Do basic pages perform better then fancier sites in terms of ad revenue? It seems that the pages that are static with pages of information perform better then the fancier sites. They don't even have to update!
what would you call basic? for example would petbetter.com be basic? However, I definitely think that static pages are better than, for example, flash.
Basic. Or better said "Static" and Non-flash websites. These HTML static pages are faster to load, thus increasing chances that your visitors will wait and see. Not every user has broadband. So I would prefer basic pages, not fancy pages with so much graphics. You can also make a simple page as attractive as a fancy page.
yeah, something like that. something like this too http://www.tennismindgame.com/ sites that have like 5-10 articles on how to do something and are not updated. do they perform better in terms of revenue generally then sites that are updated regularly?
Think of your site this way. Everyone of your visitors has an average attention span. They are good for an average amount of time, and an average amount of clicks. How many clicks does it take to get to the center of the tootsie pop? Most people want to just bite, and get what they want as fast as possible. Keep it basic.
Ahh the old ugly site theory… Most people will tell you that an ugly site will do better. For the most part, that is true. Why it is true, is because most ugly sites fall into what would be the user’s field of vision, thus giving more eye miles as they hop from view-point to view-point. Additionally if the site is so ugly they will leave your site quickly via Ads or what not. That said this is where a good site, ugly, and fancy site part. A good site will look nice, however will keep in mind that users only get so many inches of viewing area. If they fail to provide the right type of eye control the users eye’s get frustrated and confused, thus creating a bounce or quick exit. Unfortunately most people that try to make the “good siteâ€, end up making a site that is so fancy, and does not give the users an eye-anchor point when the page loads(slow or fast), thus the eyes start bouncing around the page trying to find a logical starting point, and fail, or they find a point, but cant find the next point in the sites design. Make it look nice, but keep control of your users eyes!
Simplicity is definately king in my opinion. Making fancy sites works with only sites where that style would appeal to their niche. Keep things simple and basic to avoid any confusion and to keep it all clear imo.