How to Boost Your Online Business?

The popularity of online shopping continues to grow and grow. With so many online stores selling similar products, standing out in the online shopping world is a must. Here’s how to boost your business and stand out from the crowd.

• Develop an SEO campaign. Keywords will direct traffic to your website.  When a customer places keywords in a search engine, using the right keywords will place you on top of the competition.
• Develop a user-friendly website. A user-friendly website should load quickly and be easy to navigate. If a potential customer becomes frustrated with the loading time or has difficulty navigating your online store, they are likely to move on to the next site.
• Make a deal no one can refuse. Offer free shipping, sales, clearance items, free gifts with purchase and promotional codes. Every consumer loves a good sale.
• Use e-mail marketing. Let loyal customers know about your sales and promotions. Use e-mail marketing to send sale reminders, promotional codes and information on new products.
• Use social media. Facebook and Twitter is a great way to get your name out there. You can use these media outlets for promotions and lead generation. Offer contests through the use of social media.
• Create a blog. Let shoppers know what your company is all about. Use a blog to explain company events and to mark company milestones. Blogs can also provide reviews and demonstrations of products for sale on your website.

Top Website Design Mistakes

We all make mistakes. Unfortunately, making a mistake in website design can cost you viewers and potential customers. Here are some mistakes you need to try your hardest to avoid.

• What is this website about? Users must know what the website is pertaining to within seconds of visiting a website. If a user has no idea what type or product, service or information you are selling, it is highly likely that they will turn to another source. It only takes a few seconds to lose business.
• Writing a book. Don’t write a book. If a user wants to read a book, that is what they will do. A website with paragraphs upon paragraphs of information can be intimidating or waste the users time. Use bulleted points, numbers, headers, subheadings and lists to convey your message in a way that will give users the information they need quickly.
• Tiny, fancy fonts. A website should be easy to read. Tiny, fancy fonts are likely to turn a user away from your website. Make the reading process comfortable and avoid causing users to strain their eyes. Use a size 12 font that is easy on the eyes.
• Avoid registration. Unless it is absolutely necessary, do not require users to sign up to view content or make them register in order to make a purchase. When consumers want information now or to place an order quickly, do not consume their time. Give users what they want quickly and avoid the unnecessary steps.
• Don’t forget your contact information. Nothing is worse than not being able to contact a company. Be sure to at the very least include an e-mail address. Users may have questions!

Define Yourself on the Web: Creating an Avatar

Unless you have been living under a rock for years, social media is the new norm. It’s how you meet people, communicate ideas, express your thoughts, interview for a job, and just have fun. The days of a big smile and a firm handshake are no longer by any means a form of introducing one’s self. Your avatar is your first impression as you meet and interact with individuals on blogs, social networks, and in other online communities.

Your avatar defines you on the web. It represents your personality or interests and can even represent what your business stands for.

Here is how to best define yourself on the world wide web:

1. Make sure you have or are creating an avatar. In online communities, not have an avatar can be a fatal mistake. As well as indicate laziness. When you set up a social media account, make sure you have an avatar ready to go. Lack of creating an avatar can create feeling of suspicion, doubt, and frustration from online users. If you cannot see what someone looks like, are they trying to hide something? How serious are they about contacting you and using social media as a means of communication? Maybe, this individual does not know how to create an avatar. In a world were jobs are given through online interviews, does this person lack basic skills? Avatars also create a sense of connection in a world were face to face communication is slim to none.
2. Define yourself or brand by creating an avatar. Which words and images best describe the image you are trying to portray of yourself or your organization? Do you want to be seen as professional, creative, helpful, honest, etc? An avatar is like a first impression; you are either well-groomed and confident or you are not!
3. Create multiple avatars. Consistency is one thing. However, you can use create multiple avatars that are consistent. More than one image can convey the brand and personality you are going for. Or you can hold on to multiple images and if you think it is time for a change use them.
4. Express yourself carefully. Images may have underlying meanings that when creating your avatar you may not even think of. For example, creating a green avatar can indicate involvement in social movement. Even if you are involved in politics or social movements, avoid using these concepts when creating your avatar. People and organizations may steer clear of you if they do not share your views or see that you are promoting a cause or event that their organization is firmly against. First impressions are everything. In the online world, it is important to remember that your avatar is your first impression.
5. Be careful when creating avatars using photographs. Using an online editing tool to add special effects or touch up plain photography. Just be careful not to over do it. In the event you would ever meet in person, you want to be recognizable.

Speed Up Your Website: Web Design Tricks

Effective and quick websites are the best kind. The most important thing to consider as a web designer is that your site needs to be fast loading. Great designs mean nothing if they are going to take all day to load.

In order to make your webpage load quick consider:

Use fewer images. A website will load fast if it does not contain many images. Images will enhance the appearance of your webpage. This does not mean you have to go overboard with the images. Break your webpage down into as much simple HTML as possible. Keep in mind popular sites while designing yours. Remember, sites like Google and Ebay use very few images and load very fast.

Optimize your images for the web. After selecting images, make sure they are web friendly. They should be in gif or jpeg form. Minimizing the colors will also help minimize the size of your image. You can also find online tools, such as Gif Wizard, to help optimize your images.

Get creative with tables. Tables load fast since they are created in simple HTML, so use them wisely. Tables can easily be integrated on homepages or menu bars.

Avoid animated gifs. Only use these if they are absolutely necessary. Animated gifs take a very long time to download, which can frustrate anyone. A small animated gif will be okay, only because they are very catchy.

Use simple icons. Designing simple icons opposed to big, bulky images will help with speed. Adding a little color will draw attention to them.

Resort to background images. Use background images instead of large images when possible. This will drastically reduce the size of the webpage.

Try CSS Style. Have a little fun testing out text effects. You can create rollover text, it’s simple yet has a nice effect. There are many CSS tutorials on the web.

Use flash infrequently. Flash has a lot of hype around it, but also a lot of loading time. Flash many look nice, but it is not so nice on the loading side. If you do want to use Flash, use it within an HTML site and ensure it loads fast.

Use HTML often. Design most of your site in HTML. It loads quick. Use tables, CSS, and simple fonts when designing your site.