If you haven’t already done so, it’s also a good time to carve out a brand for your business. What does your business promise its customers? What one thing can your customers be sure to receive when they come to your business? What makes your business stand out from your competitors? What do you offer that is different and/or unique? How can you capitalize on that? Once you’ve determined your brand, it’s time to revamp your marketing materials to convey your brand. After all, your brand is your business identity.

To help you gain a little focus on determining your brand, think about these great companies: Nike®…What is Nike about? How can you identity shoes and/or products that belong to Nike?

Coca-Cola®…How does it differentiate itself from Pepsi? Why is color red always used?

Microsoft® Word…Other than being uniform software program for PC’s what makes this better writing program? What has Microsoft® done to build name recognition?

Amazon®…Why is it largest online bookstore? What makes Amazon better when buying books online? As you contemplate these questions, you’ll be better prepared to help develop a brand for your company.

Page Sizes Broadband is growing but is not number one yet! Remember that a lot of your customers will be using dialup; old 56k connection has served us well, but with advent of high-speed net connections it seems a lot of web designers and business owners have forgot about 70% of population are using dialup!

Couple points to consider: 1Don’t load your page with too many pictures. If you require a lot of visual content make sure it is optimized. 2Keep graphics to a minimum. Make sure you incorporate your company logo, but remember, a lot of unnecessary graphics will slow down load time.

Most companies when getting their first site done want to have everything they possibly think of on their page. Do not make your page cluttered; this makes it hard for your customer to find out about products and services you sell. Make site logical; use good navigation. Don’t write paragraph after paragraph of useless information. You want to hook them with a bit of information and then have them inquire about more of features offered with product or services. Make sure you publish your contact information. That includes phone number. Would you want to deal with a business that does not include their phone number? The most important thing to do is think like consumer. Look at some of big companies and how they do it. You will soon see that cleanness and proper navigation will keep your customers coming back.

Copyright 2005 Terry Henry, all rights reserved

About the author Terry Henry is operations manager for Henry Marketing and Development (www.hendev.com) and the PowerZone Hosting Group (www.powerzonehosting.com)