Website tips to improve your online image
This entire website is made up of website tips, in fact, you'll find nothing but web-related advice and suggestions on every page you read. You'll notice as you read that I'm big on the word 'free' so where I can, I'll point you in the direction of resources I've discovered that are extremely good and cost-free. Occasionally you have to part with some cash as part of getting online, but you'll never see me recommending products that come with a high price tag. The most expensive part of my entire online armory was my laptop ... and that was paid for as part of a small business start-up package.
The truth is you can spend as much money as you want on your small business website. The reality is you don't need to spend most of that cash. So let's get the ball rolling and start as we mean to go on - with 5 great website tips for the beginner. Your top 5 beginner's website tips1) Remember your audienceThink about your target audience and make sure
that your site reflects their needs.
If your site is all about racing cars, make sure your banner has a picture of a racing car in it. If you're offering professional services, take care with spelling and punctuation. Why wood I by from yoo if yoo dont luk professsionall? 2) No gimmicks hereLeave the web tricks at the back door, any good
website tips will be geared towards improving the look, feel and
functionality of your site.
The sure sign of an amateur website is one which uses every web gimmick in the book. Too much use of colour, mixed fonts, Flash animations left, right and centre ... you name it, it's on the site. And don't even get me started on those horrible graphics attached to mouse pointers. Don't do it, it's tacky, unprofessional and web users just don't like it. Simple - clean - professional wins every time. 3) Clear navigationDon't create a 'needle in a haystack' website,
the sort of site where the customer knows something is there,
but they just can't find it!
Make your navigation clear, logical and sensible. You can't link directly to every page, so in the first instance, plan and arrange your website by broader themes. Those broader themes are what make up your left hand navigation. As you generate more content, and it gets harder to find, you may need to incorporate some sort of search function (Google does one for free!) but that won't be necessary until you've had time to establish your web presence. By the way, providing text links between web pages on your own site is a very search engine friendly way of moving people (and searchbots!) around your site. 4) Don't over-monetizeYou'll see that I'm totally consistent on this
point throughout this website.
When you finally monetize (never do it straight away) make it subtle, targeted and integrated. There's nothing worse than a website that's overwhelmed with ads. It looks tacky and users prefer a site that delivers what they were searching for. The ads always come further down the line. 5) Stay legal
If you publish something that is libelous, defamatory, racist
or illegal you will pay the consequences. Every website can be tracked back to its owner using the 'whois' function. Unless you're a web genius of the type you'd see in a James Bond movie, you will not be able to hide behind your website. Be responsible and professional at all times and you'll keep out of trouble. There's more website tips to come ...That's five website tips to get you underway,
but this section is filled with useful information about web design,
gadgets, tricks and tips.
As with all things to do with the web, be selective and assemble the best items to make your small business website stand out. Remember, when I say 'stand out, I mean 'distinctive' ... not as in 'stand out like a sore thumb'!
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a free website Want to create your website on a genuinely
free hosting service that'll never show a single ad? Web design tips Website design tips to make sure you get your site right from the word 'go' ... Website images How do you find good quality website images which won't get you into trouble with copyright? Google gadgets Google gadgets can add some cool features to your website without the need for coding skills ... Writing web content Tips and techniques for writing web content which gets read and passed around ... Free link checker Don't get penalized by the search engines, find a free link checker and check your site ... More
website traffic You've got the site built but there
are no visitors ... how do you generate more website traffic?
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