Seniors/Aged Form a Valuable Chunk Of Online Buyers: Don't Neglect Them

A website plays a very important role in marketing your business online to the senior citizens. According to a recent survey, there has been 47% increase in the number of online senior surfers between 2000 and 2004 alone. This increase has been due to many reasons, like, a desire to stay in touch with news and events, checking up for medical/health related information, researching for products/ services to purchase offline, make online shopping purchases, researching for stocks, etc.

If the target audience for your business is the older people, you need to keep the following things in mind in order to modify your website accordingly:

Since the older population has visibility problems, it is better to use less content and in a larger font. Also provide the users with an option to enlarge the font or text size, if need be.

Use a font type that is easily read by the older surfers, like sans-serif font as that is not condensed and double space body text.

It is better to design with high contrast and avoid reversed type and patterned backgrounds. Also use dark text on light backgrounds.

Avoid web jargon and the language that the younger generation is used to. Use terminology that is simple and easily understood by the older people. The older people may not be aware of terms like emoticon, IM, message board etc. So keep this in mind while writing for the seniors.

Be very clear and precise in explaining what the users are expected to do after clicking on a button. The reason being that the senior citizens tend to be more cautious while surfing on the internet, so explain things thoroughly yet concisely.

Your linking strategy should be straightforward where you use clear ways of showing links as blue or underlined.

Don't design a very hi-fi or difficult website. Your site design has to be simple, and stable with the navigation being easy and hassle-free. It is important to foster confidence and loyalty in the surfers if you want to win them over.

Last but not the least important is the testing of your website by some senior surfers before you actually launch it.

So if you want to make profits and earn good money from the senior online buyers, make sure you cater to their needs and give them what they want in an easy, comfortable and time saving way.

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