First time visitors can't judge your way of conducting business, they do judge you by your site standards. The average Internet cruiser is quite weary these days we are living in the "attention economy" as the say. So how do you catch her attention? By having a qualitatively designed site! This can be achieved by employing a professional web development company.
Also you must not forget that traffic retention is equally, if not more, important than driving high traffic to your site. After all, there is absolutely no use of spending all your time and money on building a 100-page site and spending big bucks in advertising through some strategic internet marketing services company if visitors don't like to stay on. Here are some simple tips for turning your site into a user-friendly one that brings in and retain new visitors/potential customers:
It should load fast: Your website should be fast loading .You can achieve it by using more text and fewer graphics.
It should have easy navigation: Website must be easy to navigate so that people should easily and quickly find what they're looking for without scrolling down each page. It's important to link pages in a consistent, well thought out manner so that users can easily navigate in-between them.
Use graphics sparingly: Graphics does add glitter to your site but they should be used judiciously using them where they are absolutely required. Otherwise they might distract visitors from important concepts of your site or take much time in downloading.
Fulfill visitor's expectations: Put yourself in visitor's shoes and think what you want this site to deliver and try to fulfill this expectation. Ensure that your navigation and related content use keywords which are most searched, as popularity of a particular keyword related to your business reflects what a visitor wants.
Minimize number of clicks: Most visitors would leave your site if they have to click too much to get what they want. Remember a normal Internet surfer is jaded and doesn't like to waste time. So put the content on scrollable pages with quick navigation links so that people can jump to any section while being on the same page.
Fast downloading: The above mentioned argument is equally true for this point people don't wait while surfing on Internet. So avoid flash intros or bandwidth hungry graphics as much as possible. Try making your site as lean and nimble as possible to ensure fast downloads.
Your site's credibility is also one of the factors which decide its usability which can be achieved by having an 'About Us' and a 'Contact Us' page. Many people would like to call while visiting your site so assure people you're a proper business by giving them options to contact you through phone, email, and related directions.
