Tips For a Successful Website !

The first mantra to a successful website is its download speed. According to a study, you have only 30 seconds to capture your visitor’s attention. Therefore, it is advised to make a website fast which is possible through minimum graphics, less/ no use of flash technology and well optimized site that results in quick download. The slow performance (taking too long to download pages) can lead to a loss of potential client and ultimately to your business.

The second step to achieve success in your business is targeting your market. The visitor who visits your website has a specific goal or target in mind while surfing. Therefore, the website should be designed in way that matches the requirements or goals of your customer.

The third step which is the stepping stone in the success of your business is Content. People are surfing the websites for the purpose of information not for pretty pictures or games. Your website should offer the visitors what they are looking for. If you provide their desired information then they not only visit your site but also recommend it to friends and relatives and connect well with your business.

The fourth step which is between you and your success is a professional web design. In many cases, customers are introduced to the organization through website, which in case is like a personality of a company. If your site is not professionally designed and managed then it means you are re-directing your visitor to your competitor’s site. Therefore, always try to make the first encounter positive with professional web design.
Search Engine Optimization is the important tool for the success of your site. Design your website in such a way that people can easily find your website thorough search engine as more than 80% users find their site through search engines. SEO makes the sites easy to search for users who do not know the website address.

Update your website frequently; people visit the sites looking for plentiful and fresh information. If your website does not serve their purpose, they will not visit again. Ensure that your website content is fresh and up-to-date that gives them a reason to return and also share their experiences with you.
The last but not the least step to a successful website is easy to learn and navigate the site. The visitor expects a consistent and easy site layout which is easy to remember. A potential customer will never waste his/her time to learn your website functions. Therefore, a website should be user-friendly and helps in easy navigation through the site.

Unique Spin-Offs For Making Money Online

It seems as though everyone is selling stuff on ebay or writing the next great ebook, and those just don’t seem like things you would be interested in. However, perhaps you also realize that the Internet is a great way to make extra money, employing multiple streams of income that you can apply to the rapidly growing pile of bills over there. Here are some unique spin offs on typical Internet businesses that you should feel free to tweak to your liking:

One Stop Tourist Shop: Do you live somewhere that people like to visit? If so, you might be in luck. Think about opening up a one stop shop where potential tourists can not only buy travel information and brochures, but where they can also shop for souveniers that they can get shipped to them, so that they don’t have to lug them home in their suitcases (and break that pesky 50 pound limit). You might also think about putting up an “ask a local” area where, for a small fee, visitors can ask you for advice about getting around, great places to eat, little known attractions, etc. It would also be a great place to promote an ebook – by you!

Love Letter Writer: So you’ve heard of greeting card writers – why not advertise your services as a love letter writer? You could either set up your own site and market it on the search engines, or post advertisements on popular sites such as craigslist.com. Interested parties can contact you directly for help in writing the perfect love letter. You would be surprised at how many people find it difficult to find the right thing to say when it comes time to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard!).

Local Online Babysitting Club: Moms unite! If you are a stay at home mom and know others like you, think about putting together a club that offers your parenting services to other parents who need a few hours away. Parents can either trade time, or charge per hour to take care of other children. By setting up this business on the Internet, you can avoid the awkward chit chat and get down to the business of raising kids.

WYSIWYG?

Many web sites seem to have graphics and moving images on their pages, some even have music, personally I think that music Is just wasted space on a website anyway, as a large percentage of people don’t even have their volume on. If you want to incorporate music it is good practice to let the visitor decide if they want to listen to it or not and give them a play and stop button.
The problem with this is the time it takes for the page to load.

Many visitors to a website will not wait for the graphics to download they will simply back out and go to the next website in the listings and you have just lost yourself a sale.

High resolution graphics and music is fine for most people with a high speed broadband connection, but if you have anything less than that then waiting for graphics to download on a web page is very frustrating.

For the web designer themselves it is wise to test the website you have created on a 28.8 connection speed and see how fast your site downloads, it should be viewable within about 3 – 4 seconds maximum. It is recommended also that a site be no larger than 50k, you can still fit great graphics and content into a site with around 30k of content.

A tip is to make your graphics smaller in size and to use fewer colours, instead of a million, use 216 and try to keep your images smaller than 4k.

Instead of using graphics you can try colouring the cells, or changing the colour of borders. If you experiment a little the effects can be fantastic and obviously the less graphics you are using, the faster your webpage will load.

The thing to remember when developing a website is that less is more, we live in a world where we want everything now, so give the customer what they want!

Flash Or Bang - Which Would You Prefer?

If you had to choose, would you want a site that looks pretty, or one that makes you lots of money?

Of course you want a nice looking website, but isn’t money the real motivator here? I mean you are running a business, right?

Flashy graphics and top-notch sound effects make for an awesome video game, but frankly aren’t very effective as marketing tools. In fact, too much of these elements will greatly decrease your site’s ability to convey it’s message.

Look at sites like Amazon.com and Buy.com. They’re friggin’ ugly, but they rake in an absolutely terrifying amount of revenue month after month.

Or look at any website by Mike Filsaime, Gary Ambrose, and other big name marketers. These sites are clean-cut, simple, and to the point. No extravagant visual effects of any kind, and yet these guys make a killing with just about every site they roll out.

Your content, your message, is by far the most important aspect of your web presence. Of course you want a nice appearance, attractive colors, and a sleek overall look; but don’t get side tracked by focusing on the aesthetics.

Moreover, you should focus on getting your main point across immediately. Your site's headline should literally grab a visitor by the eyeballs and make them want to read more, and the text following your initial headline should keep the momentum going and pull the reader down the rest of your page and deep into your sales message.

People rarely spend money because they were impressed by an animated header. In most cases, we decide to buy because the information presented exceeds our expectations, offers the solution to our problem, or creates a strong emotional desire.

I’ll take a site that converts visitors into customers over a site that makes people say “wow” before they click away any day of the week.