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The latest report by web guru Jacob Neilson reveals that people have become more impatient and need quicker results while searching for a keyword on web. Another interesting fact is that now 75% people prefer to directly reach the page of their interest rather then navigating through the links from the home page. So if you feel attracted toward the websites of the entertainment firms with flashy designs and want to create a promotional website using same design, think again as the main traffic pullers are simple websites which are easier to load and navigate. To understand why Keep It Simple Stupid philosophy should be applied while creating a website.

1. Faster Loading of Web Pages

   Imagine a user having 56k or a modem which is still slower trying to access your page which is of 12kb size. As compared to a high speed broadband connection which may take only a fraction of second to load your page , user with a slower modem will require at least 4-5 second to view your first page. The loading time will increase with the addition of flash images and other graphics. You may make your site attractive by heavy use of flash but will it be user friendly is the question you need to ask. Therefore applying the principal of KISS design a simple website with a lighter load it will greatly reduce the transmission time which in turn will favorably affect the transmission speed making your site attractive to the users.

2. Simple Attractive Content = More Buyers

   The main reason which attracts a visitor to your website is the search for information. The website content should be simple and easy to understand. Another important factor which can add to your websites success would be the way the data is presented: Are there too many tables, is the font size too big or too small, what is the color of the background and your font color, all these factors makes the text easy or difficult to read. What is needed to make a website success is not the clutter of unnecessary graphics and animations but the right content that can promote effective communication. Word of advice: create a simple website with clear layout, right font and simple sentences and you have a winner.

3. Reduces Number of Clicks

   Keeping the website simple also results in ease of navigation which is one of the important factors a user looks for while browsing the content. What can be more frustrating then searching the webpage for the correct link? Therefore it is always advisable to place the links at the top or on the left hand frame of the webpage for easy visibility. Also the success of the website is also defined by the fact if the user is able to find its content within three clicks or three drill downs. It becomes all the more crucial for you to have a simple website if you are selling a product online. Nothing pleases customer more then finding the information they are searching for effortlessly. So have a clean simple layout with links placed at the same location on the home as well as inner pages to make your site user friendly and easy to navigate.

4. Ease of Use & Creation

   One of the most important rules of marketing is “Grandma’s” Rule. If an elderly person with not much acquaintance of the latest technology is able to make a successful purchase through your website then your efforts are entirely successful. Therefore see that your website is not crowded with useless data and filled with ads which will confuse the visitor with the promotional offers and distract him from making the actual purchase. A website should be easy to access, easy to register with and should support all the major credit cards for making payments. Simplifying the look of your website will not make it more appealing but the enjoyable shopping experience will make you earn a regular customer. Also you can take advantage of one of the many simple website software available in the market to create your own simple HTML website thus saving on both the cost and the time in launching your website.

5. Search Engine Optimization Management

   Do you know that search engines are able to process simple HTML sites and their contents faster then the contents of the complex sites? It will also be interesting to learn that the sites containing a large amount of graphics and frames gets eliminated while search is being performed using keywords in search engines like Google. This will result in lower ranking of your web page as compared to simple HTML websites, in turn resulting in decrease in number of visitors. Therefore for proper SEO your best bet will be creation of a simple HTML website with proper keywords inserted in meta-tags at appropriate places which will increase in higher ranking of your website when a search is performed using a particular keyword.

6. Lesser Options More Visitors

   What makes Apple’s website one of the most popular online marketing destination in the world? Well the answer is minimalist design of the apple’s home page and inner pages. The inner pages of the Apple’s website only list one product per page with a simple header and informational links providing information about the same product. No unrelated products on side bars, no unnecessary clutter to confuse the buyer just plain description about the product helps in making user a faster choice. Hence always go for a simple design with only relevant information which will help in eliminating distraction thus helping to streamline the buyers’ thoughts towards making a purchase.

7. Browser compatible and Bandwidth efficient

   Another advantage of having a simple design is that a simple HTML website is usually browser compatible. Different browsers like IE , firefox , opera or safari distorts and displays the columns , tables , formatting tags and embedded images differently. Therefore while designing a complex website lot of emphasis has to be laid to make the web page browser compatible. Also lots of formatting and images on the web page requires a lot of bandwidth proving to be very costly. Keep the website simple not only proves to be bandwidth efficient but can let multiple users enjoy your site simultaneously.

For some KISS may mean “Keep it Simple Stupid, for others it may mean “Keep it short & simple” but for us KISS refers to “Keep It Simple (for) Success. So apply KISS to website design and get a user friendly, bandwidth efficient, search engine optimized websites attracting more number of visitors resulting in more business.

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