11 Things Every Successful Website Needs
So you've put together a spectacular website, and you're ready to go
live on the Internet for the whole world to see. Not so fast there
Bucky. In case you didn't know, there are a few essential requirements
that every site needs to include in order to be successful.
Let's review, shall we:
1) Privacy Policy/Disclaimer: Now, I'm not a Lawyer and don't claim to
be one, but these two documents should be standard issue for every
site you have. People want to know how you're going to use their
personal information, and a "privacy policy" does just that.
In today's litigious society you'll also need to include a
disclaimer/terms of use page. This protects you and spells out to your
visitors
what they're agreeing to by using your website. If you don't know
where to start in generating these documents, you'll find plenty of
help
online.
DMA Privacy Policy Generator
http://www.dmaresponsibility.org/PPG/
OECD Privacy Statement Generator
http://tinyurl.com/5plgpc
Google Adsense & other Ad Networks Privacy Policy Generator
http://www.serprank.com/privacy-policy-generator/index.php
Privacy Policy Generator
http://www.freeprivacypolicy.com/
Free Site Disclaimer
http://www.easyriver.com/free_disclaimer.htm
This is not legal advice, and if you need help in this department,
consult with a local attorney.
2) Contact Us Information: I can't tell you how many sites I've been
to that fail to include a way to contact the owner. If you can't
include a phone number, at the very least have an email address or a
"contact us" form. By providing this information, you'll make your
visitors feel more comfortable knowing there's a way to reach you
should the need arise.
If you need a form and don't know how to create your own, try one of
these free form services.
Bravenet: http://www.bravenet.com/webtools/emailfwd/
Freedback: http://freedback.com/
Email Me: http://www.emailmeform.com/
3) Search Box/Site Map: If your site is rather large, you'll also want
to include a way to search, or have what is called a "site map".
There are many ways to add a search function to your site, the easiest
being to use Google's free service at-
http://www.google.com/sitesearch/
or try PicoSearch: http://www.picosearch.com/
A site map sounds technical, but it's just one web page that contains
links to every page of your site, usually broken down by category.
Here are some resources to help.
FreeFind: http://www.freefind.com/
4) Google Analytics/Tracking System: Once your site is up and running
you'll want to keep your eye on traffic.
Who's visiting your website, what pages are the most popular, where is
the traffic coming from. All of these questions and more can be
answered by using a good analytics program.
There are several ways to add a thorough tracking system to your site,
but the easiest and one that won't cost you a dime is Google
Analytics http://www.google.com/analytics/ Once registered, you can
add as many sites as you like all under one user ID and password.
You'll
be given some code to copy and paste on your pages. Simple, easy, and
you're done.
5) Newsletter Sign Up/RSS Feed: There's an old saying that people
won't buy from you the very first time they come to your website, so
you
need a way to stay in touch with them to bring them back again and
again. By offering a newsletter, also known as an ezine, you'll be
building a list of possible prospects which is invaluable to any site owner.
You'll find a multitude of free and low cost newsletter services
online. It's up to you, depending on your needs and what you can
afford. If
you don't want to pay anything, my favorite free services are:
FreeAutoBot: http://www.FreeAutoBot.com
Yahoo Groups: http://www.yahoo.com/groups
You can also offer an RSS feed for your newsletter, or updates to your
blog or site. This makes it easy for others to keep up with your most
recent posts. The best service for this is...
FeedBurner: http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/home
6) Consistent Navigation: This might sound like a no brainer, but many
folks get it wrong. No matter what type of menu system you decide
upon, make sure it stays the same across the board on all pages of your site.
Your job is to guide your visitors through your website, making sure
they always know where they are and how to get to where they need to
go.
For more see:
Eye on Web: http://tinyurl.com/dyh9fm
Web Page Mistakes:
http://www.webpagemistakes.ca/website-navigation/
7) Search Engine Optimized Copy: At first glance you might not think
this is so important, but trust me it is. You want your pages to rank
well with the search engines and there are a few steps you can take to
ensure this happens.
Each page of your website should be optimized for 2, or at the most 3
keywords/phrases. Weave the keywords into your titles and into the
body of each page. You can also include them in your image titles, alt
tags, even in the names you give your pages. Look at each page
individually and decide what it's about, then optimize accordingly.
For help see:
MarketLeap: http://tinyurl.com/ce8ffd
CopyBlogger: http://www.copyblogger.com/seo-copywriting/
8) Social Media Share Button: With the popularity of social media
sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, you'd be foolish not to
include an easy way for your content to be shared with others.
You'll find many free services that will give you the code you need to
instantly add a "share button" to your web pages so that visitors can
instantly share them with their friends.
To generate your own buttons see:
AddThis: http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php
TwitThis: http://www.TwitThis.com
9) Meta Tags: Some may tell you that meta tags are dead. Don't listen.
Meta tags should be included in your HTML code at the top of every
page. Many search engines will read them to pull a description to
include in their search results.
Again, each page should be optimized separately and have a unique
title, keywords, and description tags.
For help see:
AddMe: http://www.addme.com/meta.htm
10) Copyright Notice: Sounds simple but forgotten by many. All pages
should include a copyright notice. If you don't want to have to update
it manually every year, find a simple Javascript that will
automatically do it for you. You'll find one such script at:
Uncle Jims: http://jdstiles.com/java/copyright.html
11) Trust Seals/Testimonials: I grouped these two items together as
they both instil trust and confidence in your visitors. Remember, when
someone comes to your website, they don't know who you are and if
you're selling something, they may not feel comfortable giving out
their
credit card information. To help them feel more "warm and fuzzy",
include trust seals for any organizations you belong to:
For example:
BBB: http://www.bbb.org/us/Business-Accreditation/
Honest E Online: http://www.honesteonline.com/index.html
Also, if you have testimonials from happy customers, or ezine
subscribers, weave them into your site copy. People always love to
hear that
others have had a happy experience with your products/services. Make
sure you get permission first from the testimonial writers before
placing them on your website.
So there you have it -my short list of what every site needs to
succeed online. Now that you're armed with this information, get out
the
magnifying glasses and take a close look at your own website to see
what may be missing.
It's not hard to create a website, but for one that stands out head
and shoulders above the rest, you need to include these important
elements. When you launch your next site you want it to be successful,
not average. So what are you waiting for? You've got a lot of work to
do, so get busy.
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About the Author:
Merle's Mission Blog- "Rants, Raves and Random Acts of Kindness" a
self proclaimed "Internet Junkie" with a passion for net marketing,
affiliate marketing, social networking. An avid Blogger and writer
with several niche sites to her credit. Find out more at
http://merlesworld.blogspot.com/
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