Your first website

The first step towards creating an online business is creating
your first website. Now, that isn't as complicated as it sounds.
When I built my first website, I thought Java was a type of
coffee and HTML the name of a robot in Star Wars. That's why
I didn't do it.

Things like the www.ProfitMart.com system just weren`t around
to make things easy (and that is exactly why we built it.)I had
to pay someone else to do it for me. It cost me a few hundred
bucks, but I earned it back in the first few days. Here we will
discuss how to begin the process of creating your first website,
and where you can find someone to build your site if you don't
want to do it yourself.

*** As a point of note I STRONGLY recommend you look into
www.ProfitMart.com to make this entire part of the business
far, far simpler and expeditious.

Make your first website attractive, interesting, engaging
and interactive.

To succeed at your online business (whether you are selling
your own product/service or are selling for other merchants
as an affiliate), you need a website created just for that
- a simple, focused site. One that is easy to build,
maintenance-free, low cost, credible, and a powerful
traffic-builder and customer-converter.

Having the right tool and the right product alone doesn't
insure the success of your first website. There are many
factors to be considered while designing a website. Unfortunately,
most of these are easily ignored by Internet business owners.

Build It for Speed - It's a fact of modern life - people are
in a hurry. This means that you have between 10 and 30 seconds to
capture your potential customer's attention. To minimize your
load time, keep graphics small. Compress them where possible.

Use flashy technology (JavaScript, Flash, Streaming Audio/Video,
animation) sparingly and only if it is important to your
presentation.

Target your Market - Know who your market is and make certain
that your first website caters to their needs. It is critical
that your website reflect the values of your potential
customers. Is your market mostly business professionals? If so,
your website must be clean and professional. Is your product
aimed mostly a teenager and young adults? Then your site could
be more informal and relaxed.The key here is to know your
market and build the site to their preferences.

Focus the Site - Make certain your first website is focused on
the goal,selling your product or service. A website offering
many unrelated products is not necessarily unfocused, but this
is often the case.If your business does offer many products,
dedicate a unique page for each instead of trying to sell them
all from one page.

Credibility Is Crucial - The most professionally designed
website won't sell if your customers don't believe in you.
A clear privacy statement is one way to build your
credibility. Provide a prominent link to your privacy
statement from every page on the website as well as from
any location that you are asking your visitors for personal
information. Provide legitimate contact information on line.

Navigation should be simple - Make your website navigation
easy and intuitive. Simple and smooth navigation adds to the
convenience of the visitors. Add powerful search features.

Many times a lot of visitors do not have the patience to
navigate through the whole website to find what they are
looking for.
Consistency is the key - Make sure your website is consistent
in look, feel and design. Nothing is more jarring and
disturbing to a customer than feeling as if they have just
gone to another site. Keep colors and themes constant throughout
the site.

Make your website interactive and personalized - Make your
website interactive. Add feedback forms as well as email forms
that allow your prospective customers to ask you any questions
they might have pertaining to a product. Personalization of
your website is another key element that can lead to customer
delight and can increase your sales.

Personalization technology provides you the analytic tools
to facilitate cross-selling and up-selling when the customer
is buying online. It would give you an idea of what products
to cross-sell and up-sell. For example, when a person buys
a CD player, a disc cleaner can also be offered.

Content is King - Good content sells a product. Ask yourself
the following questions. Does your copy convey the message you
wish to get across to your visitors? Is it compelling? Does it
lead your visitor through the sales process? Have others review,
critique and edit your copy to insure it is delivering the
intended message.

Always double check your spelling and grammar.

Until next time,

Ron Davies
www.ProfitMart.com