Ten Tips for New Website Success

The webmaster's biggest job is to get their traffic up and keep customers/visitors coming back. Building the site is one thing, but simply building and posting a website does not guarantee traffic. In fact, a website could be beautiful and an example of all the latest technology and still not attract a single visitor if not promoted correctly. Here are 10 tips to guide you to success with your website.

(1) The internet is a fantastic new medium.

Compared to print, it is an array of fresh and new content. A website can be a huge waste of time if it simply re-hashes something which could easily be put into print. A website should not be just another online brochure. Build up features which take advantage of the internet as a medium of communication and freshness. Only put up original and informative information so that your visitors will want to return as often as possible. Some very important aspects to provide in your website are search capability. Provide interactivity with features like forums, quizzes and tools. Web visitors like to interact.

(2) Customer's Time is Valuable so use valuable information.

People that visit your website, have their attention for that point and the time. Either you need to use it or you will lose it very fast. Visitors usually have short attention spans, so what you need to design is a quality homepage so that it grabs their attention and provides what they are looking for right away. It's like walking into a restaurant that smells bad. You walk in and you walk out! But, if you walk in and it's fresh, clean, and a hostess comes and greets you right away, then you will be there for awhile and eat. The same analogy goes for your websites. Over complicated is a big no, no! Best results will be obtained with a very clear streamline feel, so visitor's clicks find what they need.

(3) Designing a website for customers, not your company.

Your website needs to satisfy the customers, not your company. So, do no post content which is not useful to the website's customer. Always avoid over flattering marketing content about the company. It boasts the ego of the company more than it helps your customer.

(4) Always involve your Visitor.

The involved visitor will feel like a valuable contributor. Ask for feedback and suggestions. This type of communication from your visitors helps you swiftly find what they want from you as a seller. Communication helps capture their email address and other contacts. This will allow you to communicate with them long after they have moved on and forgotten about you.

(5) Keep it fresh.

Fresh content on your website makes it relevant to the customer's life. Posting very old news is not interesting. Posting boring product information which never changes is not interesting. You need to have product information and other information on your site that does not change much, but you can also post more current content. You can, for example, post content about how your products can be used in certain day to day life. Add tips and techniques, you know the things which are immediately applicable and solve a problem.

(6) Pay close Attention to Forms and Design.

Sometimes sites simply over do it on the eye-candy with a lot of colors. Colorful graphics just for the sake of graphics often impress the site's web designer more than the visitor. Do not use graphics that are large and purposeless. Always remember, some visitors may still be accessing your website with slower connection speeds. Your site should load up quickly and smoothly for all visitors. A slow website will people to click away quickly. Please pay attention to graphic and design sizes. Many web designers operate on large screen resolutions and sometimes forget that even though a graphic looks great to you, it will appear enormous to somebody on a smaller resolution. On the other hand, don't go too light on graphics. A site which is poorly designed and using the default font and no color is not very aesthetically pleasing. Any web visitor, whether they admit it or not, judges your company by your website unless they have something else to go on. A good layout means professionalism. Poor designs make the site seem like an afterthought.

(7) Marketing.

When a visitor communicates to you via email, it is best to use a web form. This keeps your email address from being picked up by spammers; it also allows you to ask your customers for their email address for later use. Always employ the "push & pull" marketing strategy. A visitor coming to your website is the pull, but later you want to push content back to them in the form of a newsletter or other promotional material. Produce a mailing list and use it. Invite visitors to sign up. Marketing makes or breaks a business, and as long as you respect the ethical considerations of your mailing list, you should use it.

(8) Spread the Wealth.The internet is a medium which is shared by millions. Once you set up your website, don't operate as if you are a self-contained. Go out and keep in tune with what is