If you have your own website then it’s really important that you know what your website says about you. Many people create a design that they like only to learn later that it’s sending the wrong message about them and their business. It might be worth it to take a survey of others to find out what message is really coming across with the website that you’ve created.

There are a few ways that you could do such a survey:

• Ask your family and friends to share their opinions with you about your website. The downside of this is that they may not be honest because they won’t want to hurt your feelings.
• Put the word out on your social networks that you’re seeking feedback on your website. You reach a broader audience than family and friends this way.
• Post an ad online looking to trade website feedback. This is a good way to get feedback from other people who have websites.
• Pay people to take a survey about your website. You can advertise a job online giving money to people who take your short survey.

The survey should give you an idea of what you need to improve on your website so that it says what you really want it to say about you. Since most visitors won’t spend long on your website you really want to make a good first impression!

Tags: business, kathryn vercillo, survey, web design, website, what your website says about you

When you create a website for your business you need to make sure that you flesh out that website completely with the information that readers are going to want to find when they get there. This includes information about your business, your products and services and where to find additional information as needed. You need to do this not only for the benefit of your site readers but also so that search engines know what’s on your website and can draw attention to it accordingly.

So how much website content do you need to have for your site to be a good one? The answer is really that there is no such thing as too much content. The only caveat here is that you need to make sure that the content is organized in such a manner that it is easy to find and understand and that it doesn’t overwhelm the reader of the site who is looking at it. Beyond that, the more the better.

A blog is a great way to continually add fresh new content to your site in an organized fashion. Blog archives are easy to search through and get stored on the site but they don’t fill your site with lengthy passages of information that would bore readers. Adding video and images to the blog further improves how compelling the site is for readers as well as how attractive it may be to search engines. Never stop developing your content!

Tags: blogs, business, content, graphic design, marketing, website

One of the things that I do every few months is take a good hard look at my website and all of my blogs to make sure that they look the way that I want them to. It’s hard to remember to do this because you’re usually working on the back end of your website (adding content and optimizing it for search engines). However, the thing that people see when they come to your page is ultimately the only thing that really ends up mattering so I think it’s important to try to get a viewer’s perspective on your sites and blogs every once in awhile.

One of the things that you have to ask yourself when doing this kind of review is whether or not your site looks trustworthy. Most people have ads and links out on their sites and this is normal but the wrong ads or excessive linking can make people feeling like they’re just looking at a lot of spam when they come to your site. The design of the site, the content that you choose to put up, the way that you categorize everything … all of these things have a visual impact on the people who visit your site and you want to make sure that the impact they have is a positive one.

Basically, you have to think about the fact that most people who come to your website aren’t planning to stay there long, especially if they just clicked through from somewhere else on the web. You want to create a website that looks friendly and professional and aesthetically pleasing. You want to make a good first impression. When you meet a new person for the first time, you probably want them to believe that they can trust you right? It’s the same thing with a website.

What are you doing to make your site look like it can be trusted?

For me, the bottom line is that I try to create a site that not only looks trustworthy but actually is trustworthy. I try to stick to writing about topics that I know well enough to provide accurate information about them. I try to make sure that the things I promote through the site are things I would promote in real life if asked. And I keep checking to make sure that the sites look the way that they should so that I can feel comfortable with what I’m putting out there.

Tags: Blog, customers, design, kathryn vercillo, site design, trustworthy, web 2.0, website