Putting together a website can be overwhelming and naturally you would like to make it the best it can be. You may be wondering then what makes a website a good one - include qualities in your website that will make it stand out in a positive way and have your desired impact.

First and foremost, your website should have a professional look to it. It should not look like it was put together by an amateur in his spare time as a large majority of South African small businesses website do. It must have clear lines and crisp-looking copy. Presenting a professional image on your website will inspire confidence in your company.

Beauty may only be skin deep, but your potential customers will not give you more than a passing glance if your website is unattractive or cluttered. Use some eye-catching pictures set on an appealing content. This will make your website stickier. In other words, when people click on it, they will stay to look at it and find out more.

Your website should also be easy to navigate around. A common website scheme is to have buttons across the top that customers can click on and be taken to the specified page. Whilst this works very well, it does not provide the entire story about your business. The links to go from a product page to an ordering page and then back to product pages should be easy to find. The best way to check the navigability of your website is to have someone unfamiliar with it try to use it, and then see if they have any trouble finding things. I am often asked which is the best menu structure to use, top menu or left menu, the answer is very simple, its personal choice. There are other factors that you should consider as well is how much content do you have for your website, lots of content changes your menu options.

One of the most important qualities of a great small business website is having a fascinating home page. There are a number of ways to accomplish this. You can introduce your company, focus on featured services and/or highlight special deals. This may be your only chance to capture the interest of the consumers who visit your website. Once they are intrigued by your opening page, they will be more likely to read on and place an order.

Your business will take off more quickly if you have the right kind of website. Incorporating these ideas and more into one website can be difficult if you have never done it before. Use all the tools you can find to help you make your website the best it can be. If your website has all the right qualities it can have a positive impact on your business.

A client phoned me about 4 months ago and said that they would like a website, they were not sure why they needed this but the clients son-in-law said that they should get a website. DiaMatrix designed website for the client and about 2 months later I received a call from the client thanking me once again. I asked why and he said he had just received a R40000 order and the person came from his website. He now realizes why he put up the website.

I am often asked what is the most important part of a website. It's simple, "Content, Content & more Content". Actually content that fits your website products and services is crucial for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) but more will follow on SEO in a few weeks time, stay tuned.

"A professional is someone who can do his best work when he doesn't feel like it."
Alistair Cooke