I received an email today from a long-standing subscriber and
someone I consider a good friend though we will probably
never meet face to face.
Her email asked for my advice on the website she is creating
from a template offered to her through the program she joined.
She's open, very receptive to advice, suggestions, changes.
She's on the right track. The very first thing she added
to the template was her name, address, and a toll free phone
number even though it was not included with the template.
By that act alone, she's already way ahead of the game :)
But... This isn't about her website.
What happened was it got me thinking I should go out online
and look at programs of a similar nature. Get a feel for
the webpages themselves, see if any good ideas popped into
my head.
Not to steal... to gather ideas, to get first impressions,
and I needed to locate websites about big money.
Mortages, refinancing, that sort of thing.
I headed to Google and typed in the first word that came
to mind - "mortgages."
The results? All I can say is, "Yikes!"
After clicking through the first 10 sites listed on Google's
first page, to my dismay, I found only three websites where,
if I was interested in buying or refinancing, would I even
be somewhat tempted to dig a bit deeper.
Only three out of 10? How can that be?
The other seven websites I viewed were disasters!
Here are websites wishing to convey consumer confidence.
Websites that will get around to asking people to divulge
their most personal of all information - their credit history,
income, the works. And all I could think was, "Yikes! You've
got to be kidding me!"
So what? Why might this be of interest to you? You're probably
not a banker or lending institution.
But... you might be a CPA or real estate agent or mortgage
broker, or anyone doing business online!
First impressions can and will make or break your sale.
They are what leads us to friendships, business associations,
and what keeps us coming back to the same brick and mortar
or online business again and again.
Sure, if you have the cash and no time to do it yourself,
professional web designers are a great way to go!
But, if you're like the majority of us with limited funds,
you are going to need to teach yourself the basics of HTML.
Businesses or not, the sites I viewed screamed, "Newbie!"
If you've been telling yourself you'll get around to learning
HTML some day, and you are trying to make a living online,
you need to move that to the top priority spot on your "to
do" list.
This is your web presence. This isn't something you "get
around to doing."
Make it a "today thing." It is not hard to learn. http://www.htmlclinic.com
is a great free resource with easy to follow instructions.
You can do this!
Just keep in mind that guest books and family photos belong
on "home" sites. If you are in business, be business-like.
Every day that goes by, without your website up to snuff,
costs you. Time, money, and potential sales.
Visit your website now. Sit back. Be your own worst critic
and ask yourself, "What is my website saying about me?"
© Theresa Cahill - All Rights Reserved. Feel free to
distribute this article. Please keep it intact and with the
resource box included below.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Theresa Cahill, a two decade veteran of marketing, is the
owner of
http://www.mywizardads.com and
invites you to take a look at the services of MWA and download
fr.ee helpful information and more at
http://www.mywizardads.com/sitemap.html
