The Silent Avatar Speaks

If anyone mentions the term Internet it’s not surprising that most people immediately start thinking about the proverbial website.

Contrary to popular belief, building a website is not just about uploading a website to your web host.  More important than many people realise is to ensure the information you present on your site is appealing to both real visitors and search engine spiders.

It goes without saying then that you’ll need to educate yourself about the basics of what goes into  e-commerce web design. The most important factor which is bandied about the internet with wild abandon (and rightly so),  is the premise that content is king!

Good Website Content

And “content is king ” means basically just what it says. That you need great web content to be successful with any website.

Fair enough, you might say, but what constitutes good content?

Well, there are a few ideas here that will help you get started off on the right foot.

Firstly – The content on your site actually has two readers, on the one hand you have the search engine spiders who will index the text on your site so they can deliver the most suitable web content for the searchers query. Secondly you have your human visitors and they will need to have a quality and appealing message that draws them into your site rather than frightening them off.

Without fear of contradiction quality content will be one of the cornerstones of success for a long time to come, but there are other factors too.

Secondly – Your site needs to have visual impact that is appealing to your target audience, this is why you need to ensure your web graphics designer has a full understanding of your market niche. You also need to make sure that site navigation is easy to understand and captures key search phrases.

Take Care With Tab And Side Bar Placement

Thirdly – Re-visit your placement of the sites navigation elements (side bars and tabs etc). These are the roadmaps around your site, they need to be clear, so you’ll want to plan these carefully to keep a visitor on your site as long as possible. Also, don’t forget these navigation aids to be readily apparent to site users other wise they could easily lose their way.

And finally never forget that less is often more, and whilst some (but it has to be argued fewer and fewer) market sectors like a very busy in your face web design, most prefer an nice crisp and clean site that is easy to navigate and find what is needed.

For more web design help visit us at  Silent Avatar Business Solutions

Tags: Web Design, Web Development by the silent avatar
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I’ve surfed thousands of websites and as a website designer I often shake my head and silently say to myself “WTF were thy thinking?”

Often times the website is offering a great product or service and yet their website really stinks and seriously questions whether it is bona fide.

Now I want to mention this before I reveal what your website should look like to give credibility to your business, and it’s this…

Just because a website has been designed to look slick and have all the necessary components to look a credible business, it isn’t always the case.  There are ways to find out certain information about the site and I will cover those in my next post which I will call “Wankers in Wonderland.. A Guide to Checking Out the Scammers”.

However, if you are a legitimate business or hobbyist who wants to present their business in a professional matter here are my tips and advice for doing just that.

1. Have your own domain name.
Nothing shrieks lack of credibility more than a website url which reads like the Gettysburg Address, and bears no relationship to your business.  For example www.geocities.com/Area51/sellmystuff/ or www.geocities.com/(yourname)/(YourProductOrService).

The usual reason for this idiocy is free hosting, and being too tight to pay for your own domain name.  Really… if you cant afford domain hosting or to buy your own domain name to have an online business then give up the deal now. Good quality web hosting like Bluehost is so cheap now, and a domain name?  Less than ten dollars and it’s yours. So for God’s sake give your business credibility from the get go and get your own domain name and a reputable hosting.

2. Have good quality graphics on your site.
The Internet really is about what you see and read. If you can manage to put up a great video demonstrating your products or talking about your service then do it. As more and more people come online with high speed Internet connections video will be the norm and not the exception.  That being said, if you are going to put up a video make sure it is good quality. If you can;t manage a good quality video then stick with good quality photos or graphics.

Definite “no-no’s” include:

• using geeky clip art
• poor quality products images
• images which are too small
• images which are too big
• blinking borders around images
• animated cartoon gifs (unless it’s in keep with the website theme)

3. Have a means of contact for your site visitors.
Nothing infuriates me more and screams “caution” than not being able to contact the site owner. I live by the saying “people with nothing to hide, hide nothing”, and if you want an online business make sure you are available to your site visitors… and respond!

The simplest way to do this is include a contact form on your site where they can fill in some details and submit their query to you.

You may also want to include your telephone, fax and mailing contact details. Few would argue that this increases the perception of credibility (though this information in itself can be bogus and requires vigilance if you plan to transact money through the site).

4. Have a colour theme and stick with it
Your website colours should integrate with your overall branding of your business. Got a business card?  Incorporate the same colours into your website, letterheads, and office stationary. But a word of caution – think carefully about what colours you use and stick with three main colours which compliment each other.

If you are colour challenged, check out this site for useful information on determining the colours you might use for your website.

Once you have an understanding of how a colour wheel works you won’t end up with a site that looks garish and unprofessional.

5. Use testimonials
While testimonials can be concocted, having testimonials on your site increases visitor perception of trust and authenticity. Again, be authentic. Get written testimonials from customers or those who have tried your product or service. Scan the letters and have a link underneath the html written testimonial reading something like “view original”. Being able to “see” the written letter affords more credibility than just writing a testimonial and sticking it up on your site.

If you don’t have testimonials, get them! (even if it means a freebie to get it).

6. Use consistency
Keep all of your pages looking similar with the navigation in the same spot on each web page. Site visitors like predictability and being able to locate the navigation links will help eliminate frustration.

7. Use banner ads and affiliate links sparingly
Well placed banner ads and affiliate links can increase revenue and offer additional information for your site visitors, but remember this… your site visitors are there to see what YOU can offer, and not to be taken away from your site (unless of course you are operating an affiliate driven site).

8. Don’t use “tiny urls“
They are ugly and while they do the job, they conceal where you are really asking the site visitor to go when they click on the link. If you have your own website they are unnecessary as you can conceal a long link link this: Are you a time waster? Check out Silent Avatar Blog post

9. Incorporate a FAQ section in your site
Getting in to the head of your site visitor and offering answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) can really enhance the visitor experience and your answers can increase the trust and credibility of your site.

10. Give something away for free
Yes.. we all love a “freebie”. Offering a free report, or additional product information which can be downloaded and printed out will enhance customer confidence. Just make sure what you give away is of value to your site visitor and combine it with an “opt in” to build your list.

Well.. that’s my Ten Tips to include in planning a successful website.

Do you have any tips which could help others create a professional looking website?  Add a comment.

I’m the silent avatar and I have spoken

Tags: Web Design, Web Development by the silent avatar
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Some people are too tired to do the thinking and will opt to go with the flow whatever is the trend, be it on fashion, sports and even with businesses without even thinking what it is for.

Most businesses find themselves in the need of providing websites for their company and/ or products because everybody else does. If you are one of these people, you may now start knocking your head for a very expensive mistake of not knowing what you do. Websites are being made to support a business and not as mere decoration and attraction, and no matter how dynamic your web design is, it will be useless if you are lost in the conceptualisation.

Now, what you have to do is, since the website ought to support the business and gain earnings, to make sure that the business website is doing well.

There are six critical elements your small business website must have to survive and perform better.

1. Content. Everybody is going crazy with website design and images, however many missed the principle that it is the content that matters. Site visitors browse the web in search of information and not just to look on a website. Therefore, you have to make sure that included in your website design is the principle of content. Information on the website should be relevant to the site that you own or to the niche where you have included your site. This is very vital when a search engine like Google has to crawl your business site. You will be more referred by Google if it sees that you have a good content about your business. More so, to be more effective, several articles of 500 to 1000 words will help the system recognise your business site. If you do not have the time to spend to do the writing, you can have this outsourced through a ghost writer that will make a good article for you.
2. Blog. Some people neglect the value of blogging and sees it as for the “nerds only” and yet, blogging has proven its effectiveness of use to support the sites. This is for the reason that blogging can create a community around your site thereby generating traffic and in the long run will ultimately boost your site’s performance. It should be noted however, that a blog is not a duplicate of the site, hence, you should put new content on it to achieve better ranking and reference from Google.
3. Video. The Internet provides vital information to people, and becomes an effective tool in marketing. However, because of the advertising overload often generated by automated systems, consumers are becoming cautious in browsing the sites to search good content. A video introduction in your site can help attract users that your site is genuine and there are real people behind the website. Additionally, this can be powerful in promoting interactions to generate trust and promote visitor’s loyalty. This means that users will prefer to visit your site often, seeing good information and good users’ interaction, founded on credibility.
4. Email capture. Internet users tend to be cautious of online businesses. It takes time to establish trust and reliability on the target audience. Unless these users become familiar with the site and have encouraged visits, this will be the only time that these people can think of buying any of your product posted on the business site. Hence, making email capture as part of your web design like giving free reports or subscriptions to your newsletter can be a good way, you can have access to them by being bale to acquire their email addresses. You can have their email addresses as means to contact them for product or business promotions and entice them to visit the site most often.
5. Credibility through business details. It is a known fact that users are reluctant to visit a site until they knew that there is a real person behind it. Therefore, it is essential that you provide data or profile of the people behind the business. In addition, an address, phone number and other necessary details are helpful to establish that you are a true human being and not an automated system.

Lay-out of the website design. Lay-out is not as simple as the physical appearance. You can have a dynamic website design with a lot of flash files and yet your business site may not be performing well. The essence of the lay-out of the website design is that you should be able to keep the users involved. This should be user-friendly and easy to be understood. Moreover, if you are selling a particular product, the details should be accessible and easy to find. It is a necessity that your website design’s lay-out is not difficult to navigate. People do not have all the time to browse your site and you should be able to relay your message to them in a single glance.

To sum up, all these key elements of website design and SEO points to a single thing: the user. It is the audience that is the lifeblood of the business site. Make them see your site and expect that your small business site will boost its performance.

I’m the silent avatar.. and I have spoken

Tags: Web Development by the silent avatar
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I’m sure you’ve heard about people who have “IT” – that something which makes them stand apart from the rest. Sometimes the “IT” is almost indefinable, but whatever “IT” is we all would like a piece of it for ourselves.

This “IT” is that undefinable something that is alluring, almost magical about the person which draws you into their space, and makes you happy to be there.

The same can be said about websites.

Only after much learning I have determined what makes a good website, and what makes a great website defines for me the “IT” factor.

When I come across a website with “IT”, invariably the site has all the components of a website which makes you come back again and again.

It takes time to know how to define “IT”. I’ve spent thousands of hours looking at websites, and diving into Internet marketing circles, following those who have “IT”, and discovering how they translate their “IT’ to their websites.

If you look at enough successful websites you too will get to know elements which encompass a successful website.

These elements (and they are simple), greatly enhance the chances of establishing customer (or reader) loyalty.

So just what are these elements?

Keep reading and I will reveal all.

1. Top of the list is a way to capture email addresses.
Whether you have a sell a product, information, or offer a service no website is complete without offering a way to capture email addresses. There are many ways you can capture email addresses – offer newsletters, product updates, free reports, competitions, upcoming product launches, notification of “specials”, free giveaways (products). Start looking at successful webistes and see what they do to lure visitors and always offer a way for your subscribers to unsubscribe.

2. A Blog
A blog is a great way for your site visitors to get to know you. Keeping the blog topics relevant to your site is a way to share information about your particular niche. It’s also a great way to add content to your site and keep Google happily indexing your site for new content. Comments posted by visitors are also a great way for them to communicate questions and add to your content.

3. Newsletter
Successful sites offer their visitors the opportunity to keep abreast of what is happening with their business. It’s not hard to put together a newsletter which contains information about your site. It doesn;t have to be a long drawn out newsletter. In fact, with most people being time poor, newsletters which omit “waffle” are appreciated by us all. Writing about your services, tips, advice, and the like will keep your subscribers in contact with you and continue to build relationships.

4. Great sites give things away for free.
Creating a relationship requires you to instill trust in your site visitor. Giving away something free enables your site visitors to get the “warm and fuzzies” about you and your site. Offer quality information, free products (if you can), in fact anything which relates to your niche enhances the perceived value of what you are giving away.

5. Tell-A-Friend
Give site visitors the opportunity to Tell-A-Friend. While visitors are on your site they may find information which they feel would benefit a friend. Make it easy for them to tell their friends about it. Personal recommendation is the best recommendation and using this method allows you to grow your business virally.

6. Their websites are professional.
Credibility starts with your website. If you are intending to present yourself as a professional, then getting a professional looking website is a must.

7. Offer video (or at the least audio)
Video is a great medium for engaging your site visitors in a more personal way. Broadband is becoming more mainstream and using video to present products, show “how-to’s”, or even to introduce yourself goes a long way to putting a face to what really is a faceless medium.

8. Contact details or help desk
So often I go to a website and the contact details are non existent, or worse I have made contact and no one responds (even after repeated attempts). No matter how good the product or service or information you offer, be prepared to offer support for your site visitors when they need it. Lack of support for your customers can seriously damage your online efforts. Remember the relationship with your site visitors doesn’t end with the purchase.

9. Successful websites network with others.
Sourcing a Joint Venture parture is one of the quickest wasy to grow your business. I’ve included an ebook to download on Joint Venturing which is worthwhile reading.

JV Givewaway Secret Special Report.

If you have any questions or comments feel free to post.

Enjoy!

Tags: Hot Off The Press, Web Design by the silent avatar
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