Monday, September 24, 2007

Attractive Enhancements For Your Blog

Attractive Enhancements For Your Blog
by Ken Stevenson

Deciding on a blog design solution and implementing it is certainly a sound business decision and should reward the online web site owner with a vast amount of traffic as well as paying customers. Creating a blog is simple, painless, and easy to maintain. Popular blogging sites like WordPress and Blogger offer personalized services, numerous template designs, friendly search engine rankings, and helpful tutorials. Taking advantage of these opportunistic offerings should be a component of any successful online business venture. However, there is more to a blog than simply setting it up, performing routine maintenance, and providing periodic entries. Potential customers and visitors need to have good reasons for visiting your blog and remain as regular loyalists. Several enhancements to a blog can entice and deliver more web surfers when used effectively.

One enhancement that should be seriously considered is the use of video clips. Written text is obviously important and it's the cornerstone of any blog, but adding the occasional video clip can only serve to magnify an online web site's existence. Stephanie Collen, an online business marketer for a major clothing firm, describes the changes when video was introduced to the retailer's site. "Our site was text driven with many pictures and it seemed to be working effectively. When we added video clips to the mix, the results were amazing. A thirty-seven percent increase in traffic and sales rose by twenty-one percent. Video clips are here to stay at our site". Video supplies and software can be found at many places on the internet.

Another blogging business tip involves the use of audio clips and should be another feature for your blog. Collen also suggests using audio as an enhancement for your blog. "When we added video to the site, audio clips were phased out. Many customers complained and the audio section was restored much to their delight. We quickly learned that sound bites sell and never go out of style. It will continue to be a part of our marketing". Adding a few audio clips at opportune spaces on your blog will increase traffic flow and yield new customers. Audio equipment, supplies, and software can also be found at many places on the internet.

If the aforementioned enhancements are too much for your budget at this time, consider using pictures as a tool for driving more visitors to your site. Visual enhancements can sell far better than text only and is appealing to virtually every visitor. Also, if you have a blogging site such as 360 Blog Yahoo, Blogger, or WordPress, you can insert custom-made graphics . Graphics and photo editing software can easily be found with an internet search. Be sure to use the tools that meet your standards.

A blog design solution that incorporates stunning enhancements will make every blogging experience a rewarding endeavor. By using video, audio, and graphical improvements, your online business blog will witness a surge in visitors and customers.

About the Author
Ken Stevenson is a charter member of Earners Guild. For more information about a blog design solution, visit Earners Guild at http://www.earnersguild.com/WordPress, where you'll find step-by-step video training for anyone interested in starting or growing an online business.


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Monday, September 17, 2007

Affordable Small Business Web Design - 5 Tips by Andy Doan - from - web designs 4 u

Affordable Small Business Web Design - 5 Tips by Andy Doan - from - web designs 4 u

When creating an affordable Web site for your small business, there are certain things to keep in mind from a design perspective that can make or break your site. Even if you do not plan to spend a fortune on your site, paying attention to each of these items you will ensure that the final product is something of which you can be proud.

Affordable Small Business Web Design - 5 Tips by Andy Doan - from - web designs 4 u

Here are 5 tips for designing your small business Web site, even on a budget:

Tip #1: Make sure your Web site loads in 5 seconds or less: Have you ever tried to view a Web site only to find that it takes 10 or 20 seconds to come up on your screen? Unless it has been recommended by a friend or you have some other burning desire to visit the site, you probably likely gave up and moved on. The first 5 seconds is very important in terms of the attention span of your visitor. During that period, you need your site to load and for the visitor to be able to "get" what your site is about. If it takes longer than this, your visitors will run out of patience and leave. Tip: if you want to show off a long flash presentation, try featuring it on a page other than the home page.

Affordable Small Business Web Design - 5 Tips by Andy Doan - from - web designs 4 u

Tip #2: Limit the menu bar to 5 options: Your Web site needs to be singular in purpose and focused in appearance. If your site is trying to be all things to all people, it will end up being of value to almost nobody. The simplicity and focus of your site design is reflected in your navigation and symbolized on your home page by your menu options. If you believe your site requires more than five menu options, make some of them sub-menus that are available only after the user selects one of the five main options.

Affordable Small Business Web Design - 5 Tips by Andy Doan - from - web designs 4 u

Tip #3: Make clearly visible a call to action: Ever shopped at an IKEA? Their stores have a non-traditional layout that allows you to look around freely and yet literally leads you from one section to another, right on through to the multiple cash registers and food goodies waiting for you at the end of your path. Let this serve as a model for how to set up your Web site: on every page, you need to make it abundantly clear to your site visitors just exactly what it is you want them to do. Do you want them to contact you? Order your product or service? Add a comment to your Web site? Whatever it is, make this call to action very easy to spot both textually and graphically from anywhere on the site.

Affordable Small Business Web Design - 5 Tips by Andy Doan - from - web designs 4 u

Tip #4: Provide free and clear access to additional help options: You do not want to lose sales (or visits, or whatever your goal for your visitors maybe be) just because you failed to give someone the chance to ask a question. Just as with your call to action, make it clear to visitors that no matter where they are on your site they can easily locate help via phone, e-mail, live chat, call back, user forum, or knowledge database. Hint: present the various options in a prioritized manner depending upon anticipated user needs.

Affordable Small Business Web Design - 5 Tips by Andy Doan - from - web designs 4 u

Tip #5: Show consistency among other design elements: The look-and-feel of your site as a whole is really just a combination of all of its individual components. Pay close attention to every detailed component of your new site. Use appropriate colors and graphics, pay attention to font size, make sure your messaging is readable and makes sense, and make sure images look crisp and appealing. Items that you think are minor might form the basis for whether someone chooses to stay on your site or find that of a competitor.
Whether you are designing your own site or hiring a professional designer, pay attention to these items and you will have a winning site for your small business, even on a budget.

Affordable Small Business Web Design - 5 Tips by Andy Doan - from - web designs 4 u

Andy Doan of iConvex has been saving small businesses from Web site grief for over 6 years. Get your free, no-hassle quote at http://www.iconvex.com/. (First time customers: mention coupon code AT0045 to get a 10% discount).