4. Assurance they'll be satisfied with product

Because Internet is so fast-paced and anything that's on it could easily by a lie, potential customers are terribly wary of being over-hyped about a product and being let down when they finally buy it.

That being case, if you can offer customer a guarantee that they'll be satisfied or they'll get their money back, then you can close more sales because you've assured them of their satisfaction. Additionally, a free trial if possible is a good idea here.

5. Appearance of a good foundation and reputation

The customer has absolutely no idea who you are and how you'll treat them. So, at all times make it clear how they can contact you and that you'd love to hear from them. You can do so by creating two pages on your site: an "About Us" page and a "Contact Us" page.

I'd also like to note that depending on what type of product you're selling, it may be appropriate to give as much information you can on product. (Technical details, documents, layouts, lists of features, etc.) A good rule of thumb is that more information, better.

However, keep in mind that last thing you'll want to do is drown your visitor in information. The key here is catering to your target audience. So, use your good judgment to determine what needs to be on site, but if in doubt, put information on site.

(Also, it should be noted that it's relatively easy to determine if addition was a good one - through some simple testing, determine if your site's effectiveness increased, and if it did, you made right decision.)

Add five key pieces above to your site and you'll see an increase in response rate and overall effectiveness of your site. I guarantee it!

DISADVANTAGES * You'll still need to have (or learn) some technical skills, but not nearly as many as with DIY solution. * Consultant's cost may be hundreds of dollars even for a small site. Larger sites will cost more, of course. * You run risk of consultant not providing design that you were looking for. * Major changes or upgrades to site will probably need to be done by consultant. * When you update site yourself you risk "breaking" something or just "messing it up."

SKILLS NEEDED * Some technical skills or a willingness to acquire them. * The ability to liaise with consultant about how you want site to look and what you want it to achieve.

(c) THE FULL OUTSOURCING SOLUTION

ADVANTAGES * You are not required to spend time and effort learning technical skills that other folk already know and (let's be honest here) can probably do better. * This requires least effort on your part. * A consultant will produce site faster than you can. * This should produce a professional looking site that navigates easily, loads quickly, is compatible with all browsers and works well with search engines.

DISADVANTAGES * This is most costly solution. * You have less control over content of site.

SKILLS NEEDED * The ability to liaise with consultant about how you want site to look and what you want it to achieve.

CONCLUSIONS Choosing between these solutions comes down to two main issues: your budget and your skills. If you have skills needed (and free time), you can save yourself hundreds of dollars in consultants' fees. If not, consider bringing in a consultant to design site for you and, perhaps, to do updates as well.