1. Make sure your website has a clean design and a professional look. Forget having a "busy" look - make it simple for visitors to see all the information. Think about it in terms of a offline store. Do you want to shop at a store that is messy, or that has products piled haphazardly on shelves? It must be a pleasant experience.
2. Visitors should be able navigate the website easily. If it's hard for them to search what they're looking for, they probably will leave fast. They'll find another website that's easier to use.
3. Choose colors that make your site beautiful. What impression are you trying to give? Want to have a relaxing atmosphere for your visitors, or do you want to excite your audience? Use correct colors.
4. Use a distinctive logo throughout the website. This will make your site recognizable and memorable. Use it on all pages to give the site continuity and to constantly remind people who you are.
5. Make sure that visitors know what your website is about. They need to realize in the first 10 seconds what the nature of your business is. Your domain name might not describe it well enough.
6. Since not every visitors will look at the entire first page, make sure the important information and links are prominently displayed near the top of the page.
7. Display attractive graphics where it will catch the visitor's attention. Try to have graphics that will not take too long to load, but make sure they are good quality.
8. Pictures of your products. Visitors can't touch or get a close look at your products the way they can in a physical store, it is good to have at least three pictures of a product too.
9. Not all visitors will come through the home page, it's important that the individual web pages can stand alone in describing your business. A header that describes the core of your business will work well.
10. Have some close friends experience the website. Ask them what they liked and what they didn't like. Get them if they had any problems finding things. You might want to watch them so you can see how they navigate around the website.
The website may be your client's first look at your company, so leave a good first impression. If they aren't moved by the style and content on their initial visit, you might never see them again.
