10 Basics for Starting Your Online Business

4. Site Structure

The structure of your website can mean the difference between a stalled
business and a flourishing one. If your website isn’t built for the consumer, then
the consumer will steer clear.

Have you ever ventured into a store and found it messy or crowded and
hard to maneuver? Did you ever go back to that place? Probably not. The same
thing goes for your online business.

Some websites are not built for the average customer. They use large
graphics that take hours for a 56K modem to download, or their links don’t work.
If you don’t know how to build a website yourself, then hire a professional who
knows how to do it for you.

Your site needs to be user-friendly so that customers keep coming back –
not only for their first purchase, but also for follow-up sales once they’ve
devoured your initial product.

Some basic tips for building a better website include using professional
colors and fonts. You don’t want a rainbow site with happy faces and flowery
lettering trying to sell your serious eBook on Investing for Seniors.

You also want to make sure you have a separate domain for your business.
You can register your very own dot com at
GoDaddy.com for only $8.95 per year,
and the investment is well worth it for the professionalism it gives your business.

Once the designer drafts your site and your content is in place, ask a few
friends or family members to make a test run through it and tell you if they notice
any areas where the user would run into problems, like dead links or layout
trouble.

Sometimes, something as simple as the browser the customer is using will
distort the website and make it appear as if an amateur has launched an online
business. Any reputable designer knows how to appeal to the masses, so you
shouldn’t run into any trouble if you check references and hire someone who’s
been in the business for at least 5 years.

If you’re not quite ready to hire a website designer, there are companies
that offer low-cost, ready-made templates that you can customize.
Empowerism
will give you 35 templates and teach you what to do with them. You will have a
wide variety of options so that your enterprise is created with a personal slant –
designed however you choose. These types of tools reduce the usual worries that
plague other first time cyberpreneurs. Turnkey!