Web developers have been advised that when creating their site's home page it is not all about them.

Speakers at the 2009 internet retailer web design conference in Miami Beach, Florida, explained that the best strategy for designers of merchant websites to get the most out of the net is to aim to please the user.

Usability service manager at ForeSee Results described a site's homepage as "prime real estate", which developers should think long and hard about before they put anything on it, Internet Retailer reports.

Things that are not likely to appeal to the user at first should be taken off the home page, such as a visitor counter or an 'About us' link.

Rather, consumers first and foremost want to know what the site has to offer them in terms of products and deals, not a company life story, she added.

PM Digital vice president of business and development Marion Sharkey supported this notion at the conference, saying that text about top selling products, rather than just a brand name alone, is likely to boost site search results.

Microsoft, meanwhile, recently advised the web developers of large sites not to be daunted by employing the same tactics as giants such as msn.com, because they will generate results.