• Contact information - wherever possible throughout your site, include a link for people to contact you. The link can be an email list, a link to a form, whatever - so long as people are able to get your contact details quickly at any point in the page. And not only your email address. You would be suprised how many of your web visitors are also after your postal address, phone numbers, hours of operation, fax numbers, etc. Seeing as though they're on your web site, they don't want to have to look in the phone book or somewhere else to find out where you are.
  
  
• Not too many graphics - there's nothing more painful than sitting through a web site that's taking forever to load, usually because of fancy graphics. A lot of people will click away somewhere else rather than wait. Good graphics will make your page look good, but don't use them at the expense of an efficient web site.

• It's important to place your terms and conditions on your web site. This includes legal information such as copyright, disclaimers, delivery and return policies etc. But, rather than put this on your main pages, consider creating a separate page with a clear link to it so that those customers who want to read the fine print can, while others who have read it before can skip past it. Don't hide it too well though - your customers should really be encouraged to read it!

• Don't stray from standard fonts. Remember that most Internet browsers display text in the standard fonts of Arial, Verdana, or Times New Roman. If your text varies from this, it will usually be converted to the nearest type of standard font. So if you really want your title to be in Italicised Gill Sans Ultra Bold, you need to create it as an image so that it appears as intended.

• Check how your site appears in different browsers. You'd be amazed how different your site looks in Netscape Navigator or different versions of Internet Explorer. Although 80% of people use Internet Explorer, you just need to make sure that your site isn't totally unreadable for the other 20%. Usually it will be OK, with only some differences. If the site really is unreadable in another browser, you may need to investigate further.

• This may sound obvious, but your home page needs to quickly and simply explain who you are. It needs to say what you do, what you can do for the visitor, and why they should buy from you. You need to get their attention early and not bury your best stuff down the bottom or on another page. Web surfers are an impatient lot.

• While we're on the subject of good content, anything that will get people returning to your site is a very good thing. This is often referred to a web sites "stickiness". Whether this is in the form of discussion boards, relevant news updates, or regular new information depends on your type of business and web site

• Finally, a newsletter is a great way to remind people you exist and get them returning to your site. Place a signup section on your site where people can subscribe to be kept in touch with what your doing, even if it's purely going to be information about sales and specials. Newsletters are a great way to keep people informed about what you're doing and in some cases can help establish credibility and trust.

Contact us for more information on this topic.

Disclaimer: This page is designed to provide information only and is not a substitute for advice that is specific to your business. Before acting on any of the information above it is important you seek further advice from a professional who has taken into consideration the nature and circumstances of your business.

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