Some Website Guidelines

1. The purpose of your website is to make you money. A well designed website is very cheap advertising. Poor websites direct potential clients to your competition, only because he may have a better website - not a better business.
2. Do not 'nickel and dime' your website. The result will lose far more than you saved. Consider what a website is worth to your business when you consider your budget. If you have a substandard website, rather remove it from the Internet.
3. Your website must generate trust between you and your unknown visitor.
• Good content is the key to a website's success - easy to read with short paragraphs and short bulleted lists. The tone should be informal to engage the visitor and make him welcome to your website. Testimonials help to create this link.
• The navigation should be easy to use, well labeled and logical. Your visitor should get where he wants to go within three mouse clicks.
• Your website has to download quickly - over 20 seconds and it has lost half it's visitors. Every element of every web page must earn its place.
• Its appearance must be neat and uncluttered - further, there has to be consistency across the website. At no time must your visitor feel lost.
4. Keep your eye on the competition's websites, particularly if they rank above you in Google. Find out why.