How to Improve Your Website

By Jason OConnor © 2009

Want to know how to improve your business website? The following list is taken from my book The Ultimate Guide to a Successful Business Website, and illustrates the things you can do or the things you can include on your website to imporve your online business presence. Since every website is comprised of three fundamental aspects; design, technical and marketing , the list below is broken up accordingly. (If you want to read the oppostie of this list, or some of the dumb things you can make your website do, read this.)

Design & Content Qualities:

• Only Use Web established conventions
• Appeal to the eye of your audience
• A look & feel appropriate to your subject & audience
• Consistent navigation, look & feel and organization
• Easy to use, easy to read
• Easily navigated and well organized
• Clear and concise navigation labels that compels people to click
• Easily searchable
• Has quality, original content that grows over time
• Well-written copy with no grammar, spelling or punctuation mistakes
• Content written for the user and not you
• Use text, not just images, and text links, not just buttons
• A phone number, logo and tag line on every page

Technical Qualities:

• Ensure that your site loads in browsers quickly
• Looks the same across platforms and browsers
• Has no broken links or images
• Never crashes
• Has form validation
• Is interactive, and the interactivity works properly
• Does not require browser plug-ins to view properly

Marketing Qualities:

• Your site should attract first-time visitors
• Is ‘sticky’, in other words it keeps the visitors from leaving
• Impels people to return later
• Obtains new leads for you regularly by building your prospect email list
• Converts visitors into customers at a high rate
• Builds your brand
• Evokes emotion
• Makes sales
• Has text links to all important pages
• Has a terms and policies page
• Has a phone number or other way to contact you
• Include appropriate internal linking
• Is it search engine optimized

Article by Jason O'Connor
© 2009

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