|
/pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> |
Your Website Reflects Your Business
Some left shoes are in isle 5, while the right shoes are in isle 3. Shoe hills are in random places. You can barely walk through the store without stumbling over a shoe.
No employees are in sight. As you are desperate for help, you finally make it past the heaping hill of shoes to the back of the store and find a button that says "Page for Help". You press the button and out comes a card that says "please leave your mailing address, we'll send you a letter". Frustrated, you leave the store, and finally realize there is a Footlocker across the street.
We all know how first impressions can make or break a potential customer's decision to buy. With more and more people discovering the internet, most businesses do not realize that their company website is the customer's first impression.
A Reflection of How You Do Business
Your website should be a reflection of your business. Would you allow your customers to walk through a maze to get your contact information? Do you want to answer your customer's questions or leave them guessing? Do you want them to find your product information? Your website will reflect these answers back to your customer.
What Web Design Isn't
Web Design is not:
? All the Bells and Whistles
? A Tease
? A Get Rich Quick Scheme
All The Bells and Whistles
Would you buy a luxury car that got you ten miles and then died? Then why would you want your website to be the best but unfunctional? Sometimes we forget that having the best of the best of something means to sacrifice something else.
For instance, have you ever seen a website made entirely in Macromedia Flash? ( Click here for more info about flash ) There is nothing wrong with a nicely animated website, however, this will shut out potential customers who do not have, nor wish to install the flash player plug-in. This restricts certain users who have certain plugins installed on their computers, and you don't want to ever shut out potential customers. If you wish to do that, make sure you have a good purpose and make sure you clearly state on your website what those requirements are.
A Tease
It's better to have too much information than too little. Don't expect a potential customer to want to wade through pages to contact you for more information.
If you sell pink shoe laces and neglect to put that information on your website, your potential customer may end up going somewhere else to look for pink show laces. It's too easy to just 'go somewhere else', or 'do another search engine query'.
A Get Rich Quick Scheme
Why Nancy, only fools rush in.
A common misconception I have seen is that business owners believe their website will attract millions of visitors within the first week of creating their website. Without the funds, research and dedicated time, this is simply not true.
The instant you upload your website, it is lost in the millions and billions of virtual pages across the internet. You have to market your website just like you market your business; tell people.
You will not get the keyword you want from search engines, you will not receive millions of visitors, and you will not sell all your products within the first week.
However, if you take the time to do your research, study internet marketing, spread your website via word of mouth, and design careful search engine placement; you CAN get the keyword you want, you CAN receive millions of visitors and you CAN sell all your products.
What Web Design Is
Web Design is:
? A Sales Tool
? A Cost Efficient Expansion of Your Business
? A Community Service
A Sales Tool
You can think of your website as a brochure. We have an attractive image on the front that says "open me, you know you want to". Inside we have product information, company information, contact information, and reasons why the potential customer should choose you.
With happy thoughts, the potential customer now turns into the buying customer because your website reflected the everlasting impression of what your business is.
A Cost Efficient Expansion of Your Business
Imagine being able to keep your store open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Imagine being able to sell products and services in your sleep. Imagine being able to sell to anyone, anywhere, to whatever region you want. Sounds nice doesn't it?
This is what your website should be providing for you. Hiring a web designer, paying monthly web hosting space, and purchasing a yearly domain name costs a fraction of what it does if you were to open several locations around the world.
This tell the customer "We provide options for you.". Imagine how grateful someone in a wheelchair would be if they didn't have to have someone drive them to your business to shop around, or what if they were bedridden and couldn't leave their homes at all?
A Community Service
What better way to say "I love you" than to bring people together. This is another way you can use your website to reflect your business. A community focused business website brings your customers together who have similar interest and who feel warm and fuzzy inside for finding a group of people just like them.
For instance, ecademy.com is a perfect example of a community focused website. It's exciting to wake up, check your email and get a personal message from a fellow networker. You can start more focused interest clubs, you can write articles. You feel apart of something.
What A Web Developer Isn't
? A Miracle Worker
? A One Service Provider
? A Lazy Bum
A Miracle Worker
Beware of web designers who make promises they cannot keep. A web developer's failure to live up to his/her promises will more than likely hurt your website, which in return can hurt your business image. Let's take a search engine such as Google.com as an example. Google.com plays by their own rules that web developers cannot control, only abide by. A web developers promise to get you in #1 spot for the keyword "shoe" is almost impossible. There are some people who will result to measures that are against Google.com policy, to make you think you've reached that #1 spot. Keyword spamming, url spoofing, keyword hiding, to name a few. Resulting to these measures will make your site look unprofessional and get you banned from Google.com.
A One Service Provider
You shouldn't have to shop in ten different locations to create your website. This will lead to ten different levels of quality. For example, if you have to hire a graphic designer for the graphical layout, then a programmer for the shopping cart, and a writer for the content; if each professional isn't on the same thinking page about your company, it will be evident.
A Lazy Bum
A good Web Design Professional isn't willing to cut corners if it means sacrificing the quality of your online presence. This includes, but not limited to: search engine preparing, content management and research, information placement, programming and more. If your web developer slacks on any of these issues, your website will show it.
What A Web Developer Is
? A Solutions Provider
? A Consultant
? A Fast Learner
A Solutions Provider
You deserve a web developer in tune to your business needs and who understands how your website effects the image you are trying to create. The Developer should be able to provide many, if not all the resources available to complete your website from start to finish, or know the correct people who can.
A Consultant
You should feel confident asking your web developer questions and confident that you'll receive answers.
A Fast Learner
More than likely, your web developer will be alien to your industry of business. He/She should know how to research information related to your business and how to implement it into your website.
The Science of Information Placement
And last, but certainly not least is the science of information placement. This is simply knowing what information you want your customers to see and in what order.
For example, the first place a user focuses on the majority of the time when they first visit a website, is whatever is in the middle of the screen. This will be where you want to put your most important information, or sales niche. This isn't where you want to put your lengthy sales agreements and contract information.
Conclusion
The first impression you want to give your potential customer is that you are qualified to deliver what they need and how they need it, better than your competition. The more time they spend on your website trying to come up with those reasons, the more that potential customer is slipping away. We want to close that sale as soon as possible.
Your website reflects your business in the way it is ran, the products it provides, and how it treats its customers. Make sure that first impression is the correct one!
Tia Scott is CEO of Client Centers, LLC, an internet and graphic service business based in Florida since 2000. She also runs and maintains http://www.nerdbyte.com
Tia Scott
CEO
Client Centers, LLC
http://www.clientcenters.com
http://www.nerdbyte.com
Easy Steps To Website Development and Promotion
One of the most important parts of establishing a new website is website development and promotion. For people to visit your new site, you have to attract them. After spending so much time drawing up your website, you must also think of ways to make customers want to see and use what you have to offer. Below are suggestions that will help you in efforts in website development and promotion.
Art, Artists and the Web: Part 3--What to Put on an Artist?s Website
What to put your the website if you are an artist.
Nonsense! Why Do I Need a Website?
"I don't sell anything online, I don't advertise online, in fact I don't really even know how to use a computer... why should I pay for a website?"
User Interface Design: Key to Achieve Best Web Development
From early days of www, the Internet sites that are added day by day are increasing tremendously. When you will consider this pool of web, may be they are about computers, industry, entertainment, search engines, fashion, organizational or even individual, all of these sites are concerned about one major part of web development apart from the logic or programming efforts behind it is 'User Interface Design'.
The Problem with Automated Accessibility Testing Tools
An automated accessibility tool is a piece of software which can test a web page, or even an entire website, for accessibility. Automated accessibility tools are useful because they can save you a huge amount of time. Don't want to check images for alt text on each and every page on your website? Run the site through an automated tester and it'll do it all for you!
Make Your Artist Website Sell!
Summary
Set Up Your Website in Minutes ? For Free
There was a time not long ago when setting up a website meant endless technical jargons, hiring a web designer, writing the html or jawa codes, selecting the right hosting platform and deciding on the band width.
Do Dancers Need A Website?
Dance is how you pamper your soul and satiate your creativity. Mesmerized and overwhelmed with the pleasure that the dancer relishes while dancing, often there are some practical aspects that tend to get overlooked. As a dancer you might think: Why do I need a website at all? There is nothing I have to advertize!" That is not really so. As a dancer myself, I discovered the amazing advantages of having a website.
Selecting a Web Content Management Product
So you want to take a look at a real Web Content Management (WCM) product. How do you go about evaluating all the different products and vendors? What should you be looking for in a WCM package? Is it better to build your own, buy or use Open Source?
Free Isnt Always Good - 5 Reasons Why You Need Your Own Website
Often time I've browsed sites and seen the same thing - general rep websites or free hosted sites. Pop ups irritate me from the free sites as does the blatant ads getting in the way of the text, and if you have seen one rep site you literally have seen them all. Boring, unoriginal, and unprofessional.
Achieving Differentiation With Your Website
Internet Marketing is not a miracle marketing strategy ? competition still exists and you need to have a unique approach with regards to:
How One Word Or Even One Letter Can Boost Conversion Rates By Over 400%!
Recently I was reviewing the keyword specific conversion rate data of a consulting client of mine. I have been working with this client for a few months now, helping her improve the sales conversion rate of her website and we have had very good results, taking average conversion rates at her site from below 1% to just over 4.3%.
The Number One Reason Most Websites Fail
Failure, just like success, is measured differently by each and every one of us. What one man treats as success another may view as failure. For the purposes of this article a website that fails is one that fails to attract and convert enough targeted visitors into paying customers. Yeah - positive feedback from your website visitors is great but let's face it - we're all in this ultimately to make more money.
Thinking Of Taking Money Online? Whats Best For Merchants? PayPal, WorldPay or Something Else?
It's now easier than ever to take payments on the web. As people selling their wares take pot shots at eCommerce providers in an ever-increasing battle to sabotage their "competitors'" success it gets harder and harder to find an honest unbiased opinion.
How to Make Your Own Free Website in 8.5 Minutes or Less
Designing and creating your own website does not have to be a laborious effort that takes weeks to complete. Instead, in less than 9 minutes you can have your web site designed and up and running as long as you have a host located and know what you want to upload to your web page. Just follow these tips to get your web page online and attracting customers today.
Trust Us! Sending Credible Messages
A company must earn and keep trust or sales don't happen. Imagine that last Sunday, while you were reading the paper, you saw an ad for a great deal on a digital camera. You'd been considering buying one for a while, and this ad sealed the deal. You went to buy the camera, and the sales person told you they were sold out. They didn't offer you a rain check and instead substituted a different model for a "similar" price.
Why Is No-one Buying From My Website?
Are you, like many other website owners, frustrated at the amount of time, effort and money you've put into your website, only to see few or no sales?
12 Essential Tips to a Professional Business Website
1. Choose a big enough font size. A size 12 is good for easy readability.
Making Your Websites More Compelling
The Internet is a remarkable publishing medium. With just a little effort, you can make your web pages visually irresistible by playing with color, shapes and text. Whether your websites are already launched or you're ready to create your first few, use the 3 simple steps below to kick things up a notch and make your sites professional and appealing.
How to Make Your Own Website For Free
If you like the Internet and surfing through the billions of web pages on it then you might be thinking that you also would like to have your very own web page. Well, fortunately you can create your own web page for free and have it online so the whole world can surf the web and see what your web page is all about. If you want to learn more about building your very own website for free, simply follow the steps below and in a short period of time you will have your very own web page!