Top 5 Myspace Layout Mistakes to Avoid

By far, a majority of people sign up with Myspace.com to sell themselves, either personally or professionally. They want to meet new people and extend their circle of friends. Too many Myspace users defeat that purpose with profile layout mistakes that turn people off. To make more friends who'll visit your profile page more often, here are the top 5 Myspace layout mistakes to avoid:

1. More isn't always better...

When customizing your Myspace profile page, more isn't better. It's worse. Because Myspace gives you so many options for customizing your profile page it can be hard to know where to begin. It's even harder to know when to stop. Lured by the offer of free Myspace layouts, graphics, widgets, toys, and clever add-on applications, you'll be tempted into making your first mistake. Gadgets and gimmicks that don't tell prospective Myspace friends who YOU are (and why they should want to be your friend) is pointless. That nifty bit of html or CSS code that puts up somebody else's YouTube videos, or photos or the current weather forecast for Podunk, Idaho is just distracting clutter. Skip it.

2. Bad Profile Page Layouts

Mistake #2 is a bad profile page layout of garish colors, weird type styles, too-busy backgrounds, and too many graphics. Those are just plain hard to look at, hard to read, and some are downright repulsive. If your favorite colors happen to be lime green, hot pink, or some other neon color, know that a little bit goes a long way. If you must have a gang graffiti background layout, provide solid neutral blocks of color where printed information about you is easy to find and read.

Avoid the common mistake of making your type font a slightly lighter or darker color of your background. You have about 2 minutes to make a good impression and tell prospective friends about yourself. Make it easy for them to find what they're looking for.

3. Sell Yourself, Not Somebody Else

You should be the star of your Myspace profile page. Not Brittney Spears. Not Snoop Dogg. Not Miley Cyrus. You may be their biggest fan, but on your profile they should play a minor role. Think of favorite celebrities, sports stars, and bands as the Vanna White to your Pat Sajak. Sell yourself, not somebody else to avoid mistake #3.

4. Slow Loading Pages

Graphics, photos, streaming audio/video, and flash animations add interest to your Myspace profile page. But use them sparingly and test them well. Slow loading profile pages are annoying and they can even drive traffic away from your site. The advertising that Myspace puts on your page can slow page loads. That is beyond your control. Just don't make matters worse by posting fifty photos of your cat - no matter how awesome he is

5. Background Music Player

It's a mistake to add background music that automatically plays when your profile page opens. It's a HUGE mistake to hide the music player so your visitor can't turn it off. Unless the whole point of your presence on Myspace is to promote a band or only find friends who share your taste in music, ditch the background music idea. The better way to share your favorite music with Myspace friends is with a song list or music player that allows them to choose what they want to hear.

Avoid those 5 Myspace layout mistakes to make more friends and keep them coming back to your profile page. Make your layouts uncluttered, good looking and use easy to read type styles. Keep the flashy gimmicks and gadgets to a minimum. Limit your use of intense graphics that slow down page loads. And, don't assault potential friends with background music they may hate.

Last, but not least, make your Myspace profile page all about you. You are the product and your profile page is the packaging that sells your brand. If you've made any of those 5 Myspace layout mistakes, get busy on a "New and Improved" version right away. You'll make (and keep) more Myspace friends...guaranteed.