Thanks for joining me again. In this part of the series, we’ll talk about
trying to keep from looking like a clone.
9. Presents an appearance in keeping with what you're selling:
This step just takes a few minutes of objective observation on your part to
make sure your website presents the personality of your company and has the
kind of image you intended to project. If you have a very serious service
to offer, such as financial services, your website should have very little
fun stuff on it. It should present a very professional image. In most
cases, it should contain no moving gifs, no cartoons, and no goofy stuff. If
your site sells toys, its image can be completely fun. This is, like some
of the other elements, subject to opinion, so just do what your heart tells
you. If you have any doubts at all about the appearance of your site, change
it until you feel right about it. Check out other sites of your biggest
competitors to get an idea what is selling in the way of website presence.
There will probably be a lot of things about their sites you do not like.
Use your creative sense to make a site that is uniquely yours. One financial
services company had a lot of success by offering a calculator utility on
their site that allowed visitor's to figure out how many years and at what
interest rate it would take them to save the kind of money they wanted to
have available at retirement time.
10. Sells in a very subtle way: There's nothing more annoying than to go to
a site to read up on some information you really need to brush up on, and
every other paragraph is a CLICK HERE or to buy it, go here. I can
understand an FAQ area where this goes on, but not your main page, please!
The most effective sites on the Internet are those that provide a lot of
free information, but they might have a banner at the top or a click through
on the side of the page in case the reader is interested. Most of the
really bad sales letters I see on the Internet are nothing but that -sales
letters with no real redeeming value to the reader. If you're not willing to
give away any of your knowledge on your website, how can you expect to sell
any? In a retail store, people walk in expecting to buy. On a website,
they're aware that you're selling something, but it's kind of like that
store where you that the salespeople are constantly nagging you, asking you
if they can help you. Subtlety says it all! 'Nuff said.
11. Is not like everyone else's:
This kind of goes along with Element number 11 of presenting the image your
company has. Have you ever noticed that many sites that represent companies
in the same category all look alike? I'm not picking on any sites in
particular. You know which ones they are. Try not to be a clone. This
could take a long time to figure out how, but it is really crucial that you
make your site unique. If it reminds visitors of someone else, they can
easily lose the brand identification that you'd like them to have about your
product. If your site is memorable without being obnoxious, they'll
remember you. The Internet makes it really easy to forget what sites you
went to. Make sure your site is one they'll bookmark or add to their
favorites in order to visit again. That's the ultimate compliment - the one
you're working for. "Please come back soon" is tougher to ensure on the Web.
One site deals with the mechanics of using a program called Bryce 3D by
Metacreations. The site has a very unique name, but it also epitomizes
Bryce 3D's capabilities because of its awesome graphics. You may have been
there: www.digitalblasphemy.com.
Great place to pick up free wallpaper for your desktop, which keeps people
coming back, but it is also a great place to just learn about Bryce 3D.
People don't easily forget the name or the focus of the site. This is your
ultimate goal. Another website you won't soon forget is
www.websitesthatsuck.com. You’ll especially not forget them if they decide
your site belongs in their list of Sucky Sites!
Thanks for your joining me again! You’ve been so patient. (grin) Next time
is our last time together, but we’ll talk about something very crucial to
keeping your website in your visitors’ minds: Keeping in touch. See you
again soon!
About the Author
Lynne Schlumpf is the CEO of Route 66 Cyber Cafe, Inc.,
http://www.r66cci.com, a Web hosting and design company
specializing in promoting websites for new owners, building
affordable e-commerce sites, and providing reliable web hosting
solutions as an affiliate of Virtualis Incorporated.