Continued from page 1
Other Types of Errors in Web Sites ----------------------------------------
Proper HTML coding is very important but
structure and layout of pages are equally important. I saw sites without ANY way to contact company: no email address, no "contact page". I saw sites so crowded that it was almost impossible to find my way around. I saw sites with ugly color schemes. I saw a site so "heavy" that it took nearly three minutes to download Home Page.
According to statistics, users have very limited patience when it comes to loading a page. If after eight seconds they cannot see page, they leave. And we all know what that means or success of a Web site.
I not only saw all those errors in sites that are now gone but I also found them in sites that are still alive, including, incredibly, some Fortune 500 companies' Web sites.
So Do We Dot-Com or Not? ---------------------------------
The answer is a resounding YES! But with one condition, learn from your predecessors.
How can a dot-com become profitable? I don't pretend to know ALL answers. If I did, I would be millionaire by now.
Advice for Forming and Managing Your Company: -------------------------------------------------------
* Develop a sound business plan, with clear, credible ways to get to profitability. Venture capitalists are much more cautious than a few years ago. They invest less and are more selective in this risky business. They want value returned for their money. After all, statistics show that 9 out of 10 startups fail.
* Handle your money wisely. Enough said.
* Hire only people you REALLY need and be sure ALL of them are professionals.
Advice Regarding Web Site that Supports Your Company: -------------------------------------------------------------------
* Do right thing when you prepare Web site. Hire reputable professionals to build and promote your cyber adventure. If you already have a Web site, remember that a Web site can easily be redesigned and properly resubmitted to search tools.
* Have your site designed according to W3C Recommendations - Official HTML coding rules. Yes, this takes time and it's much easier to use an HTML editor, but results are much better when properly coded by hand. Watch your site's accessibility and usability. Don't forget to test and validate code. Talking about testing, do yourself a favor: check spelling on your pages.
* Do not use spamming techniques. You might not be caught today, but one day Search Engines OR your competitors will find you. Search Engines sometimes will use this reason to ban your site FOR LIFE.
For more about spam please read my article: "Search Engine Spamming Sucks!" [ http://www.web-design-in-new-york.com/articles.html ]
* Avoid gizmos: JavaScripts, Flash or frames. Bells and whistles will NEVER help your page' ranking. In fact, it will hurt your site's indexing or ranking in Search Engines and will annoy most of your viewers. So, just don't do it!
* Have interesting content in your pages, content that grabs your viewer's attention. No matter how beautiful your site is, no matter how much professional promotion you made, if site doesn't grab viewer's interest, he will leave – you guessed it -- to your competitors' sites.
Also, use Title tag, Keyword and Description meta tags in your HTML coding to list targeted keywords from contents of your pages. This helps Search Engines rank your site higher.
* Promote site thoroughly. Submit site properly to Search Engines and Web Directories and pay special attention to link popularity issue- contact Webmasters of related sites to ask them to include a link to your site. Yes, it takes time, but it's worth it.
So, let's see: do we dot-com or not? You bet we do! There are tremendous opportunities on Internet. Find your niche, follow rules, work hard and you'll make it.
It will not be easy but if you believe in your dream and set realistic expectations, you'll be successful.
Good luck!
Daniel Bazac is Web Marketer for Web Design in New York, ( http://www.web-design-in-new-york.com ), a site design, Search Engine Optimization and promotion company. He's been online from 1995 and he's also a seasoned Internet Information Researcher. He can be reached at mailto:danielbazac@hotmail.com
Daniel Bazac is the Web Marketer for Web Design in New York, ( http://www.web-design-in-new-york.com ), a site design, Search Engine Optimization and promotion company. He's been online from 1995 and he's also a seasoned Internet Information Researcher. He can be reached at mailto:danielbazac@hotmail.com
