Before you begin, if you've never designed a web page, it would be wise to become familiar with HTML. (Hypertext Markup Language.) A great place to start is NCSA Beginner's Guide to HTML: http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/HTMLPrimer.html

15 Tips for designing a successful web site:

(1) The main page of your web site should load in 8 seconds or less with a 56K modem.

According to two surveys, conducted by Forrester Research and Gartner Group, ecommerce sites are losing $1.1 to $1.3 billion in revenue each year due to customers click-away caused by slow loading sites. If a page takes too long to load, your potential customer will not wait. Ultimately costing you business.

(2) Make sure you include proper META tags within HTML of each page of your web site. META tags are HTML code that enable Search Engines to determine what keywords are relevant to a specific site. About 80 percent of all web site traffic originates from major Search Engines. It would be a good idea to make sure you've done your homework and fully understand how to optimize your web pages prior to designing your site.

(3) Be cautious when selecting your background and text colors. Busy backgrounds make text difficult to read and draw attention away from text. Always be consistent with your background theme on each page of your site. Your site should be nicely organized and uniform throughout.

Keep in mind, colors affect your mood and will have an affect on your visitors as well. Bright colors such as yellow and orange, cause you to become more cheerful or happy. Colors such as blue and purple have a calming effect. Dark colors such as brown and black have a depressing effect. A good rule of thumb is to use colors based on type of effect you're trying to achieve.

(4) Avoid using too many animated graphics. Not only can they be very distracting, but they can also cause your page to look unprofessional. In addition, animated graphics cause your page to load more slowly. Fancy graphics won't make sales.

(5) Your main page should specifically let your visitors know exactly what you're offering. How many times have you visited a site and never figured out exactly what they were selling? If your potential customer can't find your product or service, they definitely won't waste a lot of time looking for it. They'll go on to next site and probably never return. They're visiting your site for a specific purpose. They want something your site offers. Whether it is information, a product or service.

(6) Try to avoid placing banners at top of your page. These can instantly take your customers or even be indexed by Search Engine robots. Limit number of banners on your site to no more than two per page. One is ideal.

To get a website online fast and make money. Putting it simply. So how do people do it? What works and what doesn't?

According to Milana Leshinsky of http://www.firstbusinesswebsite.com and author of Create Your First Business Web Site CD and tutorial, you don't need to learn HTML, you don't have to buy expensive programs, and you need to be able to update your website yourself any time you choose.

In my professional experience with clients and my personal experience with http://www.SuccessPromotions.com biggest pitfall for most webpreneurs is NOT being able to edit their own website and being always at mercy of a webmaster. The most important thing is to have an internet presence that truly reflects what your business is and what it offers.

Remember that if you cannot edit your website yourself then every price change, every product addition, and every special or clearance sale must be planned farther and farther in advance. And if you're selling widgets on your website just like a million other websites are selling widgets you have to be able to differentiate yourself from marketplace.

Milana Leshinsky's tutorial is one of finest web design teaching tools on market. And its endorsed by some of biggest names in e-commerce!