Small Biz Web Exposure Blog

I’m spurred to write this post for one reason; I’m tired of seeing really crappy websites.  You see them everywhere, and if you are willing to put up a poorly made site, you can’t be surprised if it doesn’t monetize.  It doesn’t take much to put something up that will not make your bounce rate hover at the 100% mark.  Form follows function.  If you have a business, large or small, you need to convey that you are somewhat professional, and care about what your customers think about you and your business.

Here are things you should NEVER do if you are a small business and somewhat new to making websites.

• Try to be fancy.  Too often, people think that adding bells and whistle to their sites will make the site look better.  When was the last time adding bells or whistles to anything was a good idea?  Flash intro page?  No good.  Crazy, over-active navigation?  No good.  Making your site look like a Myspace page?  2 minutes in the penalty box!  I’m not suggesting that you don’t need to make a site aesthetically pleasing.  But don’t over do it!  Here’s what you need:  A top logo/banner, simple navigation, some content and a footer.  Add some understated color, and you’re good to go.  Look at this blog!  Granted the colors are kind of odd, but the site has NOTHING fancy at all about it.  And I could do a bunch of things to it and it STILL wouldn’t be fancy.  But, it gets the job done.
• Green-light it before you check your site for errors!  Don’t put up a site that appears to “wallpaper” across the browser.  Can’t spell?  Use Spell Check for crying out loud!  Sure, errors will come up, but when they do, fix them!
• Leave up old info!  (Thanks to Jayme for that one!)  If you had an event that ended 7 months ago, take down the announcement!  It serves nothing more than to make you look like you have no idea what you’re doing.  Keep your info current!!
• KNOW WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW!!  If you don’t know what is wrong, and/or don’t know how to fix it, find someone who can.  Don’t ignore the problem, or go on wild goose chases trying to find a solution unless you’re comfortable with the information you’re getting.

All of this should be common sense to someone making a website.  When you are making a website, plan it out ahead of time.  Don’t wing it.  Find a design you like somewhere else and customize it to your needs.  And when it’s ready to go, ask yourself “would I come back to this site?”  If you said “no” or you aren’t sure, then get help.  That help could be another book, checking out blogs and bulletin boards (remember what I said about the information you get!) or hiring someone to do it for you.  Sure, it’s not cheap.  But, sometimes spending money will help you make a lot more money than if you decided to keep a tight grip on the check book.

All sites need upgraded from time to time.  But, if you flip the switch on your new site, and you immediately need to redo it, then you didn’t take the time to do it right the first time, and that is just wasted time, and potentially wasted traffic.  If you’re going to make a website, make sure it’s worth putting your name on it.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 11:24 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.