No matter who designs and hosts your Web site, there are basic rules of good design to keep in mind. Here’s a short list of good basics:

Load fast
Unless you cater to the bells-and-whistles crowd, visitors to your Web site want information, not entertainment. That means don’t impede your site with slow-loading graphics, photos and multimedia features. These time eaters can result in visitors giving up and leaving before they have a chance to digest your persuasive content.

Most business Web sites are informational. Make it as easy and as fast as practical for visitors to get what they came for. Don’t slow them down with distractions and clever gadgetry.

If you insist on showing off state-of-the-art cyber jewels, at least give visitors the option of circumventing slow loading screens. Provide a hyperlink that says, “Skip introduction” or “Skip graphics.”

Get a dynamite URL
Your Universal Resource Locator address (URL) is also known as your Web site address. It should be simple, memorable and meaningful. If you sell underwear, www.underwearforsale.com may be as good as it gets. Make it easy to recall, easy to figure out and a clear explanation of your business.

Optimize for search engines
It does no good to have a wonderful Web site if no one can find it. Be sure to submit your site to search engines. Maximize your Web pages so they’re likely to rank high after search engine spiders detect them.

This is one of the more arcane niceties of Web life, but worth mastering—or worth paying someone else to master. To master it yourself, check out www.SearchEngineWatch.com.

Fix broken hyperlinks
Periodically check the links on your Web site to ensure they send your visitors where they expect to go.

If you manage to lure visitors to your site, the last thing you want to do is aggravate them. If they click on a link only to find themselves disappointed because the link didn’t work, their aggravation level rises. This aggravation is a leading cause of visitors leaving your site.