While having a look around I also contacted a couple of sites looking for some information about their products. Was I looking to buy? Not right now but I was interested and I did bookmark some web sites to review later.

At same time I made some judgements about sites I was looking at, like:

Would I feel safe buying from this site?

Does it look professional?

Notice I am not saying does it have lovely graphics or suitable content, although this would make a visual impression. By way you can produce professional graphics for free, in minutes at http://zyris.com

I am looking for easy on eyes, easy to follow information. One of sites was a programming site for scripts to automate tasks on-line.

Some of ideas were very good but information was in a newspaper like column style. Ever tried to scroll up and down pages on-line and try to read them? it doesn't work.

Am I saying you need to have a site rofessionally designed and spend a lot of money? No, any home user can produce a professional web site that sells.

What I am saying is copy people who do it right! Like eboz

http://eboz.com

So, in order to make sure that your web site doesn't express your business inappropriately, here are 10 things you can do:

1 - Lose those banner programs.

Using banner "exchange" programs is like saying to world, "I'm a newbie." When people start a web site, they seem to be automatically drawn to sites like LinkExchange or SmartAge. Perhaps it's promise of traffic for free that does it, but know truth: banner programs, for most part, are worthless when you're just starting out. Avoid temptation to plaster your pages with every banner program you can think of, because it's not going to help you.

2 - Keep your site clean and organized, not "busy!"

Do not, I repeat, do not make your site overwhelmingly "busy." Have you ever visited a site where there were thousands of animated pictures, fluorescent text and colors, crowded pictures, and huge text? Me too. And every time I visit one, I head for "back" button in my browser. Don't run off your visitors without letting them read what you've got to say, or they'll never buy!

3 - Avoid "clip-art" type graphics like plague.

They're totally unprofessional, and scream "don't buy!" Take time to learn how to make your own graphics using whatever program you can get your hands on. We recommend Adobe Photoshop - http://www.adobe.com - if you have money. If you're short on cash, visit Jasc Software to pick up a free demo of Paint Shop Pro - http://www.jasc.com - which is almost as good as Photoshop, but with a MUCH smaller price tag.

4 - Don't talk about yourself!