Six Qualities of a Good Website

Websites today have become a very important platform for companies however small or big to showcase their products and services and increase their brand visibility. A good website not only entices its visitors but also ensures that they keep coming back for repeat visits.

Getting a website is no big task in today's world. With scores of small and big website development companies vying the customers, the customers are the happiest lot. However sometimes people may decide to create websites all by themselves. But creating websites or getting websites developed by people who have limited technological expertise and experience has its own risks. Economical and cost effective website may help save money but they may prove unproductive in the long run.. Such website may be low in quality and also not appeal to the target audience.

So whenever you plan to get a website for yourself, try take the help of a professional website designer or a company. You should also look for some very basic features and evaluate your website on the following parameters which constitute a good website:

1) Template- Choose best template that matches your work & company profile. Don't use free template available on the other site because these types of template are repeated on many websites and fail to give your company the required unique identity.

2) Content - Content is a soul of any website, so take your time to improve this section. Ensure you have content related to the theme of the website and also ensure availability of fresh content for each & every page. It will help attract new customers.

3) Meta Tag & Title - Each and every page should have a title & be supported by appropriate meta tags. This will help in getting good ranking in search engines like Google, Yahoo & MSN.

4) Internal navigation - Ensure that your website is properly interwoven. Try to keep internal pages maximum three click away from the index page.

5) Broken links - Cross check all the active links on the website. Broken link have a very bad impact on the customer & it also harm your search engine rankings.

6) Search Box - Include a search box option in the website. It will always help the customer in finding important information on the web site.

A good website is an asset for any organization. So the next time you think of getting a new website created or an existing website revamped do keep the above mentioned points in mind. Do talk to you website provider about the parameters and figure out the best deal before you finally decide to go ahead with any of them.

A Confused Mind Won't Buy

So often as we surf online, we are presented with many options. Sometimes more than we can process. We create websites and try to pack as many things as we can into each one hoping that a web surfer will come along and click one of our "buy" links.

When we design a website, we need to keep something in mind... "a confused mind won't buy". Quite simply put, make sure your website is focused. When a visitor comes to a website, he should be presented with as few options as possible. Ideally, each step of the site should only offer a yes/no answer.

You start out by first determining the actual purpose of your website. Is it to provide information, grow an email contact list (lead generation), or sell a product or service directly? You need to have a clear picture of what you want your website to do so that you can guide the visitor and make it easy for them to follow the steps.

If you are building a website with the intent of building a list of leads, then just focus on that.

If someone comes to a website that is designed to sell them something then by the time they get to the bottom of the page, they should only have a choice to buy or leave the page. Don't offer too many things at once or the customer won't know what to do.

If you don't know what you want your website to do, how will your visitor know what to do when he gets there?

How to Create Your Website - 5 Simple Steps

The effort required today, to create your first website has been rendered very easy by a number of tools offered by several providers like Microsoft. But, if you pay attention to some of the basic norms, you can have a great website. The 5 steps below will help you achieve this objective.

1. Reading ease

Make your content easy for people to read. Pay attention to comfortable font size, color, background, etc. No component should dominate another. Capital letters if used should be kept to the minimum. Align your text to the left, since it facilitates easy reading.

2. Create facile navigation

When you create your first website, link your pages well. Having clear hyperlinks on your pages will make it easy for the visitors. Never attempt to mislead the visitor through hyperlinks. Understand that people can be fooled, but only once.

3. Promote your website

If you create your first website and leave it without promoting it, nobody will get to see your efforts, nor can you expect any benefit from the website. Promote your website using search engines, ezines, directories, social networking, social bookmarking etc.

4. Design consistency

When you create your first website, make sure that each page of your website has a consistent design and layout for a uniform look. This approach will also lend a professional image to your site.

5. Download speed

Websites should be quick to download. If you create your first website with plenty of graphics and media which takes ages to download, possibly, the only one viewing the website will be you. Keep things simple and quick on the net.

5 Killer Tips For Creating Your Online Personal Training Website

In the past, I've personally done full graphic design and coding for twelve of my own websites. I've also had local community graphic web designers create two additional websites. But now, I outsource all this time-consuming work to Pakistan, India, or some other very inexpensive technology sector based geographical area. I talk comprehensively about this type of outsourcing in Chapter 5 of Train For Top Dollar.

So what methods have I used to create my websites?

Whoever you use to host your website will typically come include free web templates. What this means is that you can download the template to your computer, or you can use an online editing program that is usually available on your web host, and most of the work is done for you. For multiple reasons included in my book, especially for utilizing one-click, simple blog creation, my favorite host is Bluehost.

The colors, backgrounds, and organization in these templates are already present, and you just drag and drop your desired pictures and text. This can be a very effective and quick way to design your website.

On the flipside, a template will have a very generic feel, and you have extremely limited control over the basic website design and organization. These type of sites have no wow factor, but if you're on a time crunch, have a limited budget, or just want to get started, this may be the way to go.

If you use an online website design tool, typically also available from your hosting service (like Bluehost), you'll finish a web page on your web site, then just press "publish" or "save", and it now appears when people type your domain name (aka URL) into their computer's web browser.

If you use your own website design software, based from your computer, you typically have to create the website on your computer, then send it electronically (called FTP) to your hosting service, which typically provides pretty good instructions in the help section on how to use various web design software to create and upload your site.

My favorite computer based software is Adobe GoLive, but if you go to a freeware or shareware download website like Tucows, you can trial or use any number of free website design software packages.

Here are my five killer tips for your website design:

• Keep it simple and clean. Include lots of "white space" so your readers don't become confused with 18 different training advertisements, fitness pop-ups, and sounds or music when they first visit your page.

• Use photos effectively. Try to include your face or body if possible, to build a trust relationship with your potential online clients and show that you are indeed fit.

• Use a simple navigation menu without too many buttons. A simple "Home", "Services", "About Us", and "Contact Us" will suffice for a basic online personal training page.

• Include space for publishing your latest breaking articles on your home page. This is very important for search engine optimization, which I present later in this chapter.

• Include a space for client testimonials. Here's an e-mail that I send out to each successful client after they've reached a milestone goal and have enough dopamine and endorphins rumbling through their system to give me a fantastic testimonial:

"Dear _________,

The people I coach and train are my main focus in life. When you reach your goals, I feel I've contributed to your life in a unique way, and somehow contributed my knowledge to help you achieve something special and meaningful.

I'm in the process of updating my website - specifically the online fitness and nutritional training services. I really want people to know how I can help them achieve their desires.

Here's where you come in. If you're interested, I'm looking for testimonials. Just a brief sentence or paragraph about how I've helped you identify objectives, reach your goals or simply supplied you with a nudge in the right direction.

If I use your testimonial on my website or in a brochure, I would just write your first name, or simply your initials if you'd prefer. All you really have to do is shoot your testimonial to me via e-mail.

Thanks for considering, and remember to train and eat smart!"

These 5 tips will get you started. I also offer business and website consulting services to personal trainers, and give a vast amount of information in my book Train For Top Dollar, which teaches how to maximize your income as a fitness professional.