How To Give Your Small Business Web Site A Corporate Look
by Milana Leshinsky
The Web is an amazing thing! You can be a 15-year old girl and
make everyone believe you are a big-time executive who just can't
wait to get home from work after a busy day of meetings and
lunches, and relax by your big-screen TV with an expensive
Siberian cat in you lap.
I am not exactly sure why you would want to do that, but it's
certainly possible :-) In the example below, however, you
might find that sometimes boosting your online image is
important to you AND your wallet.
Have you ever said to yourself, "I am just a person, not a
company - why would anyone trust me enough to buy from me?"
You ARE a company! If you provide a service or sell a product
that others are willing to pay for, then you are a one-person
company.
Just because you work out of your home office, doesn't mean you
are less professional. Still many people today will not take you
seriously if they see you talk from the "first face" ("I" instead
of "we", "mine" instead of "ours").
There is a remedy for this problem. You can reate a
professional, more corporate look on your web site using the
skillful techniques I will share with you here.
1. Create a high quality logo on your web site. If you don't
consider yourself a good graphic designer, hire a professional.
The owner of gotlogos.com can give you an excellent quality logo
for only $25.00. There is no good reason not to have it done.
2. Professional web site look. If you can't come up with good
design ideas for your web site, consider using high quality
web templates. This will immediately boost your credibility
by at least 50%, so do this as soon as you can. Just go to
http://www.freewebtemplates.com for a huge collection of
templates and pick one out.
3. If you don't have your own domain name, get one ASAP! It's
not even a question - you absolutely need one to be considered
"in the game", so to speak. I don't think I have ever shopped
on a site that has an address like www.geocities.com/1234/~meg
or something similar.
4. Once you have your own domain, you can use a "real" business
e-mail address. For example, my domain name is HelpingFoot.com.
This means that instead of milana@earthlink.com I can use
milana@helpingfoot.com. Ask your hosting company how you can
set your e-mail address up to match your domain name.
5. Have you ever heard of a catch-all e-mail account? I have one
and I absolutely love it! You can send me an e-mail to
anything@helpingfoot.com, sales@helpingfoot.com,
president@helpingfoot.com, service@helpingfoot.com or whatever
else you can think of... and I will receive it in my mailbox.
You can use this feature to create different "departments" in
your business: service, sales, support, owner, etc. and, when
you get an e-mail, you will know exactly who the sender was
trying to reach. This also creates an impression of a bigger
company.
6. Add a toll free phone number and a physical mailing address,
if possible. A 1-800 number always makes an impression on me
because I can pick up the phone and ask a question of a real
person.
7. Consider using a multiple-column site design instead of one
or two columns. Take a look at big corporate web sites like
MSN.com, CNN.com, cars.com - they are all constructed with at
least 3-4 columns. I like to call it a "magazine" layout,
because the columns are also illustrated with small clipart or
photographs and create a really fancy commercial appearance.
8. Make your web site consistent. Choose a design and use it
on every page, along with your logo. Don't make every page
on your site look different like so many personal web sites
do. It's distracting and confusing, and your visitors might
not even realize they are still on your site.
9. Create a "Partners" section on your web site. List your
affiliates, ad exchange partners, joint venture partners,
or those people who published your articles. The word
"partners" itself sounds so big and important that it
will immediately boost your credibility in the eyes of your
visitors. Just make sure to list the names professionally:
instead of Joe Smith say "Founder of the very first site
for seniors awareness, Joe Smith".
10. Make sure your web site is filled with useful content. Put
up a "Frequently Asked Questions" page, gather relevant articles
with free reprint rights, as well as your own writings. Post
your newsletter archives, tips, business history and owner's
information. Most big corporate web sites have a wealth of
helpful information.
11. Add a "Translate To Another Language" link to your web site.
Simply go to AltaVista.com, click on "Translate", choose the
language, and type in your web site address. You will see your
web site in a different language placed in a frame. Right-click
on your web page and choose "Properties". Highlight the URL and
link to it from your main web site.
For example, if you click on:
http://world.altavista.com/urltrurl?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.helpingfoot.com
&lp=en_de&tt=url&urltext=&doit=done
you will see my HelpingFoot.com translated into German. Too bad
they didn't have a Russian translation - I am just dying to find
out how to say "Helping Foot" in my native language :-)
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Milana Leshinsky is a publisher of the popular e-zine "Web
Expert or Not!" filled with Web Design Tutorials, Tips and
articles. Sign up today and receive 2 FREE E-BOOKS: "Absolute
Beginner's Guide to Starting a Web Site" and "14 Instant Web
Design Tutorials" < http://www.webexpertornot.com/?corporate >
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