What is the purpose of your site? To provide customer service? To inform? To entertain? To produce actual sales? What visitors would you like to attract? Which browser will they likely be using? What are they expecting when they get to your site?

Does the site give people the information they are seeking and that was advertised?

Does the site entertain visitors? Does it involve them so that they may actually come back?

As the Web is primarily a visual medium, you need stimulating graphics. Be careful though that they don't detract from the clear communication of whatever it is you are trying to communicate.

How quickly does your site load? It should take fewer than 30 seconds. Are links from the main page as quick-loading if not quicker? The more jumps a visitor to your site has to make, the less time he or she will wait for a new page to download. Obviously, if every page takes 4 minutes to load, that person is unlikely to ever come back. Time is of the essence.

Because of the long load-time for graphics, many people browse the Web with their graphics turned off. Do not make it impossible for these people to negotiate through your site. Always have a text-equivalent to any graphics-links or image-maps you have placed on your site.

How are visitors able to contact you? The minimum is via e-mail. Forms which allow for direct comments. Obviously, if you are selling a product, customers should be able to order directly through the page.

Not everyone is using the latest version of Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. Make sure the person using a 9600 bps modem can get as much out of it as the person using a 33.6k. Don't feel compelled to include all of the latest plug-ins for sound, video and animation. Even the most recently released browsers will choke on a page like that.

Change your site as often as you possibly can. Once a month is perhaps even too long to go without making revisions on your page. There's nothing more frustrating than coming upon a page that hasn't been touched in 6 months. You can guarantee it will stagnate and die unless you put some effort into it.

Ask for user opinions. Maybe even offer them a chance to register for a free prize. Of course, anything original which gets the visitor involved in your page is a positive. One small tip: No, we don't want to sign your guestbook.

Even one, small typo on a Web page can cause people to leave your site shaking their heads. It reflects poorly on the intelligence of the site's designer. Proofread! Print out a hard copy of your site; you're more likely to catch errors there than by reading directly from the monitor.

Be sure to have a link from your main page which lists all disclaimers (if any) which are appropriate for your site. Copyright laws do extend into cyberspace. Be sure to get written permission if using any logos or other copyrighted material on your site.

Perhaps your own personal bookmarks (or favourites, if you prefer) are interesting to you, but they may not be quite as interesting to your visitors. Be sure any list of links you have stay relevant to the main thrust of the page.