickly even on a dial-up connection. You typically have no more than 8 seconds to deliver a clear message as to what your website offers. After 8 seconds visitors began clicking away from a site at an increasing rate. Does that mean a page can never be larger than 80K? No, but understand that every byte you add lessens the chance of a visitor waiting for the full page.

Every visitor to your website is a customer or potential customer. Potential customers want to know how you treat your customers. The treatment they receive as website visitors tells them what to expect. If it is negative or unpleasant in any way they are highly unlikely to become customers.

Here's the bottom line: Think of your website visitor first and you can't go wrong.