When it comes to websites, mere attractive design does not ensure high traffic and low bounce rate. One has to keenly adopt a specific design pattern  that makes visitors stay on the site and get into inner pages. Few such guidelines are…

1. Have a neat and clean layout.
2. The header of the site should contain the phone number of call center / contact person, email address and live chat buttons.
3. The navigation of the site should be intuitive. Navigation plays a big role in SEO as well. Logical encapsulation of menus helps in reducing the bounce rate.
4. The landing page of your website should reveal what is your business all about, who are your target customers and what all services you offer.
5. Link one web page to another; it helps in reducing the bounce rate.
6. Main banner should preferably be in JavaScript instead of Flash.
7. Keep ample space for text on the homepage. Search engine crawlers like the text very much.
8. Homepage should have a “Call-to-action” factor. Encouraging the users to take an action reduces the bounce rate.
9. Use eye-catchy taglines. For example, an airline company can use a tagline like “A budget flight to JFK at every two hours… Click here to know more…”
10. Offer newsletter subscription for visitors.
11. Include social bookmarking buttons on every page.
12. Avoid putting videos on the homepage.
13. Offer product search facility on homepage
14. The footer should contain the list of services in expanded menu type text layout. This helps in increasing the keyword density and in-turn helps in better SEO.
15. Adopt maximum 3 column design.