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Internet
Marketing and Promotion
 The
Birth of a Professional Web Site
Part Four Essential Components
By
Shelley Lowery
© Copyright 2003
Previous Articles in this Series
Part One
The Learning Process
Part Two
Your Strategic Plan
Part Three
Basic Guidelines
Although the Internet
has provided a wealth of opportunity for all of us, it has
also created a breeding ground for scam artists. Internet
users are very reluctant to make purchases online, and share
their personal information.
For this reason, you must take every opportunity to convey
your professionalism -- from your web site, products and
services, to your customer service, each will play an
important part in your success.
The moment your site loads, your visitors will have an
instant reaction -- your site will either convey your
professionalism or your amateurism. If your site doesn't
look professional, your visitors may leave your site
prematurely and never return.
If you're not confident in your ability to design a
professional looking web site, it would be in your best
interest to hire a professional.
In addition to having a professional appearance, a
professional web site should possess the following essential
components:
Domain Name
In order to establish credibility, you must be willing to
invest in your own domain name and professional web hosting.
Web sites hosted on free servers are not taken seriously and
will suffer a serious loss of business. Your visitors may
feel that if you don't have your own domain, you may not be
a credible company. They'll simply take their business
elsewhere.
Professional Logo
A professional looking logo is an absolute must. Not only
will it give your site a more professional appearance, but
it will also enable your visitors to recognize your brand.
Your logo should be displayed in the top left corner of each
page of your web site.
If you're not confident in your ability to design your own
logo, you can get a professional logo designed for just $25
at
gotlogos.com.
Theme-based Content
Your web site should focus on a specific subject and provide
a variety of information that relates to the subject. For
example, if your web site focuses on dog grooming, your
pages might include all of the following:
• Dog grooming articles
• Dog grooming ezine (newsletter)
• Dog grooming tips
• Dog grooming accessories
• Links to Dog Grooming resources
• Dog grooming news links
• Dog grooming photographs
Content comes in a variety of forms including news,
articles, tips, horoscopes, weather and resource links.
Although fresh, original content is preferable, there are a
variety of free resources available on the Internet that
will provide you with free content.
The following web sites provide free articles for
publication:
Web-Source.net
Mega-Success
Marketing Seek
The following web sites provide free syndicated content:
Syndicator
isyndicate
Moreover
Screaming Media
Email Capture
Collecting your potential customers' email addresses is an
absolute must. Whether you publish an ezine, provide web
site and/or product announcements or tips, you must take
every opportunity to capture your visitors' email addresses.
Display a subscription form on every page of your web site.
Privacy Policy
Internet users are becoming more and more concerned with
their privacy. However, there is something you can do to
ease their minds.
Create a page on your web site called "Privacy" and let your
visitors know exactly how you will be using the information
you collect.
This page should include an explanation of all of the
following:
• How do you plan on using their information?
• Is their information sold or shared with a third party?
• Why do you collect their email address and how will it be
used?
• Why do you track their IP address?
• Let your visitors know that you're not responsible for the
privacy issues of any outside web sites you may be linking
to.
• Why do you use order forms and what do you do with the
information acquired?
• Do you run contests and what do you do with the
information?
• Do you have a discussion forum or message board? Let your
visitors know that any information that is disclosed in
these areas becomes public information and that they should
exercise caution.
• Do you have security measures in place to protect the
loss, misuse and alteration of the information under your
control? If so, let your visitors know.
• Let your visitors know how they can opt out of your
mailing lists.
• Provide your visitors with your contact information should
they have any questions about your privacy statement.
About Page
An "About" page is an essential part of a professional web
site. Your potential customers want to know exactly who you
are.
Create a page to add to your web site called "About" and
include all of the following:
1. A personal or professional biography
2. A photograph of yourself
3. A complete description of you and/or your company
4. Your web site and/or company objectives
5. Your name, address, phone number and email address
It is very important that you include an "About" page --
especially if you're selling a product or service. You must
do everything in your power to put your visitors' minds at
ease.
Testimonials
A great way to build your credibility with your potential
customers is to display your customer testimonials. Include
your customer's name, email address and web address with
each unsolicited testimonial to increase believability.
You can find a nice script that will rotate your
testimonials at
Willmaster.com.
Money Back Guarantee
To further increase your credibility, you must completely
remove your potential customers' risk. Provide them with a
solid, no risk, money back guarantee. This will put their
mind at ease by building their confidence in you and your
product.
Feedback
Many times, potential customers will have questions about
your products and services. Instead of displaying an email
address on your web site, consider using a feedback form.
Create a page on your web site called feedback and place a
form on this page to enable your visitors to contact you.
Your personal response to your potential customers can
literally determine whether or not you're going to make a
sale.
You can find a nice feedback script at
Willmaster.com.
Secure Server
If you're processing your customers' orders online, you must
place your order form on a secure server. Not only will a
secure server protect your customers' personal information,
but it also provides him/her with added confidence in
placing an order with you.
Copyrights
Display your copyright information at the bottom of each
page. It's best to include both the word Copyright and the ©
symbol, as some countries don't recognize one or the other.
Your copyright might look like this:
Copyright © Company Name Year
By taking the time to ensure your site possesses these
essential components, you will increase your chances of
success considerably.
(Continued in part five)
Copyright © Shelley Lowery 2003.
About the
Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of the highly acclaimed
ebook series, Web Design Mastery -- An eight volume
(500+ pages) in-depth guide to professional web design.
Web Design Mastery is being hailed as the "Bible" for
professional web design.
http://www.webdesignmastery.com
For further
information, tips, articles and resources on developing
a successful web site, visit
Web-Source.net
Your Guide to Professional Web Site Design and
Development. |
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