Real short day today. Finishing up 2 websites at the same time. Both are due tonight/tomorrow morning and I plan on taking the little one to a baseball game tonight. I hope your day is as fulfilling as mine.

7 Visual Tips for Creating a Great Blog Post

I try to incorporate at least one of these items in each main post I do. Some great stuff here.

5 Steps to Build a Twitter Marketing Strategy

I believe that Twitter is an invaluable tool for every business. It really helps to keep your customers informed on what you are doing, what you are selling, etc. Actually, I was using Twitter this afternoon to check and see if the local Minor League Baseball game was happening due to the rain here in NJ. They have a great twitter feed that lets you know whats happening. As of right now, it’s baseball time tonight!

There are quite a few key items every website should have. It is important to remember you want to make the user experience a good one while visiting your site. The user should be able to navigate your site perfectly, and find the correct information the first time. A buyer visiting your site usually wants perfection and a well rounded, information packed site may help make that buyer YOUR buyer. The following items will help you along the way in evaluating what your website may be missing.

Top Notch Quality Content

This is probably the most important part of any website. You need to make sure the content on your site is original, is of superior quality, and is correct. There is nothing worse than seeing a jumbled mess on a website when you are looking for the right information.

Example, a bike shop website has information about a hybrid bicycle I was looking at. The wheel dimensions were wrong after researching on a few other sites. How likely am I to buy at that bike shop when their product information is incorrect.

Always make sure the spelling and grammar is correct, and the information provided with your products and services is spot on.

Full Description of the Products of Services You Offer

Make sure that all the products and services you have are accurate, full detailed. Give your readers every opportunity to make educated decisions based on what your site is offering. The more information you give, the more likely you are to be perceived as an authority. Be descriptive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Make your own frequently Asked Questions section. This will help eliminate the amount of simple one line emails from individual asking the mundane questions and also give your site more content. If you get a question more than once, or one that should be answered in your FAQ, add it on.

Specific Images Related To The Content

Make sure your images that you add to your website are relevant to the content, are accurate, and are web ready. Do not place a 300dpi image into your server then reduce the size in the html. Make sure you save the images in the perfect size you want, in the perfect web resolution of 72dpi, and place that on the site. If you want to create larger images to view, and you offer products, consider making a downloadable sell sheet with the large images and product specs that the user can print out. Make sure to include your contact information including your website URL on the sell sheets.

Testimonials

Testimonials will go a long way in creating a sense of reliability and comfort with your users. You ultimately wan the individuals visiting your website to become customers. A buyer looking for information on your products or services, and seeing actual testimonials of people who have purchased from you in the past will go a long way in making them comfortable enough to buy from you.

Search Function

Especially if your website has a wealth of content, it is a great idea to have a search function. Regardless if your website has a great navigation and really sets itself apart in terms on usability, a search function will speak volumes. If your website is run off of blog software, this is an easy task to accomplish. If you are running a straight html site, this can be a challenge. There are free and low cost options, but each has its own caveats. Research the right ones for you, and pick one that will help your users and you in the long term.

This is by no means a complete list. Other people may have their own opinions for MUST HAVES on websites. Each item may not be necessary for you depending on what you do or what you sell. The main point to remember is, you want the visitors of your website to have zero problems interacting with it. You want them to make their buying decisions the first time visiting your site, and the tips above will greatly improve those chances.