So you want to get your business online, to take that big plunge to reach the world with your product or service. Congratulations! Hopefully you have
taken the time to go out and explore your competitors websites and looked around for what you consider to be a great looking and functioning website. If you haven’t we highly recommend you do, as a matter of fact we ask every new client to spend time on the web do this. This helps your website designer get a view into several things, including your industry and just as important your tastes in design and functionality. This type information is invaluable to both your and your website design company.

Knowing Your Potential Clientele

As with any business venture you must have some insight into exactly who your customers are is vital. Not only do you need to gear your products and marketing
to these customers but the design, navigation and functionality of the website should be tailored to that market’s tastes. Most website owners don’t realize it at first but your
website may just become the most important marketing tool you will ever invest in. It’s presentation, color, flow and content are as important as any TV, Print or Radio ad you will ever invest in. In todays world your website is your customers view into your business and a poorly laid out website may result in a lack of confidence by them. This is especially true in any e-commerce website. With all the stories the general public hears about on-line rip offs they need to feel 100% confident they can type their credit
card numbers into your order form and not have to worry about it.

Ten Essential Elements

Any website today needs certain features to allow their customers the best experience possible. Over the years we have added to the list to bring it up to what we now consider the ten essential elements every website should have:

1. A website search tool - if they want it NOW they will search, not browse.

2. A website map - again if they get lost this is the first place they will go.

3. Easy to read content - Don’t use color combinations that are rough on the eyes. If your information is long provide a easy access printer friendly version.

4. Fast loading pages - NO customer will wait around for 5 minutes to see your website. Remember over 50% of the world is still on a 56k modem, in 2004!

5. A Privacy Statement - Any website that collects information (even email addresses) needs this.

6. Easy Navigation - surfers don’t have the time to try to figure out your neat navigation system. Keep it simple!

7. Accessibility Statement - Let those who are disabled know that you care about them as customers too.

8. Easy to Access contact information - If they have a problem with the site or an order make it easy for them to be able to contact you.

9. Flow of design throughout the site - Don’t change the page design from page to page. One intro page design and then a consistent inner page design is fine but once in your site make sure everything stays in the same place.

10. NO, I REPEAT, NO pop ups! - These have become synonymous with ads, spy ware, viruses and porn sites. Do anything you can to avoid them.

OK, so #10 isn’t a do, it’s a don’t but we really felt it had to be on the list. Many of the items on this list will not only create a better experience for your clients but they will also increase your accessibility to any disabled customer and will help get your website ranked higher in the search engines. All in all it just makes good business sense.

 4 Most Common Web Site Template Mistakes
User friendliness and easy navigation should adhere to the two-click rule. This is a simple rule that implies any user should be able to find what they want on any given web site in two clicks. Using a web site template right out of the box is a very common mistake new web designer's make. One of the cool things about the web is that it's so visual. Using a web site design template can save any new web developer a lot of time and effort. But like any tool, you can get into trouble if you don't pay attention. Color....

 Keeping It Simple Is the Key for Optimization of a Website
It is the balance between the desire to have all the novel and cool features accessible on the Internet and the desire to make a website easy to use and to navigate, that differentiate a successful web designing. When web designing employs the menus and graphic motifs to move and fly around, when every available screen spot is maximum exploited, it becomes cumbersome for user to manipulate it. The websites need to be....

 7 Surefire Ways To Increase Your Traffic Starting Yesterday
7 Surefire Ways To Increase Your Traffic Starting Yesterday This article explains a few things about Internet Business,traffic,generating traffic,Viral Marketing ,marketing, lead traffic, and if you're interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don't know. Internet. Business. Profit. To fully integrate all of these words into a successful merging you will need another word. Traffic. Every article you will find about making your site or company successful would always include the importance of generating traffic. So, we all know that in the core of it all, traffic is the most essential thing to a successful....

 Web Design Tips For Building A Successful Site
Many webmasters make the costly mistake of worrying and fussing over the small details when building their sites. They ignore the actual key design elements which makes for a successful web site. Are you guilty of making the same mistake with your site? Learn how to build a successful site. Copyright (c) 2007 Titus HoskinsYou probably already know the key to making any kind of income from the net is a well designed....

 Is an E-Commerce Solution Right For Me?
This article examines how useful an online e-commerce solution would be o your business, what alternatives there are and exactly what is usually included in such a package. By the end of the article you should be a little more confident on making this decision for your business and a little more informed next time you speak to an affordable web design company representative. The rapid growth and popularity of the internet has seen many businesses not only grow and strengthen online but be completely developed from nothing. There are millions of potential customers waiting online no matter what your field and tapping that vast market becomes....

 Advertising Options on the Internet
These options can help you understand the rapidly growing market of internet advertising. Your online business will likely require more advertising than a contemporary business downtown, yet some new to the world of online business do not spend the time and money to advertise their business appropriately and are, in turn, loosing money. Your online business is crammed into the world wide web along with thousands of others selling the same product or service as yourself. Consider this scenario: In your hometown you want to open an art supply store. In that same town there are thousands of art supply stores. In order for your business to be successful, it will have....

 The 7 Principles of a Successful Affiliate Marketer
There are certain affiliate principles that are common to all extremely successful affiliates. These principles are not plainly stated by these successful affiliates; rather, they are found as characteristics in their work, writings and interviews. I have synthesized these principles into a list I call The 7 Principles of the Successful Affiliate. It important to note that each successful affiliate closely and meticulously adheres to each one of these affiliate principles. Some of these principles may seem ridiculously obvious, but you would be amazed at how many affiliate marketers either... • don't know these principles (failure to read and study)....

 Link Popularity Explained and How To Build Links
Link Popularity Explained and How To Build Links by: Frank Kilkelly Link popularity is the single most influential factor for determining how well a web site will perform in search engine rankings. A web site's link popularity is computed from the number and more importantly, the quality of links pointing to a web site. Link Popularity history To gain a better understanding of link popularity it is useful to know why it became so crucial for search engine rankings. In the past a web page's ranking was determined, amongst other factors, by the number of keyword occurences within 'on-page' elements i.e. in page text,....

 Make Your Site’s Navigation Options Highly Visible
Effective navigation stands out. It's clear, obvious, and highly visible. You'll need to have a clear section of the page designated for navigation--one that a visitor will immediately recognize as the navigation area when he arrives at the site. Navigation should not necessarily be the prime focus, but it must be highly visible. On many sites, the main navigation is overly subdued. It sort of "lurks" on the page, but it's not the kind of thing that really gets to a visitor's consciousness. It gets drowned out because there is too much color....

 Search Engine Optimization: Site Structure and Popularity
Search Engine Optimization: Site Structure and Popularity by: Milena Sotirova In the Global Internet era the industry presence is undoubtedly related to the company online presence. Where is the scope of the online presence limitations and does it refer only to the search engine optimization aspect or it broadens into many related components. Following the user experience line, it is easy to describe what the most important levels of access Internet popularity are and how it can be achieved. Site organization Well, the site organization is always the first after choosing a domain name that comes up as a decision in the design process.....

 Tips for Successful Internet Marketing
Successful Internet marketing is not just getting lucky. Instead, successful Internet marketing is about making a plan based on the tools that have already proven successful and working that plan until they prove successful for you as well. The following tips for Internet marketing should help you get started and be successful as well. Internet Marketing Tip #1 Well Designed Site A well designed site from the font to the colours used as well as the layout is critical for success. Once you get people to your website you want them to stay there and in order for this to happen....

 Analytical Softwares
Quality improvement programs such as lean manufacturing, Six-Sigma, and TQM depend on the accurate collection and analysis of relevant data. When successful, these programs lead to continuous process improvement, confident decision making, quick response to problems, and significant cost reductions. Manufacturing Analytics is essential to this process. NWA Manufacturing AnalyticsOver the past several years, manufacturers have made significant investments in systems that collect, manage, and report data about their processes. All of these....

 Starting An Online Business? Watch Out For These Headlines!
Are you trying to start an online business? Are you overwhelmed with the many online business programs available or concerned that you'll lose money by investing in them? While many offers sound too good to be true, there are some very good ones available - but how can you be sure? Learning to read 'between the lines' will better prepare you for what's really involved. These 4 common 'hyped' terms mislead many wanna-be online business owners. The bottom line is this. If it was easy everyone would be making 6 figures with an online business. Here are some common phrases....

 Spyware Avoidance
Computer slowing down or acting unstable? It's quite possible that you may have spyware installed on your system. With some simple tips on how to avoid spyware, you can eliminate this hassle from happening again. For the unaware, the internet can be a scary place, with unscrupulous individuals and companies trying to get your personal information by any means possible. These persons use spyware in an attempt to invade your personal computer, and....

 eBook Covers – Why They’re A Must For Every eBook Publisher!
The world of ebook marketing is becoming more and more competitive each and every day, new ebooks are entering the market at mind-blowing speeds and competition is becoming tougher and tougher by the second. The increased market saturation within the ebook marketing feild also brings a need for you to stay on top of your internet marketing promotions and campaigns, it’s also becoming harder and harder everyday to maintain solid sales growth whilst positioning yourself above your competitors. So how can you be sure to stay on top and conquer your market? In this article....

Trackback URL for this post:
http://www.problogtips.com/10-essential-elements-for-a-successful-website/993/trackback/

Posted by Jaron in the catagory of... General Interest