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So you've created an incredible looking website, and you're ready to launch it on the Internet and start making money. Audit your site first. There are nine essential elements that every website should include if you want to ensure success.
1. Privacy Policy/Disclaimer:
Be advised, I'm not a Lawyer and I don't profess to be one, but the "Privacy Policy" and "Disclaimer/Terms of Use" are two documents that are essential for every website you develop. People are entitled to know just how you're going to use their personal information. That's what a "privacy policy" tells them.
You need to include a disclaimer, or terms of use page. In today's litigious society this document protects you and indicates to your visitors what they're agreeing to by using your website. You can find several sites on the Internet to help you draft these documents such as:
* DMA Privacy Policy Generator http://www.dmaresponsibility.org/PPG/
* OECD Privacy Statement Generator http://tinyurl.com/5plgpc
* Google Adsense & other Ad Networks Privacy Policy Generator http://www.serprank.com/privacy-policy-generator/index.php
* Privacy Policy Generator http://www.freeprivacypolicy.com/
* Free Site Disclaimer http://www.easyriver.com/free_disclaimer.htm
This is not legal advice, so if you need help or feel your website has special legal needs, consult with an attorney familiar with Internet law.
2. Contact Us Information:
Would you want to do business with a website that does not include any contact information? Although you may not be able to include a phone number, you should at least have an email address or a "contact us" form. Your visitors will feel much more comfortable doing business with you knowing there's a way to contact if they need to do so.
The Weblolo.com site builder offers a contact form; however, if you need a form and don't know how to create your own, Try one of these free online services.
* Bravenet: http://www.bravenet.com/webtools/emailfwd/
* Freedback: http://freedback.com/
* Email Me: http://www.emailmeform.com/
3. Search Box/Site Map:
Does your site includes many pages? If so, you should also include a way to search the site, or at minimum have a "site map". Once again, this is a service that is build into the Weblolo site builder - just click on goodies when you are building your own site.
There are many ways to add a search function to your site, the easiest method is to use Google's free service at- http://www.google.com/sitesearch/
or try PicoSearch: http://www.picosearch.com/
A site map is one web page that contains links to every page of your site, usually broken down by category. Another resource - FreeFind: http://www.freefind.com/
4. Google Analytics/Statistical System:
Once you have launched your site, you will want to start watching your traffic. Who are your visitors and how many each day, what pages are the most popular, from where is the traffic coming? All of these questions and more can be answered by using a good web statistics program.
Many popular hosting companies provide free statistical packages such as Webalizer or AWSTATS. If yours does not, the easiest way to track your visitors (and it is free) is Google Analytics http://www.google.com/analytics/ Just register there, and you may track as many sites as you like all under one user ID and password. You'll be given some code to copy and paste on your pages. Simple, easy, and you're done.
5. Newsletter Sign Up:
Generally people don't buy from you the very first time they come to your website, so you need to find a way to stay in touch with them to bring them back frequently. One good method of staying in touch with prospective customers is by offering a newsletter, or ezine. As each person signs up for the ezine, you'll be building a list of the email addresses of possible customers.
There are many free and low cost newsletter services online. It's your choice, depending on your needs and your budget. Some really great free services are:
FreeAutoBot: http://www.FreeAutoBot.com
Yahoo Groups: http://www.yahoo.com/groups
You may offer an RSS feed for your newsletter, or updates to your blog or site. RSS feeds make it easy for users to keep up with your most recent posts. The best service for this is... FeedBurner: http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/home
6. Site Navigation:
Although it sounds like a simple thing, making the menus consistent iis important to any site. No matter what style of menus you select, just make sure it is the same on all the pages of your site.
Menus guide your users through your website, making sure they always know where they are and how to get to where they want to go.
For more take a look at:
* Eye on Web: http://tinyurl.com/dyh9fm
* Web Page Mistakes: http://www.webpagemistakes.ca/website-navigation/
7. Search Engine Optimized Content:
While many web developers do not think SEO is important, believe me it is. If you build a website you want your pages to rank well in Google and the other search engines There are a few things you can do to improve your rankings.
Every page of your website should be optimized for no more than 2 to 3 keywords/phrases. For optimal results, use your keywords in your titles and in the content of every page. Don't forget to use them in your image titles, alt tags, and in the names you give your pages, too. Analyze each and every page individually and determine its theme, then optimize accordingly.
For more information:
* MarketLeap: http://tinyurl.com/ce8ffd
* CopyBlogger: http://www.copyblogger.com/seo-copywriting/
8. Social Media Share Button:
Social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, are becoming more important everyday in marketing websites. Be sure to include an easy way for your content to be shared with others.
Some of the social media sites offer a way to add a share button directly to your site. In addition, you'll find several free services that will give you the code you need to instantly add a "share button" to your web pages so that users can instantly share them with their friends.
To generate social media buttons go to:
* AddThis: http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php
* TwitThis: http://www.TwitThis.com
9. Meta Tags:
Don't listen to developers who tell you that meta tags are dead - no longer useful. Unique meta tags should be included in your HTML code at the top of every page of your website. That means unique meta tags for each and every page of your website. Many of the top search engines read those tags to pull a title and description to include in their search results. (This includes Google)
Let me say it again, each and every web page should be optimized separately and have a unique title, keywords, and description meta tags.
For more information, go to:
* Submit Express: http://www.submitexpress.com/metatag.html
* Submit Corner: http://www.submitcorner.com/Tools/Meta/
Don't worry if this list seems daunting. The Weblolo Site Builder includes all of these features, so you can rest assured that your website will have the best chance at success!
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