How to Make Your Website Sticky

Although not all your visitors will land on your home page, it's the one that probably gets the most traffic. So, how do you make it sticky?

If you're thinking of adding toffee or treacle -- stop right there! Sticky, in web terms, means it's a page that keeps people on your site, connects with them and keeps them engaged with what you've got to offer.

Here are my 13 golden rules to follow:

1. Your brand needs to be consistent and clear. This is usually the 'masthead' (a newspaper term for the band across the top of the page where it says 'Wall Street Journal' or 'Financial Times'. You don't mess with your brand -- so no adding in search or sign up boxes, 'welcome to our website', page title, menus, or other paraphernalia. Strictly speaking the masthead is above the eyeline so any functional items are wasted here anyway. It's a subliminal message that tells people they're on the right site and reassures them as they move through it that they're still on the same site and haven't been spirited off to a sub site!

2. You need a menu -- just the one! Not one across the top, another down the side, a few key pages in the top right corner and then another selection at the foot of the page. Well, not unless you want to confuse your reader! In order to get your menu right get your site map sorted out. Which pages are the core pages that need to appear on the menu that goes on every page? Which pages are sub pages that can be grouped under a core page and introduced via that page? Don't forget that you should have the home page listed on the menu on EVERY page.

3. Don't have the page title on each page (Home, Services, About, etc) -- get your web designer to get the page you're on change colour on the menu; that's all that is needed and page titles distract from your message and your ability to connect with the reader.

4. Know where your prime real estate is -- and use it! This is about one third of the way down the screen (including the browser headers) and about 3 inches (7cm) from the left hand side of the screen. This is where you connect with the reader -- where their eyes hit the screen -- and where a really powerful headline needs to go!

5. Get your headline right -- it needs to focus on either pain or gain. It must reassure the reader that they have come to the right place -- in other words it tells them that you have the answer to their problem, can provide the information they were looking for or can deal with their wants. It might be a question 'Are you struggling with . . . ?' or a statement 'You can get top quality . . . ', but it must be in reader terms.

6. Newsletter sign ups are best positioned top right under the masthead. It's where most people are used to looking for them (the left hand side is a blind spot except for the menu and above the masthead is above the eyeline, people just don't see them at all).

Don't ask for anything except a name and email address -- it will stop people signing up. Offer them more than just a free newsletter as a reward for giving you their email contact -- 10 tips, 7 secrets, 6 strategies -- good reports that have a deliverable are tempting.

7. Opening paragraph -- needs to build on the headline and either add to the pain or draw a picture of what they could get if only they use your product or service. If you aren't sure what to put here ask a few existing clients why they buy you/your product/your service.

8. This brings me to the issue of testimonials. They're powerful -- it's always better to have someone else saying how wonderful you are, rather than saying it yourself!

The problem is that unsolicited testimonials tend to be more therapy than an actual recommendation! Most people like to say how lovely you were to work with, but don't tell you what the outcomes have been -- either because they haven't measured them or they haven't thought about it.

A good testimonial has three elements: 1. What we did for you (the project/contract -- so people are clear about what you worked on). 2. What it was like working with us (this is the therapy bit, but people like to tell you and it does make you feel all warm and glowing!) and 3. What changed as a result?

Not only will you get testimonials to use, but valuable material to add to your copy -- what you've done for one client is potentially a benefit for another!

9. The main copy should be short, to the point, lead people along with benefits and descriptions of what life will be like when they've got what you have to offer. Remember that people don't read on screen -- they scan, in roughly an 'F' pattern. So the headline is the top of the 'F', they'll then run down the left hand side of the text, may read out in the middle somewhere and then run on down the left hand side to the bottom.

This means that any key words can be highlighted in bold (not caps) to draw attention to them -- but don't pepper the text with bold words or the effect will diminish. Choose carefully.

10. It's important to use the right font -- serif fonts don't work well on screen. If you have no idea what a serif is, it's the little line that crosses the bottom of letters like 'l', 'h' and 'k'. Times is a serif font, so are Palatino and Garamond. Because the screen has only 72 dots per inch, serif fonts are too 'busy' to read comfortably. Stick to Verdana (which was developed especially for the web), or Arial, Tahoma or Trebuchet, which are all nice clean fonts.

Don't be tempted by fancy fonts -- they are hard to read and on some people's browsers may default to something really nasty like Courier!

When it comes to size -- nothing less than 10pt for main copy.

11. Colours -- another minefield! Dark backgrounds result in the copy dazzling the reader as all those little white (or light) lines criss cross the dark background. Don't go there! Stick to light backgrounds and darker text.

Don't be tempted by light grey text on a white background -- it's hard to see, especially if you're not in a really well lit situation. It doesn't have to be black on white -- it can be navy on very pale blue, or forest green on white, but there has to be a strong contrast between the two. A graphic designer friend of mine insists that 80 percent black (rather than 100 percent) is easier on the eye.

12. Paragraphs should be left aligned, not justified. I know that justified text looks nice and tidy, but it has two big disadvantages. Firstly, the spaces between the words stretch to allow the text to reach the end of the line; this produces nasty big white 'rivers' running down the paragraph. Secondly, a blocked paragraph doesn't give the eye a 'bookmark' to keep track of how far down the paragraph you are. It just means that people reread the same line twice, or skip a line -- after the second go at reading most people give up!

13. Finally, here you are at the end of your page. What do you want people to do next? Asking them to call you (or email) is probably a bit unrealistic for a home page; your best bet is to take them to another page. This is usually your services page (or products). Don't ask them to work too hard, some won't bother to scroll back to the menu -- so give them a hyperlink in the final paragraph. 'Discover how you can . . . . now' Don't get clever with pretty coloured links -- make it easy for people to tell it's a link. Make the instruction the link -- not 'click here'.

Finally, here's a bonus tip:

Every picture tells a story -- well it should! Make sure that any visuals you use on your website help you to get your message across. If they don't leave them out. Pictures are great and do add energy to a website, but horrible stock photos of people grinning at the camera in suits don't do anything for your image.

Graphs and charts of how people have increased profit/productivity/job satisfaction as a result of your activity is great, diagrams of how something works (but simple ones) are good -- although probably on the relevant page rather than the home page. Before and after pictures work well too.

Make sure your website gets your message across -- with the minimum of effort on the part of the reader.

Lesley Morrissey may be contacted at http://www.insidenews.co.uk

Lesley is an expert in readability - that's knowing not only WHAT people read, but also HOW they read. She writes commercial copy for the web, brochures, marketing, press releases, newsletters and articles. She is also a professional non-fiction editor and celebrity speech writer.

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