8 Ways to Make Your Website Even Stickier Today

By Yelena Shuster

One click isn’t cool.

You know what’s cool? A billion clicks.

If you want to attract more customers, monetize your blog, or become a trusted industry leader, you’ve got to keep online visitors clicking around your site (vs. darting off to go check Facebook).    

Try these tips for cross-promoting your content:

1. Add a “Most Emailed” widget (a la The New York Times) on the homepage to arouse interest in viral stories.

2. Shorten every post with a “Read More” link. You’ll get two pageviews per article and make your homepage more inviting by cutting down on bulky text.

3. Include “Related Links” to other interesting content on your site at the bottom of every post.

4. Integrate linkable social media icons into your post template for easy sharing.

5. For the love of user experience, make sure all external links pop up in a new window so your reader stays on your site.

6. Reach out to related bloggers and offer a link exchange so both of you can boost new users and SEO (external links up your Google search rank).

7. Repeat after us: no pop-ups. Ever. A little ad revenue is just not worth the annoying interruption.

8. Always add an awesome image. A picture's worth a thousand page views.

An online App development tool suggested by Hostgator:  Impress.Ly

Ref: https://www.tapp.com/101/8-ways-to-make-your-website-even-stickier-today

How to Make Your Website Shine in 7 Quick Steps

By Krista Soriano

Your website is the digital home of your business, often the first page prospective clients land on.

Time to audit your site to make sure you’re not committing any of these homepage #fails:

1. A clear call to action. If your users ask “what am I supposed to do here?” you’ve already lost their attention.

2. Simple navigation. Follow the KISS rule: keep your menus and top navigation simple! (Because the "KYMATNS rule" doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.) Don’t have too many choices to bewilder users.

3. Less is more. Your users are scanning your homepage for what they need, not cozying up with a cup of tea for a long read. Take a cue from Apple’s minimalist homepage.

4. Know your audience. Know who’s coming to your site and give them what they’re coming for up front, whether that’s news, your latest products, or a specific newsletter sign-up.

5. Be unique. Don’t break the cardinal rule of branding (and copyright infringement law). It’s important that your audience can tell the difference between you and your competitors.

6. Update often. Keep your site fresh with updates on the regular, and you’ll keep users coming back.

7. Check your ABCs. Spell check, spell check, spell check.

Ref: https://www.tapp.com/grow/how-to-make-your-website-shine-in-7-quick-steps