Saturday, November 19, 2011
Google+ Pages Launched
Check out this Blog Article! This will be one of our first TRAINING TOPICS with Nakia Brands! (click this link) Google+ Pages Launched
Friday, November 18, 2011
8 Important Features of Professional Website Design
By Angela Wills
You will, however, at the very least want to pay for hosting so that the content you post online is yours. If you post to free website hosting sites then you are often giving up your authorship rights and your control of the website. If at any time, for any reason, they decide to shut down your website you will have no recourse or ability to get it back.
With that in mind, it is entirely possible to create a free website that is both professional and profitable.
Here are some features you’ll want to include to ensure your website is a success:
1. Includes an ‘About’ Page – To new visitors you are a stranger and they don’t trust you yet. An about page will start to build that trust so that you can make offers they will respond to. All good websites must include an about page.
2. Includes Contact Information- Now imagine your visitor is ready to buy but they just have one quick question they need answered first. They look around but can’t find your contact information anywhere! Don’t let this happen and make sure your website has full contact information including phone number, email and mailing address so your potential customers can choose their preference.
3. A Clear Call to Action – No matter what the purpose of your website is you must let your visitors know and call them to action. Are you looking for them to call you, order a product, sign up for a free consultation or hire you? Tell them in clear, direct words so they don’t miss the entire point of your website or individual pages.
4. High Quality Graphics – I once heard a colleague say that it’s better to have no graphics on your website than have poor quality graphics and I completely agree! Make sure any graphics, logos, backgrounds, etc are of the highest quality.
5. Easy to Read Font – The worst websites are the ones that nobody can read. The best font color for reading is black with a white background. Don’t put a barrier between you and potential customers by making your website hard to read.
6. Free Newsletter/ Ezine or Giveaway -A large majority of first time visitors will never buy from you and never return. What you need to do is catch their attention before they leave by offering something free, a sample that shows them what you offer. Do this in combination with an opt-in form so you can build your list and build the trust that is so important to future sales.
7. Privacy Policies, Website Disclaimers and Copyright – Again, trust is huge. The online world of marketing is very easy to break into and that means there is a massive problem with scammers and thieves. Show your potential customers you are not one of them by having proper disclaimers, privacy policies and protect yourself with copyright notices.
8. Well Thought-out Website Navigation – You want your visitors to find what they are looking for quickly. If they can’t find it in short order, they will leave. Make sure you have a well thought out website navigation that isn’t overpowering with too many links. It’s better to make sub-pages than to give your reader too many options right on the home page.
WordPress has many great free and paid templates available that let you create professional websites quickly.
So there you have some of the most important features of a professional website design.
If you want to learn how to make your own free professional website, join me as I teach you in this online video, webinar and email coaching program everything you need to know about creating professional website designs with WordPress.
Seven Qualities of a Good Website
By Angela Wills
What are the qualities of a good website? It’s a lot simpler than you think!
A good website is simply a site that provides it’s target market with what they desire. Now this wouldn’t be a very long or useful article if I left it at that so I’ll expand on this idea by providing you with seven tips to reach your target market with your website:
1. Easy to Read -Don’t make it hard for your visitors to read the information they’re looking for. Use a font that is large and easy to read. Also don’t make the background of your writing dark and your actual writing light. For example white text on a black background is terrible for reading, so are bright reds, pinks, greens, etc. Don’t mess with this or you’ll lose readers. Keep your text black on a white background for the easiest readability.
2. Easy to Find – Don’t hide the good stuff. Make sure your website navigation makes sense and makes it easy for your visitors to find what they need. It’s best not to have a huge selection on the main page of your website. When faced with too many decisions people usually choose none. Make main categories and then drill down to deeper pages if you need to.
3. Lead Them Through – Don’t expect your visitors to find their way through your site. Take every opportunity you can to lead them through and show them the way.
4. Provide Basics – The basic pages most websites will need are a ‘Home’, ‘About’, ‘Contact’ and ‘FAQ’ page. Most people expect these pages on a website. Provide them.
5. Have a Clear Purpose – Do people know what your website is about when they hit the main page? Is the purpose clear? Make sure your visitors know what your website is about and how it can help them. Don’t make them search for this information or they might end up going somewhere else.
6. Offer Solutions – Are people coming to your website with a problem? Don’t just offer information, make sure to offer solutions. If you are providing information be sure to lead them towards the next step. This will help connect your visitors to what you want and allow you to make more money.
7. Test, Track and Tweak – No website is perfect in the first go. Think of your website as a brand new baby and stay by it’s side as it learns to talk, to walk, to ride it’s bike. Make sure you pay attention to your website and watch as it grows and you’ll be amazed at how intuitively you will be able to make decisions as time goes by.
There you have some qualities of a great website.
Knowing how to best build your own website is how you build a strong, unshakeable foundation for your online business for years to come.
Join me as I teach you in this online video, webinar and email coaching program everything you need to know about creating websites and blogs with WordPress.
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