There really aren't any trade secrets in this business as the information is as readily available to Blade as it is to everyone else. It's simply a matter of going on line and doing the research. What makes a trade secret a trade secret is what one does with that information and how it's implemented.

The most common known "trade secret" is in building a website that caters to all flavors of browsers and computers -- from Windows to Macintosh, Unix to Linux, Sun Systems to ... and the list goes on. Although there may be a worldwide standard issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), each browser from MS Internet Explorer to Netscape, Opera, Safari and others all interpret the information from your site differently.

Now you can be ignorant and assume that 85% of the 1 Billion users use Windows MS Internet Explorer but even there you have different flavors (different levels of versions). To give you an example: many of the fancy pull down menus only work as of a certain version. Most of them are only compliant to version 6.0 and version 7.0 has some very wierd quirks, such as not being able to display transparent colors over other transparent colors. And did you know that of those 1 Billion users, approximately 20% use Mozilla Firefox, 18% Netscape, and 14% other browsers and of those who use MS Internet Explorer, over 33% use versions that are below 6.0.

This trade secret alone can cost you dearly when simply assuming that your target market uses MS Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher resulting in over 70% of all users either not being able to navigate through your site or with such difficulty that they simply move away from it.

Another infamous "trade secret" is scrolling. Have you ever been to a site that has you scroll horizontally (from left to right) to see the page contents? Nothing is more annoying than contents that don't conveniently fit on your screen. Only the die-hards that really have to be on your site will endure such aggravation, the rest will simply visit your competitor's site.

Browser and computer inadequacies and scrolling shortfalls are the most obvious nuisances but pop-up advertising is just as much a site killer. Have you ever tried to leave a site only to be confronted with a next window and a next and next? It's harassment and you can be sure that your visitor will not subject himself/herself to it again.

Pop-up windows can be very effective when used to provide site information. Actually, the visitor should solicit a pop-up window. If it is the visitor that asks your site for more information, in-depth explanations on a topic or word, or to participate by filling out a form, then you have interacted with your visitor and supplied their demand. All other pop-ups are as deadly as having no site at all. Correction, they are worse. Remember, you site is your digital calling card and you will be judged by it.

There are many other trade secrets in this business just like any other. But when you're competing with 10 billion web pages, one poorly implemented "trade secret" and you may have just lost a customer forever. Remember you are providing a valuable service to your potential or existing customer. They got to your site because something triggered them to look you up. Don't annoy them, harass them or scare them off; your competitor's site is just a click away.

For more "trade secrets", contact Blade for a free consultation.

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