Don,amp,#39,Let,Clunky,Web,Sit DIY Don't Let Clunky Web Site Content Sabotage Your Home

When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in

The road to a successful home business is full of blind curves,potholes and hazards. Of these many pitfalls, creating your ownweb site is one of the most dangerous. Setting up a good website is a complicated and intricate process, and if you don't payattention to detail you can end up with a mess.The web site is the first impression a customer has of yourbusiness, so it had better be good. Now of course you want yoursite to be attractive and professional looking, but that's justthe start. Quite often a fantastic looking web site can sinkitself with bad copy. The clarity of your information iscrucial. It is imperative that your web site follows a logicalstructure and has clear and complete product information, aclearly stated offer, and easy to follow ordering instructions,all written with impeccable spelling, grammar and punctuation.Using a professional web designer is great if you can afford it,and it's not even too expensive these days. In the last fewyears, competition among web designers has become fierce, andhence driven prices down. You can get a pretty good job done forvery little money if you just comparison shop a bit. You mighteven find a web design student who needs portfolio material andis willing to set up your site for free. Just remember, a webdesigner is just that, a designer. They set up all the links,graphics and fonts, but the copy is up to you. Most designersjust plug in what you give them without even a cursory once-over.The clarity and correctness of your writing is your ownresponsibility.One of the main flaws I find in poorly written web sites is theconfusion created when I can't find what the actual offer is.The home page maybe has all sorts of slick sales copy and even atestimonial or two, but where is the offer? A good web siteshould introduce the product or service and clearly state theoffer right at the beginning. You can follow up with a secondparagraph of sales copy describing the benefits of your product,but make sure that your offer is stated first.Another web site sinker is confusing links. Links are necessarybecause people get frustrated with having to scroll down throughpages and pages of information. A good web site should bedivided into separate sections connected by links. To avoidconfusion, keep each section of your web site shorter than 300words, the shorter the better, and have an easy to read column oflinks to the left side of each page and also at the bottom ofeach page. It is crucial that each link makes sense. Uselogical titles like "product information," and "orderinginformation," and make sure the content fits the title. Don'thave ordering information on the products page, and vice versa.It is also crucial that your ordering information is clear.Wouldn't it be a tragedy if someone got all the way through yourweb site, but then didn't buy your product because they wereconfused by your ordering page? Believe me, this happens all thetime. Make sure that everything is easy to understand. Yourquantity and price sections, mailing information section andcredit card information section should all be simple and logical.It's also a good idea to have an order recap function so peopleare sure their order was understood before they send off theircredit card number. Finish off with an order confirmation, andpeople will be much more at ease with their purchase.And finally we come to spelling, grammar and punctuation. Icould write pages and pages on this subject, but then you'dprobably stop reading. Grammar is a tricky subject. No onelikes to think that they use bad grammar, but even the mosteducated people can slip up. Pay very close attention whenwriting your web copy. You can't rely on spell check and grammarcheck to do it for you.When you've finished writing your site, set your copy aside foran hour or two, then read it again. You'll be surprised at theerrors you missed the first time. After you've proofread yourdocument, have someone else look it over, preferably someone witha good eye for such things. If you don't have anyone you can goto, contact a professional editor, or if you can't afford aneditor, ask an English teacher. You might find one willing toread your work for a few bucks, and you might even make a friendin the process.A well written web site is crucial to making sales. If peoplecan't understand your site, they won't buy your product. It's assimple as that. So put in a little extra effort, and watch yourreturns multiply. There's money to be made out there if you justknow how to do it. Article Tags: Home Business, Make Sure