You don't have to be an expert at design to follow these simple tips to making your web page more appealing. The first thing people notice when they click into your page are the colors. When putting together your color scheme, make sure it is consistent throughout each page of the website. When deciding on colors, consider how they make you feel. If someone has visited your page, you don't need to go bright, they are already there. Too much color might be overwhelming. Try to keep the colors nice but not forefront over your product. Choose colors that highlight your products, and go along with the theme of what you are selling.

First, aim for consistency, and usability above all else. Yes, we know splashing colors around is fun. So is putting in a jillion different types of interactive media. Ultimately, every single widget you add does one thing to your site: Makes it slow.

Building off of a consistent color scheme, make sure the theme and layout are consistent throughout your site. It's a part of your image, and it's a part of what people will remember about your site. Put the navigational tools in the same place on every page, and consider using server side includes to make sure that they're present on all pages.

Another thing to avoid is the overuse of effects and images. Some sites use fade in and out, fancy page switchers and graphics. Although pretty, they can slow down the navigation significantly.

Remember, content is king. It's why people are coming to your web site in the first place, regardless of whether they're a repeat visitor, or a random drive by led in by search engines. Make sure your content is worthwhile, make sure it updates regularly, and remember that people will click on advertising links only if they're interesting in the context of whatever content was there.

When designing your site, it is important to let people know what your contents are right away. Have a good site index and clear intentions. Your messages need to be conveyed in a clear way without using jargon that most people would not understand.

While you're investigating what your site is going to look like, remember that people read at 400 words per minute; they listen at 100 words per minute. Keep this in mind when putting content out - anything that has to be clicked on and listened to is an invitation to use the back button.

Maximize your audience potential. Focus on clarity of communication above all else, and focus on human readable web pages. A lot of internet sites focus on Search Engine Optimization to the extent that while web spiders get lured in, human readers hit the back button fast. It's your information that's pulling people in and making them read the site. Cater to that. Lastly, update, update, update. Remember the mention of a content management system? The purpose of that is to make sure that you can update the site painlessly and easily, and give people a reason to come back. Always be on the look out for a new informational value add for your site which is one of the top web marketing strategies.