Taking Your Local Retail Business Online Steering Through The World Wide Web

In todays marketplace, if your business isnt online

, then you are behind the times. Any successful business needs to have an online presence, no matter what you offer to your clients. Yet, trying to build a website and keep it looking good can really take its toll on a business owner if you dont know what youre doing. So, how do you start up, and maintain, a great business web site? Here are some tips and ideas to help you create the perfect online presence!

1.Know what you want before you go out searching for a domain name and hosting company for your business web site, know what you need and what you want. Make a list before you start your search so you can narrow down the choices when you are comparing each one. If you have several employees that will need email addresses, list that you need multiple email accounts. If you need to be able to sell your products online, make sure that you list a shopping cart as part of what you need. If you need to be able to upload a lot of information, such as pictures, then list that you need a large amount of space. There are many different aspects to a web site, and if you arent sure what you need, look at a few of the hosting packages to get an idea of what is offered.

2.Find the right hosting company for your business there are a ton of hosting companies out there but dont get overwhelmed when you begin your search. Take out your list and see which companies offer a hosting package that will fit your needs. Once you have a few, see which has the best prices and which offer free domain name registration with their hosting. You want to make sure that the hosting package you choose has everything you need to provide you and your business with a great online store for your customers. If youre selling online, youll need to make sure your hosting company provides ecommerce hosting services not just web site hosting. eCommerce hosting services will support your shopping cart, SSL certificates for secure payment processing and merchant account and payment gateway services. All these pieces of the puzzle need to coordination together in order for a true online credit card processing transaction to take place at your website. Sound confusing? It can be.

3.Picking the right domain name with all the domains out there, and all the ones that have already been taken, it can sometimes be hard to choose a domain name. Make sure that you have several choices ready, in case your first one is taken. Start off with your business name, such as www.OnlineCheck.com. If this has already been taken, then you can look at alternative endings, such as .net, .org, .biz, and so on. If you cant find one of those that you like, move on to your next choice, until you find one that you like that is easy to remember and type. Try to stay away from lengthy names and domain names that have dashes or numbers, as this can get confusing for your customers.

4.Design software if you are planning to design your own web site, then you need to make sure that you have, or your hosting package comes with design software. You should be able to use this software to easily design a great looking web page, upload pictures, and publish it all in one area. If you dont feel that you can design a page, or that you just dont have the time, most hosting companies will offer to design you a web site for a small fee.

5.Maintain your site you need to have the time, or have an employee assigned the task, of maintaining your web site. This means adding new content, updating photos, adding new items, and so on. You need to make sure that you, or the employee, know how to maintain it so that you will get a good rating with the search engines.

6.SEO search engine optimization is one major issue that you need to consider when placing ad copy on your business web site. Search engines look for that specific keyword that you listed when you developed your site, and they will constantly be checking to see if you have new content and if the content is search engine optimized so a potential customer can find it easily. If the content that you have is not search engine optimized, then you actually run the risk of being penalized by the search engines. So, if you cant create original, SEO copy for your site, you should find a web developer or writer who can to help your site be the best it can be.

7.Web advertising advertising your web site is just as important as advertising your business. If possible, put your business web address on business cards, fliers, signs, and anywhere else that you can put it. The more people who see it, the better. You can also advertise online by many different methods pay per click advertising, Google Ad Sense, and many other popular advertising methods all pay off and are worth the money. You can also submit press releases about your new web site to many great sites on the web so you can get your business information out to people all around the world.

Rejuvenate The Customers

When taking your business online, you need to remember to keep it simple so customers can find what they need but keep your site fresh enough that those loyal customers who return time and time again will never get bored with your site. By creating a unique web site, and then maintaining it properly, you will see your sales begin to jump and your business begin to grow.

Predominant Professions

For more information about our cash advance and merchant services programs, call 800-870-7622 or visit us at http://www.OnlineCheck.com

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by: Lindae Williams

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