Mistakes To Avoid When Using Web Templates
Website templates are very affordable and they save you a lot of effort and time when you want to create a new layout for your website. However, a lot of people make mistakes in the process of choosing and using a web template and end up with something that was unlike the image they had in mind. Here are some guidelines to help you avoid those mistakes.
The first obvious mistake you should be aware of is using a template that is very popular. If many people use the same template, your website will not appear unique at all and your credibility as a solid, different website will be tarnished. In other words, you will appear generic just like your next-door neighbours.
To whole point of using a web template is to save time and effort. You just change the title and appropriate details and you’re done. The biggest mistake one makes is to customize the template beyond recognisation. While that may be good in the sense that you’re creating a unique graphic, you’re defying the very purpose of using a web template — saving time and effort.
However, on the opposite side, if a template you purchase is suitable but some changes must be made to suit your site’s theme, then you will have to take some time to make the changes. For example, you can find a very nice template that suits your hobby site except the original designer has put an image of stamps in the header. You can find images of garden plants and spades to replace the stamps for your gardening hobby site. However, do only make the necessary changes and don’t redesign the whole template.
In some circumstances, some people simply make the wrong choice of templates. This is a very subjective issue but you have to be careful in selecting templates to suit your audience. Do not choose templates just because they are pretty, choose them because they serve your purpose.
Make It Easy To Buy From Your Site
Convincing your prospects to purchase from you is a hard job, but have you ever thought that you’re making the process twice as difficult for both parties if your prospects are convinced but don’t know how to buy from you? No matter how good you are at convincing your prospects, they won’t buy if they find the process cumbersome.
First, you will want to check that people can find your order form easily and hassle-free. You can write a clear, concise paragraph to direct your prospects to your order form so that you can minimize the chances of them getting lost. You can also reduce the chances of losing prospects by putting a prominent link to your order page from every other page on your site.
Also, do you offer multiple payment options? Some people may feel comfortable paying via Paypal, some may only want to pay with their credit card and others might want to send a cheque. The more options you offer, the better your chances of covering your prospects’ desired payment method. After all, it wouldn’t make any sense to sell hard to a prospect only to find that they won’t be able to pay you when they want to.
On the other hand, you will want to prove that you are a credible merchant. Is your order form secured using encryption technology? You would want to look into SSL for this. You can also offer a money back guarantee so that people will feel confident about buying from you. How about after sales support? Who do they contact when they have problems after purchasing?
Alternatively, you can add customer testimonials, your contact information, address, and so on to boost your prospects’ confidence. Make them feel safe about buying something from you, a total stranger to them on the other end of the Internet.
As a conclusion, it would be very pitiful if you sold hard and sold well to a prospect and something goes wrong when he or she is ready to pay. Eliminate any chances of that to maximize your profits!
Improve Usability of Your Website
No matter how brilliant your website design is, if it is hard to reach the content of your site then your site is as useful as an empty shell. Here are some tips to improve the usability of your website to ensure it serves its functions optimally.
The first method is to make sure the typography of your content is suitable. If you have large blocks of text, make sure to use CSS to space out the lines accordingly. The longer a single line of text is, the greater the line-height of each line should be. Also, make sure the font size of your text is big enough to read easily. Some sites have 10-pixel-tall text in Verdana font; while that may look neat and tidy, you have to really strain your eyes to read the actual text.
Make it easy for visitors to find content that they want on your site. If you have thousands of articles on your site and a certain visitor wants to find one single article from that pile, you have to provide a feasible means to enable visitors to do that without hassle. Be it an SQL-driven database search engine or just a glossary or index of articles that you have, providing such a feature will make sure your visitors can use your site with ease.
Ensure that your site loads fast if you do not want to lose visitors. Most internet users will leave a website if it doesn’t load completely within 15 seconds, so make sure the crme de la crme of your website is delivered to the visitors as soon as possible to retain their attention.
Last of all, test each and every link on your site before it goes online. There is nothing more effective in tarnishing your professional image than broken links, so be very careful about that.
Your Web Presence Is Important Part 2
Now that you understand where the Internet came from, lets discuss the effective way to use the net to develop a presence for your SOHO business.
First of all, DONT HAVE ANY FEAR! To many business owners, the Internet is a scary proposition because they are worried about data being stolen and some man looking through their computer at them. This is paranoia and nonsense! Any system create by man has to evolve over a certain period of time and the internet is evolving into a system that is creating opportunities for people while at the same time enhancing security measures to protect such transactions as e-commerce.
First of all, you need to write down the goals of your site. Make a determination of what you want your site to look like. Its okay to view other sites (which cool geeks call biting) and get some ideas for your own site. Look at the tone of the sites that you have visited to get an idea of how their site is structure.
Now you could develop a web page yourself, but lets just say youre programmer challenged. You can still develop your site in some cases for free but you dont want to go that route. The best choice is to hire a web developer. Web developers can plan a site for you and translate your vision to the Internet so that your organization has a professional look. Many web developers are also graphic designers, so they can also do the other things, such as logos, business cards, etc.
A good web developer will draw you a visual picture of what your site will look like. Ask the web developer for a mock up drawing or a flowchart of what the site will look like. Now some developers may charge for this service but its well worth it. Ask key questions that discuss the content of your site.
The web developer will work with you to get the right content and tone for your site. With web-sites these days, less is better. People read a web-page from left to right so you dont want to develop a page that reads like Tolstoys War and Peace novel!
So now, youve got a little bit of ammo and youre armed and dangerous. Competing with that bully down the street that has a web site that has bells and whistles doesnt seem far fetched after all. Even though you are a SOHO business owner, its time to make your presence felt on the web so lets go to the next topic, part 3, which will address certain questions that you will ask a web developer.
Web-Site Image Means Everything
Your web site image means everything. Here are some tips you need to know about getting the right web-site image.
- Beauty vs. simplicity.
In a business web site, we can always find some beautiful background image or eye-catching background color. In some company websites, they also use some company photo, factory photo or product photo as the website background. Actually, it is not the right way to do. The right way is “Make it simple”.
You will never find a background image in Yahoo, Google. People visit your website is looking for information not the beautiful background. Moreover, the background image has disadvantages: loading time will be longer and distract the visitor attention. Think again what information the background image can bring to your customer?
- Only use images if you need to
Use images only if image can present more clearly than text. For example, you can use image to present the order process. Size of those images should be small.
- Page Frames are a no-no
Many websites use frames to make the navigation easier. However, more and more website designers dont use frames anymore in web design. It is because frames alter the whole design and also makes the visitor confused and makes it difficult to find. Using CSS or JavaScript can provides similar effect but can keep the design consistency.
- Under construction signs leads to detours
Have you see those “Road Construction” image? Or those “Under construction, please come back later”? Dont waste your visitors time. If your webpage isnt finished, dont put it up. Its just best to have a 404 page.
If you really need to put this “Under Construction”, here are some suggestions
- Raise the visitor curiosity; tell them what surprise they may get once the webpage open.
- Make it like a fiction. Everyday you put some additional information on it, make the visitor re-visit. This can greatly encourage the visitor to visit again.
Remember, no one like those boring “Under Construction”. Turn it into a marketing event.
Using Correct SEO Keywords
Your web presence should be dynamic and have the feel of a million dollar corporation. As a SOHO business, you dont have to be average on the internet in terms of look, feel or marketing your web-site. Finding your web-site is just as important.
Keywords can assist your site in becoming more prominent. Keywords can assist in giving you a higher search engine ranking and help your site become easier to find. Keywords are very, very important in the grand scheme of marketing your business on the internet.
Lets look at how keywords are traditionally used outside of the internet. The phone book or an alphabetical index is a great way to look at the effectiveness of keywords. Phone books are formatted from A to Z, alphabetically. The main keywords, which makes the directory, are listed in the phone book with its sub-directory under it.
For example, if your were looking for plumbing, then you would go to the directory that starts alphabetically with the letter P. You would find plumbing and then you would look for the sub-category which could be Plumbing Services, Plumbing Supplies, Plumbing Technicians, etc.
Depending on what product or service you sell, your keywords could be sub categories of your service or product. If you were in the plumbing field and you had a web-site, your keywords would look like this so that people could have a greater chance of finding you:
Plumbing Supplies in Miami Florida, Plumbing Accessories, Plumbing Pipes, Plumbing Accessories, Plumbing Emergencies, Free Estimate Plumbing, Certified Plumbers
Thats the magic of using keywords! You can put anything that remotely identifies with your business or service. If someone was looking for plumbing Supplies in Miami Florida they would most likely find you and your service.
If you are having a site developed, talk to your web developer about the proper use of keywords to enhance and optimize your web-site.
Starting A Home Based Business
Home based businesses are forms of employment which are increasing in number annually. Individuals favor this type of employment as they are able to work out of their home and make a living by doing so. There are many beneficial factors which make engaging in serious home based business opportunity a wise decision. Some of these include being able to stay home with the kids, eliminate a work commute and be your own boss. There are various factors which equal a serious home based business opportunity and some of these will be discussed below.
A great home based business opportunity is one which allows individuals to make a good living from their self-employment. As opposed to part time jobs from home, one who engages in a serious venture will be able to pay the bills and have money left over to spend on other items as well. Some may even find a home based business that they can pass down from generation to generation.
Individuals who have constructed a business plan for their home based business will find that this in and of itself equates with a serious home based business opportunity. Those who take the time and effort to establish a business plan for their business truly show that they wish to make their business a complete success.
It is important to ensure that a home based business, or any business for that matter, offers items which will sell and make a good profit for the home based business owner. They should look for products or services that are in more than one market segment.
Many individuals take part in home based businesses. Some do on a part time basis whereas others operate on a full time schedule. For those individuals who are interested in engaging in a serious home based business opportunity, they must ensure that certain factors are addressed. One should be able to make a living from their business, have a set business plan, offer great goods and services and be open to the public at hours most convenient to individuals who need assistance. By keeping these factors in mind, a business owner will be more likely to operate a serious home based business opportunity.
Start Your Home Business Right Away!
Home employment opportunities for working class Americans are getting better every day. In fact, if you are looking for real work at home jobs, all you have to do is log on to your computer at home and type in three words. If you enjoy using your computer or typing, then home employment opportunities are calling your name. You can make a full time income from home doing things that you enjoy doing and may be doing already.
For instance, do you like assembling craft products? If so, there are hundreds of companies that will pay you good money for assembling their crafts for them. You can do it right in your own living room. Pretend you are one of Santa’s elves assembling play toys by your fireplace this Christmas.
Most people dream of owning their own business and never act on their dreams. You can be different. You can dream big and take that dream to heights never before imagined, just by taking one big step that most people never take. All you have to do is step out of your comfort zone and start a business.
The best part about most home employment businesses is that you can start them part time while you work your day job. Then, when you start making more money from your business part time, you quit your day job and say good bye to that nagging boss. Why would you stay? For the love of it? Please. It’s a day job, for crying out loud. If you can make more money part time from your own home employment business, then you don’t need that nagging boss. Kiss him good bye and take a half a day off for the next month.
Ever work while you travel? You can with your own home business. Home employment allows you to take your work with you when you take that road trip to California. It’s the perfect vacation for people who can’t afford to take off work. Make your money while you vacation and you can enjoy a vacation and still get paid. It’s a stepping stone to residual income. Get paid while you travel.
Today is your day. Start your part-time home employment business and reap the benefits that other people have been taking advantage of behind your back. Then, you too, can join the ranks of the upwardly mobile self employed.
SOHO Freelance Writing Getting Business From The Internet
When it comes to marketing yourself as a freelance copywriter, its important to bear in mind that virtually everything related to copywriting has gone online! Any copywriter who has been around for longer than five years or so will know that new copywriting business used to come from mail-shots, small ads and the dreaded cold calling. Nowadays, the only realistic way to raise your copywriting profile is via the Internet.
Most copywriters would be in total agreement with that. The question is: have they done anything about it? And the same question goes to new and wannabe freelance copywriters.
So what CAN you do about it? If the phones stopped ringing and your e-mail Inbox is full of nothing but unopened spam its time to take stock. The first question is (and it seems almost quaint in the year 2006): Do you have a website?
If not, you need one. Your website is you, your business, your life-blood and your copywriting DNA all rolled into one! Without a website, youre dead meat. As a copywriter, your first step is to write your own website. Make it as comprehensive as possible. Become a website copywriter!
And if youre a relative newcomer, read round the subject, look at other copywriters websites and create the best website content you can that will reflect well on you as a professional freelance copywriter ready to take on the world. There are endless articles on the Internet about website content. Thats for later. To begin with, you must look at the work youve done as a copywriter and then attempt to classify it. This is a personal matter that will be made public very soon so make sure that what you say is credible.
Make sure you get a good designer and establish some kind of visual concept at the outset that looks professional without getting in the way of your copywriting message.
Your website needs to be visible to search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. That means your website content must have substance. The pages should be long enough to contain the keywords of your business in such quantity and density that the search engine robots will salivate. Youve also got to look at the so-called meta tags that will apply to each of the pages on your website. As well as keywords, youll need a title for every page and a pithy description, both of which should contain the keywords that are relevant to that page.
Make no mistake, it will be a big day when you launch your freelance copywriting website!
Setting Up SOHO Operations Part 2
Depending on what state that you are in, you must pay attention to certain laws in establishing a SOHO and those laws apply to zoning requirements of the city that you live in.
Some zoning laws a very flexible when it comes to the operation of SOHOs . If it is an administrative based SOHO business, then usually, everything is okay. There is nothing being manufactured or openly sold, such as food or other items that require certifications from your local and county government.
Usually, the grey area in SOHO operations is in the area of manufacturing and customer visitation. If you are manufacturing a certain product with chemicals, then you may have to get special privileges depending on the zoning requirements of the neighborhood that you are living in.
Lets say that you are a manufacturer of soap. Youve set up a small plant in your basement. You have certain chemicals that you use to mix the soap together and then certain chemicals to form the final product. Zoning laws may say that the chemicals are harmless and allow you to make the soap or certain laws may say that you cannot manufacture the soap from your basement and therefore you may have to manufacture at another location but be able to ship from your home.
Another problem could be establishing a storefront out of your home in which people will frequent constantly. Laws may say that its okay depending on what zoning code that you have or the law may state that you cant do it. Again, it depends on the zoning laws of where you are.
Parking and fire code restrictions could also be a problem when you are selling items out of your SOHO. If you dont have adequate parking and live in a home, neighbors could start complaining about cars in front of their homes, etc.
But there is an alternative way, if you are selling or manufacturing items from your home, to get your product to the market and that is through the internet. We will cover the internet in a later article.
Finding out what the zoning requirements are in your city when it applies to selling items to customers visiting your SOHO or manufacturing items from your SOHO.
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