Web Design For The Home Based Business

by: Mark Walters

New technology released in 2007 has made it easy for people to create their own websites and FTP upload entire pages from the tools in MS Office Suite 2007-Business Edition.

However, now that it is easy to make a website without FrontPage or DreamWeaver, there are still some elements of web design that you need to remember before publishing your site.

Tools

Both MSWord and Publisher can be used to create websites. But, like FrontPage or Dreamweaver, the page will not appear the same on every browser. Anyone who wants to create their own webpage needs to download Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox.

IE is the most popular browser in the USA. But, Firefox (Modzilla) is most popular in the world.

All images should be chanced to .75 dpi. This is easy using Window’s Paint.

There are several FTP publishers. These are software programs that lift your web pages off the computer and publish them on the Internet. This is the best way to load a website. Avoid the ‘easy’ tools.

Here is a quick guideline to help work at home business owners build a website which can earn money.

1. It’s about the content. The only way to get listed today is to have good content, updated at least once every two weeks.

Many new business owners build a website on a few dozen keywords. They believe this brings more traffic. Unfortunately, it works backward. Too many keywords confuse search engines, reducing the websites Page Rank.

There are no keyword search engines anymore. Today’s search engines are more concerned with inbound links. Instead of writing articles that have a keyword repeated a few dozen times, write an insightful article that solves problems for your readers.

The search engines not only know how many people click onto a web page, but they know how long they stay. Websites that keep readers for more than 30 seconds will rank higher.

2. Don’t sell. The web visitor is not walking into a store. They do not arrive at a website thinking, “I want to buy something.” Instead, most of them want to be entertained, or educated. The best way to sell from a website is to solve problems. This includes things like posting the cost of a product or service, and even problems and solutions.

Avoid the long pages of testimonials. These are so ‘out of date.’ Instead, add a forum to the website and let the ‘real’ website visitors leave their comments.

3. Make effective use of the title and description tags. The only keywords most search engines care about are buried in the Heading Tags. Word will imbed Heading tags into a web page.

Forget the Meta keywords. They rarely play an important part in today’s Search Engine Optimization.

4. Don’t design in Flash or use any other ‘cool tools.’ Many people do not have the tools needed to view these. If you must add a video, then upload it to www.youtube.com and paste the code onto your page.

Search engines cannot see pictures. This means that a page full of pictures will only reduce a page rank, not increase it.

Flash creates major problems with search engine indexing. There is no way for the search engines to extract content from the website as it is all contained with in the swf file.

5 .Instill a sense of well. One of the first things most web visitors will look for is proof that the business cares about them. They want something before they are sold. It is also important to have business contact information pricing, privacy information, shipping, problem solving FAQ, and even a personal blog from the ‘owner.’

These things will improve the success of any web based business, or work at home web site.

About The Author

Mark Walters is a third generation investor who guides others to financial independence through the Creating Wealth Club http://www.CreatingWealthClub.com