Webmaster Papers




Google
 
Web webhostingpapers.com




/pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">

How to Get a Knock Out Website!


The first step in setting up an online business...

Starting an online business for a brand new entrepreneur is a lot like falling in love for the first time. There is enthusiasm, the feeling of a new high in life and determination to make it work at all costs. All superior emotions, but making sure that your business grows will also take a sharp reality check. The reality is that along with enthusiasm and determination, you also need to be a smart marketer to make your business profitable. Marketing for profits has today moved beyond the traditional methods to include the Internet. A "Brick & Mortar" business works much better if it becomes a " Click & Mortar" business. Simply put, any business without a web presence is soon going to be yesterday's news.

Setting up an online business involves creating a well-planned company website to promote your Internet sales as well as your offline business. So the key task here is to create a website. A website in effect is your company's brochure on the Internet. It gives information on the company's set up, products and services, promotional offers, new features/ products and information about the people spearheading the business. The difference here is that the website can do more than just be a static information providing page on the web. In other words, your website should be an interactive, intelligent brochure for your company. Other than giving information, it should also -

  • Maximise total sales
  • Generate new business and sales leads
  • Build your brand
  • Give publicity to the offline business

The key here is having a website that will knock the socks off your competition. Setting up a site like this doesn't have to be an overwhelming job, leaving you gasping for oxygen.

Your website can become the primary driver for the business's growth, which is why you must take a lot of care while setting it up. Though there are no rules of thumb to do this, here are some suggestions to get you on your way.

  • Research you must: Take a look at your competitors' websites. The idea here is not to ape their design and content, but to see what works, what doesn't and what are buyers looking for when they visit your site. Keep an eye out for 'spoilers': static pages, long downloads, too many moving graphics, very little or outdated information, dead links etc. Make sure you avoid these trouble points. Another good reason for researching websites is that this way you can make sure your website is different from your competitor's.

  • Define the website's purpose: A lot of people don't really know what they want their website to do. Its nice to make a great looking website crammed with information and racy graphics, but then what purpose does it serve? Your website could just be giving information on your company and inviting prospective customers to contact you for more. It could be an extension of your sales counter, selling products and services or your website could be doing both of the above. Before you begin creating the website, clarity on this issue.

    Get a website checklist at http://www.score.org/eb_42.html

    Some important points to remember when creating a website are:

  • A good first impression: Your website should be pleasing to the eye and make a good first impression. First impressions really are the last, because in the fast world of the WWW, all it takes is a click for your prospective customer to get out of your site and go to the competition. Make sure you spell out your USP in the first 20 lines, have a simple URL which will be easy to remember and do knock off some of those graphics.

  • Easy navigation: The website should have a clear structure so that it is easy for the visitor to get about on a site tour without getting lost each time. For instance, have a "Go to Homepage", "Go to Top" button on each page. Give useful links on the top half of the page and make the links look like links. An absolute must here is a Sitemap and a Search tool. Nothing makes our lives easier than having a map that tells you exactly where we are and how to get to the place we want to go to.

  • Quality Content: Almost everybody values quality content, which is not a fine example of plagiarism. Nothing is a bigger put off than to see website after website saying the same things. Your website's content should have real value for the customer. If you are selling a product on the website, your content should be centred around that, if it is a service you are offering tell your visitors about how it will be useful for them.

  • Contact Information: Tell your visitors where they can contact you for more information, feedback and business queries. Without this feature your website is dead before it begins.

    Get some more tips at http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol142/usability.htm

    Your website can fuel your sales and profits like no one's business. With good research, planning and a clarity on website objectives you can make it happen. Make your site usable and valuable to the visitors and keep them coming back for more.

    Also see:
    http://www.apis.ca/Understanding_Websites/Good_Sites_Bad_Sites/What_makes_a_good_website.htm

    ==========================================

    Wanna Learn the Secret of Creating Passive Income Online
    From a man who made $3,244,842.32 from the Internet in Only 27
    months? => http://www.the1andonly.biz

    Presented by:
    Perfect Home Based Business Opportunities

    RELATED ARTICLES


    5 Tips To Supercharge Your Website Sales Copy
    The art of turning website visitors into paying customers depends almost entirely on good sales copy. What is that?
    My Yahoo Search - Beyond Bookmarks
    Yahoo has long offered email, an online calendar, notes, bookmarks, and more through their free My Yahoo service. Now Yahoo has expanded this service even more by adding My Yahoo Personal Search to the mix.
    The Problem with Paypal On Your Web Page
    When I set up my website I felt paypal was a very simple and easy solution when people wished to purchase my products.
    How To Write More Powerful Online Text
    Although there are significant differences among the various types of online communication, there all have one critical thing in common - they're read off a screen. There are substantial benefits, too, in that while your message is on someone's screen usually it has their undivided attention. You are genuinely "one-to-one" with them and that's something you must respect - you are literally "in their face" and encroaching on very personal territory. The bad news about online communications is that your message can be "disappeared" faster from a screen than with any other medium.
    Website For The Company Store
    If your company own one or more stores, you might be wondering if it would be a good idea to have a website. You might also be wondering if a website for the company store would be profitable for your business.
    The Cost Of A Web Site
    Just starting out, you can start with a simple informational site, which is all most need initially, and build up to a fuller site (e-commerce and/or interactive) when you can afford it.
    4 Marketing Tips for Resourceful Webmasters!
    The internet is a sea of knowledge. Getting your information to 'float' by the right audience can be like finding that one special grain of sand on the seashore. Paying big bucks for marketing can strain your already limited budget. What is a webmaster to do? Let's discuss four valuable and proven ways to market your site without breaking the bank.
    Beyond Web Usability: Web Credibility
    If you've been developing websites on Mars for the past few years then you'll be forgiven for not knowing about web usability. You'll still be creating splash intro pages, having pages with massive download times and using more images than you can shake a stick at. Well, back in Earth these days have long gone and today web usability rules the web development world. For those of you who have been on Mars please read some of the things that Jakob Nielson has to say at http://www.useit.com/alertbox and try to catch up.
    Web Site Optimization: How To Speed Up Your Web Site By Minimizing Your GIF and PNG Image Bit-Depth
    Are bloated images slowing down your web site and causing you lost business? Images comprise over 50% of the average web page so putting them on a diet is essential to improving web performance. One of the best ways to optimize GIFs and PNGs is to minimize the "bit-depth" or the number of colors within your images.
    Build a Web Site that Works...Even for a Safari Hobby!
    My life's greatest passion is a safari hobby. And what would that be, you ask. ...Simply the conservation of wildlife and the environment. I do this after hours from my 7 to 5 job. And that's how this story started. Read this story to learn how to build not just a web site...but a web site that works...
    Building Websites with Directory Generator
    Directory Generator, a product from Armand Morin and Marc Quarles, builds directory-style websites for you in a matter of minutes. It is simple to use, it's reliable, it does what it claims to do. The tool is essentially a push-button site builder - all you really have to do is upload the generated pages to your host system. There are no fancy technical skills involved.
    Topics to Add When Creating an Alternate and Modern Medicine Web Directory
    Alternate medicine finds its own place in the hearts and minds worldwide and has a separate following to back its existence. There are many subcategories that could be added to the modern and alternate medicine website directories. Although the list below is not exhaustive it is a good start. After looking at multiple directories in the web that just places everything into one big category "health related websites". I thought it's time to present some categories in this vibrant segment of the web; there are lot's of websites in this category which need a separate home in the directories. Even in the High PR and traffic rich directories finding the right websites gets tough by browsing the whole category. For your reference a single line definition obtained from wikipedia is placed under each category.
    Tips for Building a Great Business Website
    A website is lifeline of internet home business. In order to succeed you must have a website that that meets the general criteria of accepted standards. Flavor of each site varies according to the intended business and choice of the owner. But there are guidelines which should be kept in mind while you work to develop your own e-shop.
    How To Make Your Website More Successful? (Part I)
    Building a website and getting it online is easy. Driving visitors to it is the more difficult part. Most people are not patient enough when it comes to build up traffic. They expect thousands of visitors a week after they go live with their website. But that is not how it works. We share some secrets of how to make your website more successful.
    Why You Need a Website
    You hear a great deal about the Internet these days -- that it's revolutionised communication ... commerce ... education ... Life-As-We-Know-It ...
    7 Reasons YOU Need a Website
    1) A marketing necessity
    5 Sure Fire Ways To Send Visitors Away For Good
    So your traffic is going through the roof yeah? It's all becoming a bit too much? You're getting lots of sales enquiries through your website every day? You want to send visitors away from your site for good? Just follow these five Sure Fire Ways and your site will be a tumbleweed ghost town in no time.
    7 Questions to Understand Your Customer Better
    Customer service questionnaires can help your clients better understand their requirements. Your clients can benefit by:
    10 Things You Should Be Monitoring On Your Website
    Every business needs to know how it is doing. That's the idea behind exit surveys, customer feedback forms, suggestion boxes and other devices. Without feedback from the customer, monitoring inventory, expenses, revenue and other benchmarks, a business can take a quick slide down a slippery slope, without the owner ever seeing it coming ? or being able to stop the slide.
    Trinkets, Lockets And Empty Pockets
    It never ceases to amaze me how many people set-up a website, without any type of plan or clue about how to promote it, how to write a sales letter, how to write an ad-- nothing!