It should be easy to use and navigate - Ideally, a surfer should be able to get to the various sections of your website from any page.  Don't make it a struggle to navigate or find information; the links and information should be organised in a logical fashion.

Eliminate any unnecessary steps, especially steps that result in 'traps'.  (A 'trap' is a dead-end page with no links to other sections of the site, thus forcing the surfer to hit the 'back' button to go back to the page(s) that have the proper links.)

Its load time should not be slow - Load time is the length of time that it takes for a web page to be displayed completely.  The longer the load time, the greater the likelihood that a surfer will click the 'back' button or move on to another website because they don't have the patience to wait on the website to load.

Number and size of graphics are two of the main factors that will affect load time.  Without graphics, web pages can appear boring; too many, and the load time may be slow.  Thus, you have to find the balance.

KATRINA SCAMS

It took only hours for con artists to hit the Internet with email and website scams that invite concerned people to make a contribution to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

It's easy to impersonate an individual or a group over the Internet, so if you want to help by making a contribution online, and want to ensure that it ends up in the right hands, do it via the website of a recognised organisation such as http://www.redcross.org

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

http://www.emarketer.com - As with previous weeks, I've featured a second site which is not specifically Jamaican, but which should be of interest to some who are business-minded.

The eMarketer website offers extensive research and analysis of data as it relates to e-business, online marketing and emerging technologies.

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20050907/business/business7.html