Creating a Website For an Online Business

One of the first things you need to do as a netrepreneur is making a website for an online business. Large, corporate-funded businesses typically dwarf most small businesses in terms of their presence on the World Wide Web. This is expected given that these bigger companies have IT divisions and the money and energy to continue developing their online business solutions. If you want to regain some of the customers you may have lost to these bigger businesses, one way you can do this is by creating a website for your online business. You can choose from the many service solutions available to help increase the visibility of your business on the Internet, without needing to spend your entire budget on it.

The first thing you should do when you set up your online business is to pick and register your domain name. There are quite a few host servers that will perform a domain name check to find out if the domain name you have chosen is already taken. If it isn't, you may register the name, and the provider becomes the host for your website. This service costs extra but if you have chosen a name you want to use, it is worth the cost to have it registered.

The websites of smaller businesses also need a way to keep track of and supervise e-mails. It creates a sense of professionalism and increases the credibility of your business when your employees each have individual e-mail addresses that are connected to your domain name. You need to find a way to supervise the flow of e-mails from your employees' accounts. Be sure to check if your website host provider gives you this ability.

Another service you should look for in a website hosting provider is an online content editing service you can handle easily. With small businesses, it's important that you have the capacity to update, edit and add new content to your website regularly. It's a good thing if your host server can provide you with a combined website builder and content editor that allow you to manage your whole website from one place. This allows you to waste less time transferring between different formats. If you can minimize the time you spend on administrative IT, you get more time to spend on taking care of the rest of your business and increasing your revenue.

The number one concern when it comes to creating a website for an online business is convenience. The host server you choose should be able to simplify your life, not complicate it. Many website host servers make a lot of big promises. However, all they end up doing is clogging your inbox with spam. The truly great website hosting sites are the ones that have no advertisements and are built in such a way that management of the website is easy and doable.

Article Source: EzineArticles

You Can Sure Judge a Business by Its?

Here comes the judge. Here comes the judge. And who is the judge?

Your potential client that is eying up your business online.

So the question is: How does my website size up in the eyes of potential clients? You may not be able to judge a book by its cover but you can sure judge a business by its website.

Take this quick quiz.

Here are 10 quick questions you need to ask yourself when you look at your website that is currently representing your business.

1. Do I have a professional logo? There are so many small business owners who are not willing to spend what is required to get a first class logo made. But when you stop and think a moment. How much is the McDonald's golden arches really worth in dollar value? That puts it in its right perspective doesn't it? Branding online is vital, and great branding essential. Keep it simple, but make it professional.

2. Do I present professionally online? Does your website represent the professionalism that you show in the services you provide or the products that you supply? If it doesn't, and you are afraid to point people to your website because it reflects poorly on you, then you need to invest in a redesign now. The website is your online shopfront. What potential client's see in your website design is what potential clients think about your business.

3. Do I have a simple layout? Don't make your website too complex. Your website needs to be unique. Your website must load fast. Your website navigation must be user friendly. Your message must be clearly communicated. The website must mirror your business, and the technology used must meet your business needs. Include a sitemap on your website as well.

4. Do I have great content? If you are not a writer then hire a copywriter. But whatever you do, make sure that you supply good, clear, and simple to read content that answers the questions that your potential clients are going to have. Include an FAQ page on your website so that you can get most of the potential client's questions out of the road before they make contact with you. Make sure that you have a content management system for your website so that you can readily update this page on a regular basis.

5. Do I tell my story? People love to hear your story. So share it freely. Your About Us page or your Company History page or your Client Testimonials page tell the story of what it is like to do business with you and adds credibility to your branded image.

6. Do I have a range of ways that I can be contacted? Provide an online form. Provide a telephone number. Include your real geographical address so that they know you are a real business. Include a map of your location. Include your photo if you wish so that potential clients know that they are dealing with a real, live human being. Make it easy for them to contact you.

7. Do I have external links that keep people in my website? It is a great idea to open any links found within your website in a new window. That way your visitors will return to your site whenever they have finished browsing the external link.

8. Do I have an online newsletter? Here is another way by which you can create client loyalty. A regular communication with your clients and potential clients will help you to position yourself as an expert in your associated industry. Make sure that you send it out regularly.

9. Do I have a Blog? This is where you can really start to build some great ongoing content for your website and also allow you to receive input and interaction from your clients. Include an RSS feed in here as well and use permalinks. By including a full article RSS feed, you are allowing your readers to digest your content easier and will create loyal readers for years to come. By enabling permalinks in your Blog it will make your URL easier to understand for both search engines and your readers.

10. Do I promote my website? Make sure that you promote your website everywhere you go. Include it in all your offline advertising. Add your url in your Yellow Pages advertisement. Make sure your car signage includes it. Put it on your business cards, your flyers, your invoices, your advertising cards, your staff clothing and in online directories. Put it everywhere and put it on everything as part of your whole marketing strategy to drive more business to and through your website.

So how did you go? What was your score out of 10?

Remember this - that if you want to have a website that is judged correctly, and that you can confidently say is a true reflection of your business on a day to day basis - then make sure you have these ten suggestions operational in your website as soon as possible.

Directory Submission Is Complicated

Achieving good search engine visibility has become a necessity for every website today. Hundreds and thousands of businesses compete with one another in order to generate more and more business through their websites. There are many ways by which a website can get high rankings in major search engines.Important methods like directory submission, article submission and full SEO service with pre-configured SEO packages helps to improve your website's popularity and search engine visibility.

Directory Submission

Submitting to directories is a great way to build links and increase your search engine rankings. In semi-competitive industries it can produce great results. If you add article creation and social media marketing into the link building equation then you can achieve great results for any industry.

Free or paid directories?

When choosing directories going for the paid ones can be better, mainly because the links seem to last a lot longer. Many of the free directories seem to disappear or delete links after a year or so. However, there are a few free directories out there that should always be used - directories that have stood the test of time.

PageRank - does it still matter?

Because directories are generally quite large, they need a certain amount of PageRank to get all of their pages indexed properly. However a high PageRank isn't the be-all and end-all. Google's recent crackdown on directories6 has made visible PageRank even more irrelevant when it comes to choosing directories. There are directories out there that have no PageRank whatsoever that can offer value.

If a directory is ranking well in the search engines then you can rest assured that it has enough PageRank. If you're unsure then check how many links it has via Yahoo! Site Explorer7 or another link popularity checker.

Articlr Source:.webcredible.co.uk