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Does Your Website Need an Extreme Makeover?
By Ivana Katz (c) 2009

It was Friday night and I was enjoying a quiet dinner at
home, when suddenly CRACK! - part of my tooth broke
off!!!!!  "Damn" I thought, "Now what?"

I immediately went online to see if I could find a dentist
that is open on Saturday morning. So I searched and
searched. The good news was there were plenty of dentists
in my area ... the bad news was that I couldn't find
whether they were open on Saturdays. After looking through
various websites for about an hour, I narrowed it down to
three dentists, who were open on the weekend. But in the
end there was no competition as only one of the dentists
had a professional looking website!

Don't get me wrong the website wasn't flash, but it was
clean, easy to navigate and most of all, provided me with
the information I was looking for. I phoned the next
morning, made an appointment and even got to see a dentist
that day!

After that experience, it really hit home ... what a
difference a professional looking website makes! I am sure
most of the dentists in my area are great at what they do,
but none of their websites portrayed that. As a result
they lost a customer who will spend hundreds, possibly even
thousands of dollars on their services.

So if you have a website and are hoping it will bring you
lots of visitors who will turn into paying customers, it is
EXTREMELY, let me say that again EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that
your website:

1. Is Visitor Friendly

What this means is that your customers must be able to find
what they are looking for easily and quickly. And that
means a great navigational system. Most websites either
display their navigation bar on the left or at the top.
And since most people are used to this type of navigation,
it's best to stick with it. It also helps to include your
navigation bar at the bottom of each page to save your
visitors from having to scroll back to the top.

2. Focuses on your customer's needs

Rather than trying to "sell your business", let your
prospects know how your product/service is going to benefit
them. Emphasize the benefits and solve problems. Make
this the focus of everything you write on every page of
your site. Don't try to sell visitors your products or
service, help them.

3. There are no spelling mistakes

Ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. Check
that all links are working and graphics display correctly.

4. Proves credibility

Include testimonials from your current customers to show
your potential clients that you are trustworthy, reliable
and that you offer great service and/or products. Make
sure the testimonials are real and if possible provide
contact details of the person who supplied you with the
testimonial. If you don't have any right now, get them!
Simply email your customers and ask for their feedback on
your business and service. Most happy customers will
gladly provide this.

You could also include before and after photos. Show the
problem picture and beside it show the picture of
resolution, with an explanation of your product's benefits.

5. Has Contact details

Place contact details in as many places as possible. Make
it easy for your customers to contact you.  Create a
special "Contact Us" page, include your details in "About
Us" page and also at the bottom of each page. Information
to include: business name, physical address, mailing
address, telephone, fax, email, emergency number, website
address and most importantly, don't forget to include your
business hours.

6. Offers a Money Back Guarantee

The longer the guarantee, the more effective it will be.
It could be 30 days, 60 days, 1 year or lifetime. Remember
you are trying to take the risk out of doing business with
you.

7. Provides information that people are looking for

If you don't provide it, someone else will. Content is
still the king.  You should include as much information as
possible - not only detailed descriptions and prices of
your products and services, but also free resources,
articles, reports, ebooks relating to your industry,
service and products. You can easily source free
information on the internet. This will ensure that
customers will keep coming back to your website, even if it
is just to get information. The more they visit, the more
you will stick in their mind as an expert and the next time
they are ready to order your products/services, you will be
their first choice.

If your website features any of the following, your website
definitely needs an EXTREME MAKEOVER or at least a face
lift.

  1. Flash intros, revolving globes, bevelled line
   separators, animated mail boxes.

  2. Loads of pop up or pop under boxes.

  3. Autoplay music.  Allow your customer to play music only
     if they choose.

  4. Hit counters of the free variety, which say "you are
     the 27th visitor"

  5. Date and time stamps, unless your website is updated
     daily or weekly

  6. Busy backgrounds.

Ask yourself - does my website portray the professional
image I want my customers to see?  Have I provided all the
information that my customers may want or need to know?  If
you answered no to either of these, call your website
designer today or you could lose thousands of dollars as
your customers head to your competitor's door.
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Ivana Katz of Websites 4 Small Business makes it easy for
you to get your business on the internet. If you're looking
for a professional and affordable website designer, visit
http://www.web4business.com.au and download a free website
plan.
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