Home
>
Web Design
>
Internet Tip of the Week: First Impressions

Internet Tip of the Week: First Impressions

First impressions are extremely important if you hope to do business on the Web. After you refine your ads, and if you make your pitch to a targeted group, you will start to get visitors to your web site. Here is where many would be entrepreneurs drop the ball.

Putting up a web site is not a difficult task, but designing a good one is, and if you don't pay attention, it might be working against you. Think about it, the web site is not only the first impression of you and your business, it is crucial to your success or failure.

People don't waste a whole lot of time when visiting a site. If it isn't professional looking, they may just "click away". While looks are important, you must spend time on developing good copy. Copy written by affiliate programs has been seen over and over, and while it may have been effective at one time, it is so overused that people immediately recognize it for what it is.

In addition to good copy, which of course has no spelling, grammar or punctuation errors, it has to clearly state what you are offering. Many web sites offer a real challenge to try to figure out what they are trying to sell. The offer should be the first thing they see. The information must also flow logically, and not leave a lot of questions unanswered.

In addition to complete information on your offer, it must have a call to action, which entices the visitor to purchase from you. It must also have an order form, or instructions that are easy to follow. It is also a real plus to let the prospect know a little bit about you. Your picture on the site can go a long way to help instill confidence.

There is some confusion on the value of links. Some advocate that a good web site should be divided into separate sections connected by links. Others feel that a single long web page will score higher in the search engine rankings.

There are basically two types of links. One goes to a completely separate web page, and is considered an external link. Another type is referred to as an internal link. These point to different "parts" within the same web page. Both have value, however internal links are a little friendlier. If someone clicks on one and the next "part" logically flows from the previous one, people will be more inclined to read on.

While it is a good idea to have your links on the side of the page, you should avoid the use of frames, which divides the page into two logical pieces that can be independently manipulated. At the current time, sites constructed with frames are not search engine friendly, although this could change.

Links should be clear as to where they will take you. It is crucial that the titles of the links, not only make sense, but actually take someone to that information. Each site should have links that are unique, and it is not a good idea to have information in the target, that is not specified in the link.

If you have someone design the site for you, remember that their expertise is in web site design, and most likely they will know little, if anything, about what you are doing. They can construct the site and make it look good, but the copy and information flow is your responsibility. You should always take a break from the copy writing, and if at all possible, have someone else proof your work for grammar. Also you have to be careful of words that pass spell check, but are actually an error. Don't confuse words like "there" and "their".

Once you have the basic framework finished, it is now time to test it. Try to corral as many people as possible to review it. Is it clear and an effective presentation? You should probably avoid friends unless you are sure they will give you an honest evaluation.

The first impression your web site makes is crucial to success. If people have to "jump through hoops" to find out about your offer, or if it doesn't portray a professional image, the odds are they won't buy.

Did you know that subscribers to Bob Osgoodby's Free Ezine the "Tip of the Day" get a Free Ad for their Business at his Web Site? Great Business and Computer Tips ? Monday. Wednesday. and Friday. Instructions on how to place an ad are in the Newsletter.

Subscribe at: http://adv-marketing.com/business/subscribe2.htm.

affordable house cleaning Arlington Heights ...

In The News:

Ahold Delhaize's cybersecurity incident knocked online ordering and digital coupons offline at Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford and Giant Food stores.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Amazon's About You feature includes personality details from your shopping history, and some shoppers are finding hilariously awkward results.

Identity theft recovery starts with securing bank accounts, freezing credit and enabling two-factor authentication within the first 24 hours.

Apple's $299 HomeView smart display uses facial recognition to personalize screens for up to six household members and show live security camera feeds.

Domonique DuBose spotted red flags when a man on Hinge with 85,000 followers and a blue checkmark claimed to be a San Francisco 49ers player.

Your phone's location data can expose visits to doctors, pharmacies and places of worship. The FTC took action against data brokers selling this data.

Hackers targeted Danfoss refrigerator controls across French supermarkets, forcing chains like Carrefour and Monoprix to discard massive food stocks.

iOS 27 finally lets iPhone Shared Albums store photos and videos at full resolution in iCloud, but new items count toward the owner's storage.

A fake Facebook Marketplace text scam uses your real name as the seller to trick you into replying, and Malwarebytes warns even one response helps.

The Pentagon data breach exposed 2.76 million Social Security numbers and military records, raising long-term identity theft concerns for veterans.

Kodiak AI plans to haul IKEA freight on Texas highways with no one in the cab, raising urgent cybersecurity and safety questions for drivers.

Apple Intelligence in iOS 27 adds Extend and Reframe tools to Photos, letting iPhones generate new background areas beyond your original borders.

Microsoft's X account was hijacked to promote a crypto pump-and-dump scheme, exposing its more than 13 million followers to a scam campaign.

Scammers can combine your name, phone number and address with data breach details to attempt SIM swaps, phishing and even identity theft schemes.

ChatGPT Work, Meta Muse and Gemini Spark can monitor flight prices, sort your email inbox and track important deadlines, but savvy users start small.

iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel each hide a built-in tool that turns a video frame into a separate photo without any screenshot needed.

Operation KillSwitch dismantled KillSec's ransomware infrastructure, but investigators say a 16-year-old allegedly ran the entire cybercrime operation.

The Fox News Artificial Intelligence newsletter covers where voters will decide on AI data center ballot measures and Jeff Bezos' tech vision.

Apple's Impersonation Risk Detection in iOS 27 can flag suspicious activity inside apps, but the setting is off by default and must be enabled.

Federal Election Commission records can expose your name, address, employer and donation history once contributions exceed the $200 threshold.

Cybersecurity expert Morgan Wright says human skepticism remains the strongest defense against AI-driven phishing scams and voice cloning fraud schemes.

iPhone, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy each handle security updates differently, and one screen saying "up to date" may not tell the whole story.

Deborah Del Mastro heard what sounded like her daughter's terrified voice on the phone, launching a five-hour virtual kidnapping scam ordeal.

Hotel TV privacy risks go beyond forgotten passwords when you sign into Netflix or other streaming apps on shared devices you don't control.

Internet Tip of the Week: First Impressions

Web Design