15 Website Mistakes to Avoid

There are just so many goofs new website owners & site builders make--but let's narrow the focus to the most disastrous 15 of them. Avoid only these issues and your site will be far better than much of the competition.


#1.  Own Control - a biggie!
One of the biggest mistakes a person can make is giving control completely to someone else. Should you want to change things or go to another company, you will never have more of a headache in your life than not having control over this management. People trust companies like yahoo  and other big companies, but what they do not know, is that many of these companies make it almost impossible to manage what you should have control over. They do this to "LOCK YOU IN" their services!

Domain Names - When choosing a domain, first make sure it is a true domain and not a sub-domain if you are a business. If your http:// is a name with their .com address, it is not a real true domain.  Secondly, if when choosing a domain name, make sure that you have access to domain manager! Whatever you do, do NOT loose the link and password information. If you wish to change hosting areas or who you buy your domain from, you will not be able to transfer it when the time comes. Last advice, is if you do use someone to manage it for you, to still have control over that domain manager. You can always let an administrator help you set them up, "if" you need assistance helping you to set up. Then change your password afterwards if needed.

In addition, many companies will send you a marketing ad that tells you to renew your name. Some even look like bills!  Do not renew until you make sure that it the company you have your domain with already. Otherwise you could be transferring your name over to their management, many times at a higher price. They will then lock you in with the wrong company, while you were thinking it was the one you had. Compare company names before you pay any domain billings that come in the mail or email. Its a marketing scam, that congress has tried to discourage but large companies still play on with consumers who own domain names.

Hosting - Make sure you have information to manage your hosting! Again, always keep company name, link to administrative area, and your log in information. This is very important! Even if someone else does this for you. YOU need to have complete control should you ever decide to change things, which includes changing companies.

Website/Programmers - You own your site. Make sure you are not held hostage for it. Some programmers and web site developers hold client websites hostage because they host the site. Make sure that the person who develops your website will give you a COPY of your site on disk once completed as part of your services.  Some companies charge for copies. You want to make sure you have a copy so that if anything happens to them or your site, you can easily upload it again or if you change companies you will have your site to do such!
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2. Plan out your site in detail
Before you begin building your Web site, sit down and define your purposes and goals for your site. Then, map out the flow of your site, starting with your home page through every page that follows, based on your goals. Your site's purpose--whether it's to gather leads for your service business or to sell your homemade confections--should drive the design of the pages and the site. If you start building without a firm idea of what the end product should do and be, it'll be very apparent to your users who'll see a hodgepodge of links and information without a unified message.
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3. Put Contact & Log-ins where they can be seen easily
If you're selling, you have to offer visitors multiple ways to connect to you. Make it easy for the customer to contact you or to log-in. The smartest route is to put a "Contact Us" button that leads to complete info--phone number, fax number, mailing address. Even if nobody ever calls you, the very presence of this information will comfort some visitors.  Always put an e-mail address at the bottom of every page if not link on that page.
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4. Test broken links & maintenance site regularly
Bad links -- hyperlinks that do nothing when clicked--are the bane of any surfer. Test your site--and do it weekly, to ensure that all links work as promised.
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5. Keep site up to date in information
Again, there's no excuse but it's stunning how many site builders lazily leave up pages that long ago ceased to be accurate. When information changes, update the appropriate pages immediately--and this means every bit of information, every fact, even tiny ones. As a small business, you cannot afford the loss of credibility that can come from having even a single factual goof.
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6. Too many font styles and colors
Pages ought to present a unified, consistent look, but novice site builders--entranced by having hundreds of fonts at their fingertips plus dozens of colors frequently turn their pages into a garish mishmash. Use two, maybe three fonts and colors per page, maximum. The idea is to reassure viewers of your solidarity and stability, not to convince them you are wildly artistic.
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7. Orphan pages
Memorize this: Every page in your site needs a readily seen link back to the start page. Why? Sometimes users will forward a URL to friends, who may visit and may want more information. But if the page they get is a dead-end, forget it. Always put a link to "Home" on every page, and that quickly solves this problem.
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8. Disabling the back button
Evil site authors long ago figured out how to break a browser's back button so that when a user pushes it, several undesirable things happen: There's an immediate redirect to an unwanted location, the browser stays put because the back button has been deactivated, or a new window pops up and takes over the screen.
Porno site authors are masters of this--their code is often so malicious that frequently the only way to break the cycle is to restart the computer--but this trick has gained currency with other kinds of site builders. My advice: Never do it. All that's accomplished is viewers get annoyed.
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9. Opening new windows
Once upon a time, using multiple new frames to display content as a user clicked through a site was cool--a new, new thing in Web design. Now it only annoys viewers because it ties up system resources, slows computer response and generally complicates a surfer's experience. Sure, it's easy to use this tool. But don't.  When one does, make it an informational or buying short resource or elective choice, and even then, not for everything.
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10. Slow loading times
You have but 10 seconds or less to gain your visitors interest when they first come to your website. For personal and hobby sites, slow server times are the norm, and since much of this Web space is free, there's really no complaining. Slow server and page loading times are inexcusable with professional sites. It's an invitation to the visitor to click away. If your server is the culprit, find another host. If your Web pages are to blame, make sure you haven't packed them with too many images and applets. (see optimization below)
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11. Using leading-edge technology
Isn't that what the Web's all about? Nope, not when you are guaranteed to lose most of your viewers whenever your site requires a download of new software to be properly viewed. Flash is way cool, no question about it, but if nobody actually looks at them, they are just so much waste at times, depending on how flash is used. Never use bells and whistles that force viewers to go to a third-party site to download a viewing program. Your pages need to be readable with a standard, plain-Jane browser, preferably last year's or earlier. State-of-the-art is cool for tech wizards but death for entrepreneurs.
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12. Using Templates - Pro's & Cons
Hey, I can just find a template and create my own website, right? Many programmers and self made sites use templates these days while other sites are created to be unique from all others. Using a template that is altered to your needs is no big deal these days.  So, while this is true that templates are great to use and cut cost, many do not understand that unless you have the programs and know how to use them for that templates and graphics changes, that template may be no use to you. In addition, many template graphics require special graphic programs to do this including using that graphic with your words on it instead of the templates. Last remember the fact that a template might not work should you change its formation or need different spacing other hand what that template offers.  If you are wanting to use a template, remember to ask yourself these questions.  Do you have the programs & skills to alternate that template to your own specifications.
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13. Optimizing Your site A & B's
Optimization of your website is very important. You have but 6 seconds to gain the attention of a new prospect when they visit your site. If the page or graphic loads to slow, you will lose your traffic before they even!  Web pages and graphics should be optimized to avoid these issues.

In addition, mega tags and proper page optimization is a process of many things. It starts with mega tags so that search engines will read your webpage and list you in their search engines. The better optimized your page is, the higher rank your page will be. With millions of web pages in a search engine these days you have to also be creative for a best results.  Factors of your site search results in search engines are also based on: The domain name you choose, your title, your page descriptions, your page name, the first 200 words of that page.
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14.  Pop up ads
Although pop ups can be great at times, try to keep any limited. It is a proven fact that with all the pop up abuse on line with spamming advertisings, the general public hates pop ups. Most have pop up blockers now to help prevent such agitating pesty pop ups!  Ask yourself why you are choosing that direction should you use them.
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15. Marketing Your site
So now you have a website you can be proud of. Only problem is, if no one sees it, it all becomes irrelevant.  You need to do four (4) important factors.

• Put your links and descriptions into as many search engines and directories as possible associated with your site's topic/information. Then continue to do so at least quarterly to keep your site in a positive position in them.  There are many companies on line that do this.

• Trade links with other sites. Look on line for sites that complement yours and theirs. Email them to see if they would like to exchange links with you. The more you are out there the more search engines will pick your site up.

• Press Release. Add a page to your site for press releases. There are websites on line where you can send them a press release. This is help get traffic and will enhance your site ranking in some search engines.

• You will need some form of advertising your site. There are many options where you can start small in advertising budgets and grow as your business grows.
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