A really bad website can be worse than none at all.  Here are some basic pointers to use when thinking about designing and developing a business or e-commerce website:

6 Don’ts

1. Don’t use mediocre or poor graphics with a home-made logo.  Online consumers can spot failed efforts in Windows Paint a mile off – and will be put off as a result.
2. Don’t add music to your site that plays automatically; use a media player and allow users to turn it on and off.  Volume controls, pause buttons etc are the norm on most sites – don’t forget to include these.
3. Don’t add superfluous animations / objects that move for no reason whatsoever.  The famous examples of these are in the web’s recent past – animated gifs with bouncing balls and fireworks!
4. Don’t use a dash, or dashes in your domain name if you can possibly avoid it.  Cleaner domain names appear more professional.
5. No “Under construction” signs. Don’t publish your site or section until it is complete, and never direct people to a splash page saying under construction (unless it is well-designed)
6. No junk advertising, especially with adverts that are completely unrelated to your website content – it cheapens your website and reduces the inclination to buy of potential customers.

6 Dos

1. Always concentrate on the benefits rather than the features.  Most businesses believe that a list of features is key to selling a product or service.  In most cases benefits can be presented that will do the actual selling for you.
2. Making your website search engine friendly is vitally important.  If your competitors are ranked above you in the search engines for your keywords, then they are getting the custom you should be getting.
3. Your website should be updated as regularly as possible.  We recommend this to even small business owners who generally wish to adopt a “fire-and-forget” attitude to their website.  Fresh content is indicative of activity and gives your business life on the web, making it easier for customers to trust and thus contact you or buy from you.
4. You must have a call to action: an email sign-up, dial a freephone number, download a brochure, buy a discounted product.  Pointless text with no direction will yield no results.
5. In the case of an e-commerce website, making it too hard for customers to buy from you with convoluted steps and a difficult checkout process are killers of custom. Simplify the processes, make each step as attractive as possible and show customers how close they are to their goal.
6. Always write copy for your website that reads well.  Condescending, overly-intellectual or base use of language are big turn-offs, so employing a copywriter is usually a good idea.