I won’t overwhelm you by the amount of text that you’ve already digested in various “How-To” articles and eBooks on this subject. But, since ‘Building A Site That Sells Effectively’ is part of the Monster Puzzle series, I’ll give you a useful checklist of Do’s and Don’ts here:
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First, the do’s for building a site that sells effectively.
* Do build your business on a specific theme
* Do make navigation clear
* Do have a simple but attractive logo
* Do have a unique punchy tagline
* Do KISS (Keep Your Site Simple)
* Do write clearly with compelling sales copy
* Do keep open your lines of communication and always ask for feedback
* Do produce your content relevant to your site’s main theme
* Do answer your emails promptly in a helpful and professional manner
* Do publish a free newsletter and ask for subscription
* Do have a pop-up window to increase your newsletter subscription
* Do put your newsletter subscription form on every page of your site
* Do make your visitor feel home by asking her “How can I help you?”
* Do offer freebies on your site with your link and marketing message
* Do make a powerful and benefit oriented headline on your home page to grab your visitor’s attention
* Do have original and verifiable testimonials posted on your site
* Do use different soft colors but restrict them to four or five max.
* Do provide your contact address and phone number if possible
* Do have a ‘Recommend this site to your friends’ pop-up or page
* Do make sure your links are all intact and working
* Do make your links underlined so that visitors may know it’s a link
* Do put your privacy statement on your website
* Do design a separate webpage to answer Why visitor should listen what you say and what benefit the visitor will get
* Do ask visitor to order your product or service
* Do fulfill your claims and promises whenever you make them
* Do alert visitors when adding new content to your site
* Do have a Unique Selling Proposition or USP in business
* Do optimize your site contents for good Search Engine rankings
* Do network with other people online who are starting or building an online business that compliment yours
* Do set goals and measure your success accordingly
* Do set your product price realistically
* Do produce original content related to your specific business field and post it on your website in the form of articles, ezine archives etc.
* Do recommend other people’s product if you feel it’s worth recommending
* Do put your bio with possibly a photograph on your site to make visitor feel they’re dealing with a real person
* Do post ezine archives especially if you publish newsletters or ezines with the content of your own
* Do track your website hits and logfiles
* Do state the purpose and existence of your business other than to make profits
Now, the don’ts:
* Don’t overwhelm your visitors with content on your opening page
* Don’t make it impossible for visitors to contact you
* Don’t make purchasing difficult for your customers
* Don’t say you’re No #1, people will eventually know if you become #1
* Don’t ruin your website’s effectiveness by adding Java, music and un-necessary large graphic files until you have good reasons to use them
* Don’t make impossible for visitors to find out your main product
* Don’t make false or outrageous claims
* Don’t exaggerate or try to become a hype merchant
* Don’t waste time looking for more stuff just to fill your web pages
* Don’t overload your site with too much text or graphics
* Don’t send unsolicited commercial emails (SPAM)
* Don’t stop learning — things are always moving and changing on the Web and you have to keep on top of things
* Don’t sell more than two products from a single website, one is ideal
* Don’t put more than 7 affiliate links on your site if you’re promoting affiliate programs
* Don’t be just a company or a website — be a real live person
The above mentioned Do’s and Don’ts are crucial for building a successful business Web site. Ofcourse, there may be some more, just make sure you incorporate these do’s and don’ts the right way while building your site.
Happy site building! 🙂
Amin Khan of http://www.NicheChallenge.com is the active soul for helping you develop a successful niche based business. Subscribe his FREE ezine ‘The LASER’ to join the select group of pros who are driving the Net for success. Send a blank email to: majordomo@NicheChallenge.com with the word “subscribe laser” (without quotes) in the body of your email.
