Top Small Business Website Don’ts

Based on our experience, we’ve compiled this list from internet sources, information regarding web design, and just our general experience. We thought this list applied to a lot of people and we also found this funny too…

Have your cousin create your website… Your cousin might be a great person, but unless he is a professional web designer, he is likely to create a website that is almost unusable for first time visitors.
Leave Under Construction pages… Back in 1996 it was common to have Under Construction pages on websites, but nowadays it makes a website look unprofessional.Don’t link unfinished pages to the website until it is done being constructed.
Force visitors to view a splash screen before entering your real website. Customers are looking for information not impressive graphics. If they have to wait 30 seconds to get through your introductory (splash) screen before actually viewing your content then they will leave.
Create confusing navigation… Content is very important, but the best content in the world is useless if customers can’t find it. Put your navigation, or list of links, on the top or left-hand side where people are used to finding it on most websites.
Make visitors guess what your business can do for them… If a customer comes to your website and within 20 seconds can’t figure out what you can offer them, they WILL leave. On your home page, prominently display the purpose of your business in a few sentences.
Hide your contact information… You want customers to be able to communicate easily with you. If they get frustrated trying to find a way to contact you then they will likelyleave your website and go to a competitor.
Fill your website with every piece of information you can think of… Overloading customers with information is a very common mistake. More isn’t always better. A clean,easy to read website is more desirable than one cluttered with unnecessary content.
Use Free Web Hosting… Free comes with a cost. Free Hosting adds banners and pop up ads which make your website look cluttered and unprofessional.
Have out of date content… Nothing make a website look more irrelevant then outdated information. It’s great that you had a company picnic, but the time and location for it should not be there six months later. Revisit your website often to keep it updated.
Ignore submitting your website to search engines… Even the best designed website is useless to your business unless people can find it. Submit your website to all of the major search engines, such as Google and Yahoo .
Test your website in only one browser… Unfortunately every browser interprets a website differently. Yours could look great in Safari on a Mac, but look awful in Internet Explorer on a PC.

This seems to cover the majority of topics, but there are always more. For a free analysis of your website, contact 314media today.

Slideshow Thingee…

This is one of the coolest looking coverflow adaptations for photographers or video production guys. It does require a bit of photoshop for each frame, but we do have an action. As always, contact us for pricing information.

PC St. Louis eCommerce Site

PC St. Louis and 314media have teamed up to create an ecommerse website that not only advertises his technical support services, it also allows him to sell cables at a good rate. The checkout processing is GoogleCheckout and is currently in sandbox mode until we push live. Please visit http://www.pcstlouis.com for more information about affordable PC repair and any of your cabling needs.

We’re still tweaking the site, so if it looks ugly, check back in a day or so… If you are looking for a solution like this, please contact 314media to discuss our rates and availability.

After the sale…

314meda prides ourselves on providing the best customer service in the industry. 314media is available provide customized solutions for your small business or organization to allow you to have greater freedom from website maintenance. We are also available to help with basic support after their inital “go-live”

Our most affordable way to get into e-commerce

Our latest promotion is a turn-key e-commerce and website platform. A full-featured store integrated into your new website will not only sell tons of products, but will allow your clients to stay within the same look and feel for their entire visit.

If your current shopping cart doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of your website, or you were thinking of starting an online store, 314media can provide a solution to fit your budget.

You may have unlimited products and your monthly hosting bill will only be ten bucks. Contact us today to learn how to start the ball rolling on your new online store. *Merchant account application fees and payment gateway fees may still apply.

SEO Done Correctly

The foundation for a successful SEO program consists of three key building blocks…

* Keyword-rich text.The majority of a site’s pages should contain the words and phrases the target audience types into search queries. Pages should appear somewhat focused on these important keyword phrases, and the phrases should be featured prominently on the page. Otherwise, the page won’t convert well or receive consistent search engine traffic over time. Keyword research and copy-writing for individual HTML tags are a part of this building block.

* Information/site architecture and page layout. Search engines and end users must be given easy access to keyword-rich content. How text, graphic images, and multimedia files are arranged on a page tells search engines and site visitors which content the site owner believes is most important. URL structure and technical architecture figure into that as well.

* Link development. Usually referred to as link popularity, this is the number and quality of “objective, third-party links” pointing to your website. Not all links pointing to a site are objective, third-party links, but those types of links aren’t always the most credible. Basically, this comes down to having relationships with others that allow you to display their link on your page, and in turn give you a nod on theirs.

Obviously, this little list of three things cannot bring you to the top of the heap overnight, but 314media can help you grow your site to adapt to these changes and make your site more accessible to the search engines as well as your customers. Contact us for a free analysis of your website and how to get started on your Search Engine Optimization, at 314media – the St. Louis SEO specialists!

July Web Design – Special Pricing

Contact 314media today for our special July pricing. Basic website packages start at a rock-bottom $99 dollars that include 1 year of free web hosting. To get in on this super-low pricing, contact us below! …

Google Voice on your Website

Here are a couple of different ways to integrate Google Voice into your website:

Google-calls-you-and-me-confidentially:

Give Us A Call at 314-714-5448 to discuss how to integrate these communication methods into your website.

Joe Stewart Comedy Website

Joe has chosen 314media in St. Louis to develop a new website. Joe is one of the funniest guys here in the local scene and needed a new site before jetting out to California. Keep checking back for more info on his project. Joe actually designed the site and just called us to make it work. If you’re interested in doing something like this, please contact us.

**Site is up at http://joestewartcomedy.com/ … go ahead and check it out. We’re still tweaking the store and a few other things, so check back soon.

iPhone Updating

Contact 314media to find out how you can update your website using only an iPhone! Look at me, I’m doing it now…

Another new feature is to develop your website to render in the “apple-esqueness” of the great iPhone. Developing a style that uses the familiar red and grey buttons and dropdown lists for options is another viable alternative.

Contact 314media to discuss a plan to make a website iphone compatible. For more information about updating WordPress with the iPhone, click this link.

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