Use your spell checker but don't rely on it (i.e. it won't pick up difference between there and their). Use dictionary for words you are not sure of.

After editing it a number of times, leave it for a few hours or sleep on it then edit it again (or have someone else read it). This gives you a fresh perspective and you will often refine it until it's near perfect:-)

9. Submit your article to online publishers and article banks - this will potentially give your article exposure to thousands of people.

Article submission resources:

http://www.ezinearticles.com http://www.ideamarketers.com http://www.makingprofit.com http://www.allwebarticles.com http://www.goarticles.com http://www.ezadsuccess.com/articles/submit.shtml http://www.netterweb.com/articles

Article announcement lists

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Content http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PublishInYours http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aabusiness http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aainet

Directories of ezine publishers

http://www.directoryofezines.com http://www.ezinelocater.com http://www.ezinehub.com http://www.ezineuniverse.com http://www.ezinesearch.com

Software to send out your articles.

Ezineannouncer (Ezineannouncer.com)

Automatically sends your articles to 1000s of ezine publishers, saving you a lot of time and money.

Tips:

Keep it simple - write to appeal to a large audience, so don't use large words or jargon that people won't understand.

If you are planning on creating a web page from your article for search engines, then weave your keywords throughout your text.

Send a thank you note to all people who publish your article. This will help you build long term relationships for your business.

Plan to write an article every 2 weeks or so. You will see a dramatic increase in web site traffic each time you submit your article.. all without spending a dime.

__Flash animation.

Flash movies are commonly used on websites these days. However, to view them often requires users to download a plug-in, if they don't already have it. It can chew up your machine's resources and make it darn near impossible to get out - even a 'Skip Intro' link is hard to click on if your computer is too involved with Flash! Plus load time can be far too long for those without high-speed Internet connections.

Of course there are legitimate reasons to use Flash. But if you use it make sure visitors have OPTION to view it. A couple of suggestions are:

* Put two links on your entry page: one to view site using Flash, other to view it without Flash.

* Move your Flash movies deeper within your site. If your visitor wants to view them, they can simply click on a link.

__'Forced' disclosure of personal information.

You may have seen sites that ask you to enter an email address, a name, or other personal information before you're allowed to 'enter' site. Again, this is an easy way to lose a visitor! Without knowing anything about a site, what reason does visitor have to give up personal details?

Give your visitors option to sign up for your newsletter, product updates, etc. But let them into your site first. If they like what they see, they'll willingly provide you with contact information. This helps *you* too, by 'pre-screening' people on your list to help ensure that it contains only interested prospects and not just people who were 'looking around'.

__S-l-o-o-o-w loading pages.

Huge graphics and HTML errors are just a couple of things that can affect load time of your web pages. Many HTML editors will check your code for errors, or use NetMechanic's HTML Toolbox: http://netmechanic.com/ . NetMechanic also offers a free tool to help minimize size of your graphics.

__General 'unprofessional' look-and-feel.

A few of more commonly seen design problems include: spelling mistakes; bright/clashing colors (or too many colors); too many fonts; a sloppy or disorganized look; too many banners or graphics blinking, flashing, dancing, or beckoning from screen; lots of broken links; and horizontal scroll bars.

Creating a web page is easy. Creating a *good* web page, however, takes a little more thought. A clean, well- designed site is worth effort. Your bottom line will thank you!

_____

Angela is the author of Online Business Basics, a practical guide to building a profitable Internet business on a beginner's budget. It's received rave reviews -- see why by visiting http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/article.html or request a series of 10 free reports to get you started: http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/freereports.html