How to create an effective business website

What makes your website succeed? It's not a matter about your logo or funky animation. A successful web site is one that clearly communicates what your purpose to your customers and is consistent with the strategic plan of your business.

Here are 10 easy tips to create a better website for your online business.

• Set your goals
• Keep your Web site
• Avoid lengthy download times
• Use a "proactive" approach
• Do not use "under construction"
• Know your audience
• Do not accept mistakes or flaws
• Include the "Go to page"
• Offer a simple and straightforward Ordering
• Make the visit an enjoyable experience
• Set your goals

What is the purpose of your site? looking to sell your products? want to find new customers? are you trying to deliver information to your current customers? Want to publish a catalog or something more complex? Think about what you hope to accomplish by using internet and look for ways to reach that goal. Review your business plan and marketing efforts to accurately reflect the vision and image of your company.

Keep your Web site
It is important to motivate users to repeat visits to your site with updated content. Update your Web site regularly with new images, brief news about the products or the company articles of interest to your customers or any information you think might be interesting and useful. Strengthen its efforts with a section "News" where you can easily find the latest information.

Avoid lengthy download times
Internet users are known for their impatience. If your images take too long to download, surfers will get bored and leave your website. Use small clusters of graphics instead of a single sheet of color and form. On their home page, keep the interesting graphics, but get rid of complex, overdone that take forever to download. The same should apply to the text, avoid the enormous and endless paragraphs listings difficult to read or force the reader to scroll through long time before finding the information you need.

Use a "proactive" approach
Your Web site should have many, many times their email address, phone number, address and instructions for ordering if you are selling products or services. Include this information everywhere you can. And do not force your site visitors have to strive to find a way to contact you.

Do not use "under construction"
If something is not ready to be posted on its Web site, do not resort to the "under construction". Users who have taken the trouble of downloading an under construction graphic will feel more than disappointed and even likely to be disturbed. Give your website the same treatment as the rest of your marketing materials. If you want to highlight something before publishing, seek an icon "soon".

Know your audience
Whether it is promoting young adult CDs or selling dentures for Seniors, design and content of your site must be appropriate for your target audience, as you would in an advertisement anyone. Remember, your website is a form of advertising, whether direct or subtle, and as such, projects the image of your company.

Do not accept mistakes or flaws
If something does not work perfectly, well, do not include it in place. Visitors to your site are not called beta testers. Beware of bugs in the links, links that do not lead anywhere or throw an error message because it is only cause user frustration. Finally, be sure to proofread the content; spelling, grammatical or editorial errors detract from the professional image you want to convey.

Include the "Go to page"
It is more likely that users browse around if they know they can return to the main page without major complications. Include this feature on every page of your site. Another option: use a map or list of your features to encourage consumers to find what interests them. You can also use the "Back to site map". Simplify exploring your site.

Offer a simple and straightforward Ordering
If you are selling products, make it easy for your customers to place orders. The pictures of products and prices must be clear, along with available alternatives. Some traders opt for the cart, as it allows consumers to add or remove items as you roam the site and keep track of the accumulated subtotal. Offer your customers the possibility of ordering from your website but also includes phone or fax for people who do not trust online transactions alternative.

Make the visit an enjoyable experience
If you have room for a little humor, why not use it? If the history of your company is attractive, include well. Many like to associate the company with a face to feel that there is a personal connection, therefore, could even add a biography and photograph and key staff members.

What things are making your website succeed? what are your experience on building a successful website? share a reply in this thread is appreciated!

A business website needs to be attractive in order to engage plentiful of viewers on it. It should be customized so that it can load easily and people can use it freely. By making it highly responsive and informative a business website can be effective to get instant traffic on their website and helpful increase the sales of their business within a jiffy.

marciayudkin said:

What makes your website succeed? It's not a matter about your logo or funky animation. A successful web site is one that clearly communicates what your purpose to your customers and is consistent with the strategic plan of your business.....

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In detail description, really impressive. I would like to add few words. Addition to your points we need to consider the customer/client taste/thoughts or views while we are designing a website. Some customers will come to designers with their own thoughts in mind like website look and feel, navigation, home page design, colors, fonts, logo, inner pages etc., at that time we have to design according to their directions.