Let your visitors decide

Ten years ago, the web was a very different place. All sorts of tricks were being used to control the experience a visitor to a website had. You might be forced to watch a Flash introduction. You could have been blocked from saving individual pictures from the site. And when you finally got frustrated and left the site, it might just give you a final pop-up ad to try to get you back.

Today’s web is, rightfully so, a much different environment. Users have taken back control. Common web browsers like Internet Explorer and Firefox let visitors to your website bypass all the tricks you could have used in the past. The browser gives the user control over their web experience once again.

Good websites have been giving the visitor the control the entire time. Your website should do the same thing. Because without control, the visitor won’t be on your site for long.

Want a Flash intro? Great, put a skip button that they can click immediately, before the intro even loads.

Worried about people stealing your pictures? Simply put a watermark on them.

Don’t want people to leave your site? Then have fantastic content. Create a blog, a gallery, whatever it takes to engage your website visitors.