How Can A Website Benefit Your Business

A. Why should you have a website?

B. How can a website be useful?

1. Enhanced customer convenience:
   Your business concern can be more easily and quickly reached, every time a potential or an existing client searches for relevant businesses, products and services over the Internet. Your customers can always keep in touch with you and your business, just by knowing your web site address.
2. Greater reachability of your business profile:
   Your business profile can be accessible from anywhere in the world. No other ad medium provides such global coverage. You need not depend on phone book entry or restricted yellow pages and newspaper ad presentations, any longer.
3. Greater possibilities for promoting your business portfolio:
   People will not buy your products or services unless they know that they actually exist. You can tell your potential audience much more through a WEBSITE, than you could possibly do via any print advertisements, Yellow Pages listings, or TV/radio commercials. There are no limitations as far as space, time, nationality and residency are concerned. You can say as many things as you want, to as many people as you wish. And your business representation can be as resourceful as is the Internet itself.
4. Efficient low-cost advertising:
   Your customers will always be able to obtain thorough up-to-date information about your services or products. Instead of having to rely on randomly aired TV or radio commercials, they can simply browse through your website whenever they like.
5. 24/7 availability:
   Website is available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It will be your hardest working employee, never getting sick, or taking a holiday. And you can rest assured that your website is always there for you ... to answer your customers' questions or to collect their feedback on your behalf.
6. Time-saving:
   Prospective clients can learn about you and your business at any time of the day simply by visiting your website, so you won't have to be present or involved with the process in any way. Your precious time can be saved and invested in other activities that can increase your profits and further enhance the scope of your business.
7. Cost-cutting:
   You can save a lot of money cutting your costs on print ads, brochures, coupons, flyers, specials, newsletters or mailings. What's more! Its always quick easy and extremely efficient to update real time information on your website; whereas regular renewals of printed materials turn out to be very expensive and time consuming. The fact optimized productivity at minimal cost is more valued in any business and it is possible only through world wide web.
   
   Web services provide a standard way to implement a business function that can also be managed remotely. It employs an effective exchange of information and data-feeds between B2B and B2C portals, information warehouses, news providers, shopping portals like e bay and search engines like Google, MSN, Yahoo etc.
   
   Your website must work hard in today's competitive online environment - attracting visitors, providing a rich user experience and converting them into loyal customers.

C. What makes a site work successfully?

4. What are the common mistakes of a website?

1. Site best viewed:
   New designers usually use this "site best viewed" with a disclaimer statement regarding which web browser or screen resolution they designed their site, for best viewing. It does not impress the visitor. Instead, invest in skilfully designed website that renders well in multiple browsers, and in any screen resolution.
2. Shabby lay-out and glaring design:
   Some sites are totally unbalanced in their lay-out and overloaded design. The designs do not match the page content and appears misplaced and misfit in the entire scene. Give your pages a pleasing appearance, with just the necessary facts and place your design out-lay with a professional touch. Always take screen shots of designs in different resolutions, before uploading the appropriate one.
3. Horizontal scrolling:
   The horizontal scroll makes it extremely difficult to read the content on your site, and often your visitors will lose patience and leave. Check your website in a site resolution viewer. A professional website can be viewed without horizontal scrolling in, both, a smaller and larger screen resolution. User's find scrolling from the top to the bottom of your pages, more clear to view and easy to read.
4. Free Web Hosting:
   This is a common web page mistake you definitely need to avoid. Often business owners claim that the business is "just starting", and that is why they have not yet moved their site to a domain host. Do not use free web hosting if you want your business to be taken seriously. It reflects on your image and credibility. To resolve this issue, you must choose and purchase a domain name if you don't already have one. You also need to choose a professional domain host. There is no getting around this one. If you want to run a successful online business, you absolutely must have a reliable domain host.
5. Appalling Images:
   Don't allow your visitor view badly shaped or terribly cropped images and missing graphics files. Optimize your images, using the best height and width. Keep your files in the best formats - j peg for Photographs and gif for artwork.
6. Blaring and ghastly color schemes:
   Avoid using ghastly and loud colors that does not match your website concept and mission. Although your text may be easy to read, overly-bright colors distracts and repels the reader away from your site's purpose. Your designs must reflect class and designer quality, with state-of-the-art designs and pleasantly eye-catching color schemes for your web pages.
7. Slow loading:
   If your page does not download rapidly, visitors will quickly move on to find another site. Take action now to reduce the "weight" of your pages . Each image on your site must be correctly sized and optimized for web use. Keep your pages lean and fast for the visitor to move on quickly, with interest.
8. Spell check:
   Always spell check the text , keeping it free of grammatical error, punctuations and spelling mistakes. Without spell check, the site looks amateurish and shabby.
9. Ineffective Text Content:
   A major mistake is to fill the pages with long text, without any headings and sub-headings. Do not cram your web pages with loaded decorative words and hi-funda text. Readers do not have time to fill their heads with all details.
   
   Make your text more effective. Keep your text simple, crisp and to-the-point. Use decorative words in the right context. Your language should spell clarity, consistency and coherence in content, style, structure and font. The pages should be easy to read and simple to understand, with a smooth flow. The fonts should be rightly used, with appropriate side-headings and the text need to be phrased in short paragraphs, giving a pleasing feel to the reader.
   
   Your website must provide a clear message with a goal-oriented direction, setting you apart from your competitors. Your content should easily answer his question - "what's in it for me?" The reader must be able to identify with your write-up and find you as his 'partner' for addressing his solutions.
10. Absence of an Email Subscription Form:
    This critical aspect is often neglected by most website owners. It is very important to have a lead generation for your website via Email subscription form, for optimal business returns. Having a mailing list gives you several advantages like maintaining a visitors list who allow you to contact them, build a relationship, and establish yourself as an expert for solving their problems.
11. Using a weak message 'join my newsletter':
    Your content , design layout and solutions should be so user-friendly such that it compels the reader to subscribe your mailing list. Do not use a weak message like ... "join my free newsletter". The reader would wonder "Why?" and "If I subscribe, will you give me a bonus, or a free gift instantly, as soon as I join?" If your design and text work impresses the reader for availing your services, you would automatically get email subscriptions for a membership, from your visitors. It speaks on your credibility.
12. No Contact Information:
    Just giving your email id and the web address is not sufficient for your readers ... who may be prospective clients. Keep your detailed contact information easy to find and easy to read. Inclusion of a site-map works wonders for your business.
13. Advertising:
    Advertisements provide huge revenue but it should be placed skilfully and with reference to the current times. Appropriate advertisements should be placed - reflecting the different verticals of your business. Do not overload your page with ads, especially the big flashy banners. Well placed, well designed ads are okay, if you don't overload the page.
14. Prices:
    Don't waste your time, hoping you will get email inquiries on your prices. The moment a visitor sees your product or services, his prime question will be "what is the price of this item?" Do not keep the visitor guessing the price; it will give him an opportunity to jump into another website where the price is mentioned and you may end up losing a prospective customer. You need to include a price with the item description, if you sell something.
15. Under Construction:
    Avoid having a "closed ... under construction" or "yet to open" website. Give your visitors atleast a single page of content, with a notice - when the whole site will be open.
16. Music:
    Include a soft and soothing music or that which is relevant to the content. Do not include music, if it is not needed. Music should not be out-of-control and keep the control buttons easy-to-use. Music can turn one's mind on but at the same time put your mood off, if it is not rightly timed, controlled and soft.

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