Top 5 things a  Professional Web site should have

1) Build A Professional Looking Site – There are millions of websites on the Internet and
many of them are very well designed. Make sure your website is as professional in
appearance as your competition. You will be judged on the appearance of your site so
make sure you don’t lose visitors because of a bad design.

2) Provide Visitors With All the Info They Need – If a visitor to your website has to put
any effort into finding the information they need, you will lose them fast. Everything should
be easily available to them with clear directions o­n how to get it. Make all important
information no more than one click away.

3) Have A Newsletter Sign-Up – Having a form for people to opt-in to a newsletter is a
great way to build a list of customers. It’s also a great way to build trust and a strong
following. Pack it full of great information, resources, freebies, and more. You will bring
them back for more plus they just might tell all their friends about you.

4) Make It Sell – You are building a work at home business website so you can make
money. In order to do that you must get your visitors to make purchases. Your site should
have a direct call to action with your best products and/or services listed in highly visible
places.

5) Allow feedback – It’s important to have a way for your visitors to offer feedback to you.
They should also have an easy way to ask questions and make comments. People will like
this because they get to give their input about what they would like to see done. You will
benefit by being able to know what your customers want or need.
WebsiteWizard's breakthrough site builder technology offers you everything you need to
build a website, host it online, get pre-qualified visitors from search engines and convert
them to customers with ecommerce features.
Website Resources:

1) Niche Database
13,000+ Niche Keywords.

2) The Affiliate Business Blueprint
How YOU Can Create Your Own Unique Online Business Without Having to Invent Your Own
Product!

3) The Revolutionary Squeeze Page Generator
Introducing a new software that can automatically generate a fully-integrated profit-boosting
squeeze page in just 4 clicks.

4) ProfitCalc - #1 Auction Tool For eBay
High conversion rate! Sell on eBay or your web site ~We show you how~ Software sells itself!

5) Make Loads Of Cash On eBay- Quick & Easy
FINALLY! A Simple NEW Way To Make Money on eBaY.
My Fashion Guru
INTERNET
GLOSSARY
Mentor Program
Website Tools for Success

9 easy steps to start building a web site that sells.

1. Planning

A site has to be well-planned. If a site appears to be thrown together, then most
likely it was. Users can tell.

First, prepare a mission statement. It doesn't have to be long. A sentence or two
should be plenty. In that mission statement, try to summarize exactly what you are
trying to accomplish with the site. Once you've done that, the rest of the planning
will come easier. The rest of the planning will simply become a means toward
arriving at your mission statement. If you begin to lose sight of your mission
statement, then write it on the top of all your outlines. Or better yet, use your
mission statement as the title of your template pages.

Now to the hard-core planning. We've found the best way to be with a notepad and
a pen (or a pencil with a good eraser). First, lay out a site map in a flow chart style.
Stick to that flow chart religiously. Once you deviate from your planned site map,
you create almost twice the workload for yourself.

Once you have your site map drawn out, outline your home page on pen and
paper. Draw out your tables and the file names you'll be linking to. Sketch your
graphics out and position them accordingly. Note where you want to place any
scripts or animations. Even if you aren't the world's greatest artist or your
handwriting is tough to decipher, you're well on your way to painting that picture in
your head.

Now, outline each individual page you link to from your home page. As you begin
with each page, ask yourself 'what is the purpose of this page?' Sometimes you'll
find there is little purpose in a page, and you'll delete it from the site map. All the
better. It's best to find your flaws before you're too deep into the project.

Now you start the coding/designing process. With a strong outline to guide you, not
only will you work faster, but you'll eliminate future mistakes and changes.

Your vision will probably change to some degree during the creation process,
forcing you to either re-map or redesign some of the pages.. When that happens,
get the same notepad and pen out, and modify from there. Trust me, laying out a
site on paper is much faster than laying it out in code.

2. Design

Many people forget how crucial a site's design is. There is a fine line between a well
designed site and an over designed site. You can enhance the design of a site
(colors, graphics, etc.) by planning it in a similar fashion as you planned the entire
site.

First, figure out what color scheme you want. Establish what colors represent you
the best. Usually two colors is enough. If you're unsure, try renting a book on color
theory in the library, or look online for color theory resources. You don't want your
colors to be too subtle, nor do you want them to be too vibrant.

Now sketch out your graphics/buttons. Try to keep the colors down. Lots of colors
are not only distracting, they are also larger files. You want to keep your graphics
clear, easy to decipher, and not too involved. If you plan to have any effects, such
as rollovers, try to do it as subtly as possible.

Before you begin creating your graphics, We recommend that you lay the site out
without graphics. Instead use tables and table backgrounds to illustrate the color of
the site. Create a rough draft of your home page. If this is a team project, show your
draft to other members of the team and listen to their opinions. If you are doing this
by yourself, show it to friends, family, or anyone who is willing to give it a look.
Sometimes the best feedback can come from people who aren't web savvy.

If you, or others, aren't satisfied with the draft, create another one and repeat the
same process. Create as many as it takes and don't work on anything else until
you've settled on a final layout.

Once you're satisfied with your layout, start creating the graphics and plugging
them in. You may find that what you had initially planned doesn't work with the final
layout. That's okay. It's inevitable that adjustments will be made during the creative
process.

Once you are satisfied with the graphics, then move on to the other pages. We
recommend keeping a similar look and feel throughout the site. If you feel that
doesn't work for you, then we urge you to use the same process for every page with
a different or varying look and feel.

3. Speed

If your site is too slow, people will leave before the graphics even load. Sometimes
when we encounter a graphics intensive site, we will search for an alternative while
that page is loading. Your users will do the same. Nobody likes a slow site.

You can increase your speed in many ways. Naturally you have to optimize your
graphics. We recommend Macromedia's Fireworks or Adobe Image Ready. Make
your files as small as possible without compromising too much on image quality.

Optimize your code. There are several utilities that will eliminate extra data from html
files to make a page smaller in size. Use them on every page on your site.

Reuse graphics. Try to avoid creating extra graphics when you can use an existing
one. A different graphic might make the site look a little nicer, but the existing
graphic has usually already been loaded and is still in the user's cache. On this
page, for example, there is probably not one new graphic. The only thing your
browser had to download was the html.

Last, make sure your server can handle your traffic. If your server can handle
10,000 hits a month, and you're getting 20,000, do something fast. Either find a
new, faster server, or mirror the site elsewhere. There is nothing you can do from a
developers perspective to speed up a server. You can have the smallest graphics
on the web, but your page will still take twice as long to load as it should. If you
aren't sure how fast your server is, find out. There are plenty of utilities out there
that test server speed.

4. Organization

Your site has to be organized. Keep your ftp clean. We recommend creating as
many subdirectories as you can. Create one for images, and create others for
every other page/department on your site. On this site, everything is broken from
large departments, to subdepartments, to subsubdepartments, etc.

If you leave everything in one or two folders, maintaining it will be an absolute
nightmare. The more you update, the less organized it becomes. Finally, you'll get
to the point where it takes longer to navigate the server than it does to create the
updates themselves.

If you move pages around a lot, use absolute urls (full urls) for your graphics and
other pages. Yes, we all hate to use them and they usually take a while. But it's a lot
faster to deal with absolute urls than it is to fix 50 broken links every time you move
a page.

5. Clarity

Keep it simple stupid - My favorite cliché.

Your users have to understand what your doing. Keep your message simple and
clear. If you do a lot of writing on your site, be direct and to the point. Don't beat
around the bush.

Try to use one word menus, and alt text for descriptions, or window.status
Javascripts. As we mentioned before, try not to use too many colors, and try not to
use contrasting colors. Your users should have an idea where to go and what to do
on your site as soon as the page has loaded.

Don't put the same links all over the place. Keep links in one place, or duplicate text
links at the bottom of your page for non-text browsers. Keep your links to the left,
right, or top of your page, and content in the middle. If it doesn't seem like there's
enough space to include a link you want, either make the space or lose the link.

Leave plenty of white space. Too many images and text together will confuse the
user. Leave space in between. White space will direct the eye where it needs to go.
Nobody likes 'busy' web pages.

6. Content

Your content is the backbone of your Web site I don't care how good it looks, or
how well designed it is, or how snazzy those rollovers are. If it doesn't have good
content, then it simply shouldn't be there.

When putting together your content, you should reflect on the planning stage and
specifically your mission statement. Every bit of content should be in some way
related to the mission statement, or it shouldn't be there. If your mission statement
is to make people laugh, then anything that isn't funny should be left out. If your
mission statement is to inform people about whale mating habits, then you shouldn't
be talking about browser updates.

Don't create 'filler' content. Don't write something or put something online just for
the sake of having something online. Plan your content as you planned your site.
There's nothing more irritating to us more than visiting a site only to find mindless
banter. When writing, be direct and to the point. Use short sentences if necessary. If
you need help writing, pick up a book at the library.

The best writing is usually the most researched writing. If you have the time,
research what you're writing about. If you don't have the time, either make it or have
someone else write for you. We probably sound like a broken record, but use the
library or the web.

We shouldn't have to say this, but DON'T STEAL CONTENT. Do your own research,
or give your own opinions.

Keep the content going. Update your site and your content regularly. Don't put
something up and leave it there for years. Everything changes, and as we in the
development business know, things are changing faster now. Keep up on it. If the
world passes up your content, the users will pass up on your site.


7. Service

A common misnomer about web development and Web marketing is that customer
service is not a requirement. Not true at all. If you don't believe me, pick out 10
random sites and e-mail the Webmaster See how long it takes to get a response, if
you get a response at all.

Sometimes we can be blinded by being too close to our sites. We should listen to
our users for the same reason we seek outside advice on personal issues, or we
ask others to edit our writing. You can never visit your site for the first time again.

It's a good idea to insert a mail to link somewhere highly visible on the home page.
Encourage users to leave you a comment about the site, whether good or bad.
Sure, you'll get more e-mail than usual. E-mail can be hard to manage, but not if
you check it regularly. When we're working, my e-mail (several accounts) is checked
every 5 minutes. I don't read and respond to it every five minutes. But if we get a
free moment, we read it, but more importantly we pay attention to it. No, we don't
answer every single piece of mail. That's too much to ask of any Webmaster, but we
answer anything we feel is important.

User comments have helped me more than we can express in this article. The
questions we have about our site, such as ease of use, clarity, are answered by our
users. Plus, it's gratifying to hear a positive comment every now and then.

Not only will listening to users help your future development, but it will also make
your users feel they have a voice. The web has become too impersonal. Any sign
that the creators/developers care about the users is truly a relief. Remember that
every person who hits your site is an actual person in search of something. A
Webmaster's responsibility is to make that something easy to find.

8. A sense of personality

Entertainment is always welcome. Every page should have some level of
entertainment. Whether it's a joke every now and then, or cute graphics, or what
have you, it should be somewhere.

Even if you maintain a site on gardening, a nice bit of humor is refreshing. Now
don't go overboard on it. I would advise against having a Joke-of-the-day column on
a gardening site, but something cute every now and then never hurts.

Mix things up a little bit. Make it a challenge to make your users smile. They'll
reward you by coming back more often

9. Usefulness

In some ways this is the most important tip. Every site should fall under one of the
following categories:

1. Informative - Offer information about a trade, a product, etc. Offer educational
materials. Be a resource of some nature.

2. Service Oriented - Offer a service (search engine, downloads, auction, etc.), sell
a product, or advertise a company.

3. Entertaining - Self explanatory. Humor, multimedia, etc.

If your site doesn't fall in one of these 3 categories, We implore you to abandon the
project before you waste any bandwidth. If you're going to put up a web site, only do
so because you feel you have something of value to offer the general public.

Domain Hosting:
www.myquickcart.com
www.webhosting.yahoo.com

Resources for web site design:

1)How To Set Up A Web Server
Instructions on how to set up your own web server from home.


2)Mini Web Sites For Profit
Learn the exact steps to creating a mini-site that makes mega-bucks!


3) Step By Step Websites In 3-6 Hours
Easy guide to creating your OWN customized, money-making website with Dreamweaver.


4) Audio Maker Pro - Web Audio Software
The Easiest Way To Put Streaming Audio On Your Website!
10 ways to annoy your customer – learn the common web site pitfalls

Remember, these are things we don't want....


1. Start with your entry page. Be sure to include a huge graphical logo, but
absolutely no useful information. In general, large unnecessary downloads such as
background music (ideally totally inappropriate music), multimedia presentations
and video files, are an essential element of the truly annoying site, so include six or
seven on every page.

2. Very tiny text (SIZE=1) can be a great way to damage your visitors' eyesight.
Unfortunately modern browsers include a font-sizing feature which negates much of
the power of this technique. Webmasters can seize back control by mixing tiny
(SIZE=1) and very large (SIZE=6) text on the same page.

3. Low contrast color combinations like yellow on white, or better yet, dark gray on
black, have been proven to increase web surfers' aggression levels.

4. WRITING EVERYTHING IN CAPITAL LETTERS CAN HAVE INTERESTING
EFFECTS IN YOUR VISITORS' PSYCHOLOGICAL MAKE-UP. EXPERIMENT WITH
switching between CASES FOR absolutely NO REASON, preferably EVEN IN THE
midDLE of WOrds, TO REALLY WIND THEM UP!

5. Make sure absolutely every page positively requires horizontal scrolling.

6. Frames can be a powerful technology for making people's blood boil. Be sure to
use them heavily, and don't let users easily break out even when leaving your site.
For extra credit, combine this with horizontal scrolling and have the 'Home' button
"accidentally" put the entire frame-set inside the smallest frame.

7. Forms are most interesting when they don't work at all. Unfortunately, it won't
waste much of your visitors' time if the form has only a couple of fields. Therefore
make sure your form has at least 20 fields which must be filled out exactly right (add
validation code), and wait till they've struggled through them all, before giving a CGI
error.

8. Banners adverts are one of the most under-used technologies on the web. Some
sites have only 2 or 3 per page. Show those sites how to do it right, by having at
least 20 banners per page. Remember never use a text link when you have a
chance to use a banner!

9. Sadly some hosts do not add pop-ups to your pages. If your web host is holding
you back in this way, don't despair. After you've mailed your letter of compliant to
the hosting company, add a little JavaScript to your pages to achieve the same
effect.

10. Finally the old ideas are often still the best ones: Bad English is well-known
technique that many webmasters are familiar with. Be sure to include a more than
adequate number of speling misteaks in all your text, or for a really exciting twist
make your sentences really long, with way too many clauses, a superabundance of
overlong and unnecessarily obtuse terminology and gratuitous jargon, and
unexpected changes from formal language into the a more colloquial style: as it this
way cool example!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Exclamation marks are also good, the more the
better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

It has come to my attention that there are a few webmasters who actually want
people to enjoy their site, bookmark it, and maybe even come back more than once.
If you are a member of this particular minority group, you can of course do the exact
opposite of these suggestions.

Recommended Reading: