All Freelance Work is a Community for Freelance Workers Including Free Portfolios, Job Search, Job Posting, Helpful Articles, Forums, & More for the Self Employed.
FIVE STEPS TO
MAKING YOUR SITE LOOK PROFESSIONAL
(C) 2002 Andy Brocklehurst http://www.succeed4u.com
==========================
If you have a web site that
looks and feels like it was thrown together by an amateur then that
is exactly the impression you are giving to your visitors.
But not being a whizz at
web design or HTML is not an excuse for having a site that looks
dreadful.
Here's some tips...
1) Use a template.
If you are really no good at putting web pages together, buy a ready
made template. These days you can buy a package of templates for
as little as $30 for 500 ready made, good looking, professional
web sites.
Pick one, load it up into
any web page editor (including the FREE netscape composer), and
put your text in.
If you don't think there
are any good templates out there, take a look at one of my sites
that used a template from one of those collections: http://www.infoproductmagic.com
2) Keep it simple.
Some of the best looking web sites are SIMPLE in design. A friend
of mine runs the site "The Wise Marketer". His site is as simple
as they come, but looks professional and is considered such since
his services sell for big money. http://www.thewisemarketer.com
3) Don't many (or any)
animated gifs or flashy menu systems.
We've all seen sites that quite frankly make us sea-sick when we
visit them. Avoid things that move. They should be used sparingly
at most for emphasis only. Also many of those things are large files
which take too long to load.
4) Test your site on
SLOW connections. If you've kept it simple there will be no
problem. But a good rule of thumb is that your first page MUST load
in under 30 seconds on a slow web connection or you're likely to
lose the visitor. People are less patient these days and the close
button is easy to reach!
5) If you really can't
manage to use a template or do something good looking on your own
- hire someone. There
are designers who will work cheap and are good. A bad looking site
is going to lose you business. It's better to invest into it and
get more sales and bigger profits.
=======================
Andy Brocklehurst is the owner/founder of http://www.succeed4u.com
and the author of "Info Product Magic" and many other books. Visit
his web site for more free articles, tips and ideas that will drive
your online business to amazing new heights.
======================
Andy Brocklehurst may be
contacted at http://www.succeed4u.comandy@succeed4u.com.
Click
here to view more of their articles.
Andy Brocklehurst is the founder of Succeed Marketing. He has a
wealth of business experience in 'the real world' and now has bought
that to the Internet. He has acted as consultant for a number of
companies including one of the fastest growing web hosting companies
in the UK. He publishes a weekly newsletter aimed at those who want
to succeed in life or business. He encourages anyone to step out
and start their own business so that they can acomplish financial
independance. Check out his web site for more details at www.succeed4u.com
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LIST OF FREELANCE FORUMS & MESSAGE BOARDS Looking to get together with other freelancers? Want to network? Want to ask questions about freelancing that you can’t find the answer to anywhere else? Look no further than the freelance forums that we have listed below. Feel free to let us know about forums that we have missed.
The followup to Brendan Sinclairs successful Web Design Business kit is a comprehensive look at all the business aspects of working as a web designer. It's thorough and has some excellent advice in it.
A complete, secure, online billing application that maintains hourly service billing, flat fee billing and recurring charges. Integration with Authorize.Net and other leading payment gateways provides hands-free recurring billing with a sophisticated CRM system.
Browse through our extensive list of free Business, Computer, Engineering and Trade magazines, white papers, downloads and podcasts to find the titles that best match your skills and interests; topics include management, marketing, operations, sales, and technology. Simply complete the application form and submit it. All are absolutely free to freelance professionals who qualify.
All Freelance Work is a Community for Freelance Workers Including Free Portfolios, Job Search, Job Posting, Helpful Articles, Forums, & More for the Self Employed.
