By Bob Wilson

DESIGN
How important is web site design? The page you produce or have built for you will create a lasting impression on your visitors. It will help establish you as a professional with a commitment to excellence.

Your visitors first impression is immediately established the second they click on your site. If you wish to establish friendliness, use a friendly design, whimsical, fun. For a more dedicated business site, be more conservative, informative, technical. For an athletic site, possibly more liberal use of colors, sports figures, icons.

How and what you wish to appear to be will determine the direction you will take with your design considerations. You can design your own site if you have the creative ability. You can use templates to establish the theme of your site. Templates are available on the Internet, free of charge for personal or non-profit sites. Some templates require you to pay a fee if they are used on a for profit site. Unfortunately, most templates look exactly like what they are…templates. Most template produced sites look somewhat amateurish and may give the impression of not too much commitment to their business.

You may choose to use our design services. We will supply you with a complete site, designed to your specifications. This could be just one page, a ten-page site, or even a hundred-page site. We will provide you with complete design specifications, site constructions, and assembly and even host your site on the Internet. You will be able to visit your site while it is being built. We maintain space on our servers for you to see how your site is progressing. We use software that will allow you to make notations, corrections, even highlight important points, right on your web pages as they are being built. You will be in direct contact with your designer. You will be able to communicate by mail, email, telephone, or fax. Your concerns, additions, and changes will be dealt with quickly, sometimes even while you are on the line.

We will provide you with a Site Mapping Tool to help you design your site. This mapping tool is very helpful to visualize all the aspects of your site and what you want to include in your site. It will help you lay out your site navigation as well as prevent many omissions in the planning stage.

This tool is free of charge and available to our customers to use for their own benefit in planning other items in their company. An example of a site plan using this tool is here.

If you allow us to assist you in establishing your site appearance, we will be in an excellent position to provide you with a detailed cost estimate for your site construction, hosting costs, promotion and maintenance charges if you require them.

EVAULATION
Your may have a site that is not performing the way you expected or were lead to believe. We can evaluate the site and make suggestions based on our experience. We can help you make decisions on other requirements to meet your needs.

We provide a brief visit and evaluation at no charge. A written report will be provided, possibly along with a couple of suggestions. For a detailed, in depth evaluation and report, a more thorough study will be required. An hourly rate will be established along with a budgeted amount for the total report.

The report will be written in a language that will be understandable and you will be able to give it to any web designer to make the required changes. Please contact evaluation@trimarinerinternetservices.comfor more information.

NAVIGATION
Navigation is a very important part of your design objectives. The largest single fault that will discourage visitors on your site is poor navigation. More visitors leave a site in frustration because of poor navigation that any other reason.

If you are selling an item on your site, your buy signal should be no more than three clicks from your home page. If your customer has to drill down through your site for 10 pages before they arrive at the “Buy Now” signal, many will leave before they get there.

EMAIL ADDRESSES
If you are selling on your site, you will want to collect email addresses from every visitor. Most buyers will not buy the first time they visit your site. The average number of visits before purchase is 7 visits. There are many ways to collect visitors addresses. We can provide the forms and programs to automate address collection so it may operate unattended 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Many customers will have already decided to buy by the first visit, but need to feel confident about the purchase before they put their money down. By collecting the email address of your visitors, you can stay in touch with your potential customers with reminders of a special, reduced rate, or other inducement to purchase.

Your Email list will develop into your most valuable sales tool. It is a common fact that once a customer has bought from you and is satisfied with your product, they will be inclined to purchase from you again. It is far easier to sell to an established customer than it is to sell to a new customer.

Repeat customers will visit your site an average of 3 times before they purchase again. They already know how reliable and trustworthy you are so they do not need to assure themselves that you will deliver the product as promised in your sales pages.

YOU WILL BENIFIT
We are more that happy to discuss your needs, either for immediate use or in the future. Contact Trimariner Internet Services now to open a dialogue that will benefit you many times over. Click here now to contact us.

By Jan Peterson 

Starting an online business is not always as easy as it may sound. But, running an online business has many benefits over its offline counterpart. First, and the most appealing, is you’ll most likely be working from home from your own computer, and working the hours that suit you. And secondly, you have the potential to make a lot more money than you would if you were working for someone else.

Before embarking on an online entrepreneurial quest for the perfect home-based business, it’s advisable to look at the array of online business opportunities available, and decide which would be the most suitable for you. While it’s quite conceivable, that the most profitable and legitimate type of online businesses can be operated successfully by one person, most involve a collaboration of skills and input.

For the individual, making money online is a very real prospect, but there are some important factors that should be considered before taking that first vital step.

1. Should you sell a service?
Unless you have a well-developed skill such as, web design, graphics design, writing or some other creative or artistic flair, you’ll have to concentrate on finding or creating a product.

In selling your services, you must first determine whether a paying market actually exists for your services. Initially, you’ll need to do some research and look at similar services being offered. A good indicator is usually when there are numerous similar services available. This would suggest a buoyant market, but it’s not always the case. A friendly yet inquisitive email sent to a few established service providers in the business you’re considering, should give you an insight.

Take a good look at the existing competition. Look at the quality of their work. Could you do it better? What prices are they charging? Could you do it cheaper? If you can effectively do either of these you’re on your way to building online wealth.

2. Should you sell a product?
More people than ever buy products online, but the main thing to consider is whether you want to sell a tangible product or a virtual product.

As with selling a service, you must first determine whether a market exists for your product. Look at similar products then decide whether there’s room for another player. All products will have to be sold through a website, from which an order can be taken and a payment can be processed. If you have the knowledge and necessary skills, you can easily build the website yourself. Otherwise you will have to pay a professional.

A tangible product is something that can be held in the hand, therefore it will also need to be packed and shipped. Processing orders is very time consuming, but more importantly you may have to keep inventory, which can be very expensive plus you’ll need to find storage space.

An alternative is to sell virtual products. These include downloadable e-books, videos and information products. You’ll still need a website with ordering and credit card processing facilities, but you will not need to keep any inventory and it won’t take up any space (except on your computer’s hard drive) Many successful Internet marketers use this method to maximum effect.

3. Selling someone else’s product
Some of the best online business opportunities are very simple to set up and run. The first of these is affiliate marketing. You simply find some existing products that are being successfully sold on the Internet, and sign up for their affiliate program. Basically, this is straight-forward process. You complete an online application form and you’re given a reference number, which you can embed into your marketing links. The host company will also track your sales and pay you commissions. All you have to do is sell their products.

Some people go overboard on affiliate programs, trying to sell anything and everything they can sign up for. It’s advisable to concentrate on a few related items such as e-books on a similar subject. When that enterprise begins to make money online, start all over again with a set of different products. With careful consideration and clever marketing, affiliate programs can be the perfect way of making money online.

4. Buying a business or franchise
If you’d prefer to buy a readymade business, there are many to choose from. Some established and profitable Internet businesses will gladly sell you a franchise. This will most likely be a clone of their existing business, but beware! Owning a franchise business on the Internet will prove useless unless you have territorial rights. The problem with online franchises is your limitations on what you can sell. You must sign an agreement with the franchisor, that you, the franchisee will only sell their range of products.

5. Online investment opportunities
Not strictly a business opportunity, but investing in real estate or stocks and shares has become big business in itself. The Internet has opened up all kinds of opportunities for investors, and it’s so easy to go online and find stock brokers willing to advise you where to put your hard-earned cash for the maximum return. The big consideration with investing is to remember that prices can fall just as quickly as they rise.

6. Finding the right market
Whatever service or product you decide to offer your online customers, you must first establish whether there’s a need for it. If there is, you’ll have to work on an effective strategy of getting your product in front of your prospect ahead of the competition.

It’s been proven time and again that small is big. The small or niche market has been responsible for many people making a nice profit from the Internet. It’s as well to remember, that a niche market on the internet could number well over a million potential customers. Just 5% of a market this size, each buying a product with a $10 profit margin, would return $500,000 in profits. A few examples of niche markets might be: Holidays for singles over 40, sports and fashion wear for children 6-24 months or easy car maintenance for lady drivers.

7. Online Auctions
The phenomenal success of online auctions, eBay in particular, is unprecedented. Not only are the online auction companies making large profits, they give everyone an opportunity to sell something to anyone anywhere in the world. From fashion accessories to collectibles and sports equipment to memorabilia, there appears to be a market, although limited, for everything.

The key to success here is to buy wholesale and sell volume. When you’ve got to the point of making good money from online auctions, simply write a book and tell everyone else how you did it. To get started in online auctions, go to eBay, click on wholesale, buy some stock and resell individually back on eBay.

8. Paid Surveys
Some people might not consider clicking boxes alongside questions a valid business opportunity. But if you consider it work, and the survey companies are willing to pay you, then it must be a form of business to be considered. It’s something almost anyone can do, doesn’t require any specialist knowledge or skill and can be done from anywhere.

The downside is, it’s tedious and won’t make you a fortune. However, it’s the ideal part-time opportunity for people with a few hours to spare or to run alongside a new venture during the ‘quiet’ periods.

9. Enthusiasm, Commitment and Self-Discipline
Looking at the various online business opportunities and how you should evaluate them is only part of the equation for online wealth building. Working for yourself in your home-based business will require real enthusiasm, commitment and copious amounts of self-discipline. Whichever route or opportunity you consider, all will require a degree of ‘do-ability’.

Be prepared to spend more time at your computer, especially in the early months, building your business and getting your products in front of likely prospects. If you do it right, an online business can pay you big monetary rewards.

10. Accounting the costs
If you plan to set up and run an online business as your main source of income, beware! The tax man cometh! An online business is no different to a bricks and mortar business, in the eyes of the tax man. If you establish an online business and you’re making a full-time income, don’t forget to inform the authorities. You must have a business name, although this could be your own name, preferably a business bank account and you’ll need to inform the tax collectors.

You’ll need to keep records of all your business transactions for accounting purposes and you’ll need to set aside a percentage of your profits to cover taxes. Microsoft’s Excel program is perfect for keeping records of this nature, but don’t forget to keep a back-up of your files, just in case. The message here is to play it straight and keep it legal.

Of all the things you should consider, when planning to start an online business, the most important is undoubtedly marketing. Marketing strategies can make or break a business. See some available marketing information under the PROMOTION heading

The above article was first made available at Workz. com.

By Susan Villecroze

Today, anyone who wants to provide information, sell something, share information or promote a business knows that a Web presence will help them achieve those goals.

A charity organization may want to promote itself to potential members and volunteers, as well as provide information through newsletters and articles related to its work, so that anyone who’s interested can learn about that organization. A rock climbing center may want to display a map with directions that explain how to get to the center, hints on climbing techniques, tips on where to find good equipment, a photo gallery of the gym with action shots of climbers… Unlike other marketing strategies, a Website has a global reach and can be accessed online 24-7.

If you want a Website, but you’re not a designer or developer, how can you go about getting one? You don’t have the time to learn what it takes to be a Web design guru and you don’t trust that your cousin, who studied computer science, has enough experience to build you a professional Website. So, who can you hire to build your site? With thousands of Web designers and developers out there, ranging from individual freelancers to big Web design agencies, how can you make sure you choose the right help?

What Do You Want?
In order to find help, you need first to figure out what you want. Ask yourself the following questions:

* What kinds of information do you want on the site? How big do you think your site will be?
* Who are your users? Do you know which operating system and browser they are using?
* Will your site require regular updates? Would you like to make changes yourself?
* Will you be selling something?
* Will you need a database to store and retrieve information?
* Do you want to rely on search engines to send more traffic to your site?
* When do you need the job done?
* What is your budget?

The Search Begins
Those who can spot a good Web designer are usually a good Web designer themselves, or will at least have done quite a bit of Web design themselves. But for those who aren’t designers, the choosing of a professional can seem an overwhelming task.

Referrals are a safe bet; although you know you may not be getting the very best Web designer in town, you can usually trust that you won’t get the worst, either. However, if you use referrals and also conduct your own searches, you will have a much better chance of finding a designer who’s right for you. Once you’ve compiled a list of Web designers and/or developers from the sources of your choice, you need to do some serious homework.

What if some of the designers on your list are from out of town? Don’t rule them out if you really like them. If you don’t mind working via email and talking on the phone, you may be quite happy with your choice. There’s always an advantage to meeting in person and onsite visits can be important, especially if there are problems.

There are many things to consider when reviewing your list of potential Web experts. The first, obvious thing to do is to check out their Websites. Browse through the pages and find as much information about them as you can. Ask yourself:

* Is it easy to find information and to get back to where you started?
* Do you like the navigation system?
* Are the pages accessible [1] (no broken links)?
* Are the pages and overall design consistent?
* Are there a contact page and site map and can they easily be found?
* Is there enough relevant information on the site (eg. details about the company including location, what they do, the people, policies, etc.)?
* Are things aligned properly?
* Is the text easy to read?
* Do the pages load fast?
* Are the pages short, so that it’s not necessary to scroll horizontally, and there’s little or no vertical scrolling?
* Do links open onto the same page?
* Is there a portfolio you can view?
* Does the site discuss the designer’s technical background?
* Does the site make use of the right colors?
* Are page titles appropriate and informative?

Hopefully, the answer to all the above questions will be yes. Basically, if you don’t like a Web designer’s site, you probably won’t want them to design your site. Check their portfolio and see if the style is right for you. If you see sites that you really like, make sure the employee/s who built those sites are still employed and can work on your site. What technologies does the designer use? Will this technology work for you and your viewers? Does the team follow Web standards or are they still stuck coding sites like it’s the 90s? Ideally, you want your site to work independent of the user’s operating system and browser.

Has the team created sites for other businesses in your industry? If so, were they able to reflect the business properly? If yes, then this team already knows the needs of your industry and will be more the kind of expert you need than will other Web design generalists who haven’t produced these particular sites. If the site offers testimonials, read them to see what past clients had to say about the work they received. In addition to having technical skills, the designer should be continuing his/her education in order to keep up with the latest technologies and standards.

Beware of companies and individuals who claim to be Web designers and developers but perform mostly graphic design and work in print media. Being able to use Web creation software such as Dreamweaver does not make a Web designer. Your Web designer should, at the very least, be able to help you with Web design and development, Web hosting, graphics creation, database creation, Web content, maintenance and Internet marketing and promotion.

Freelance vs. the Big Web Design Firm
After you evaluate the selected sites, you may need to choose between engaging a freelancer and using a big Web design company. A big Web design company may appear to have a lot of credibility due to its large portfolio, many testimonials, and large collection of experts in all areas of design and development. These experts have to work together to deliver a consistent and successful package for their clients. The size of this kind of organization can make clients feel secure and confident in enlisting in their services.

Freelancers are individuals who can take on all the necessary design and development responsibilities. These kinds of providers often work very closely with others to get the job done, and such close collaboration between fewer people (or in some cases, just one person), means that consistency is easy to achieve. Working alone or in a small group can also generate more motivation and dedication to completing projects in which clients can be guaranteed satisfaction. In this type of arrangement, what you see is what you get: the professional freelancer you meet on the Web will be the Web specialist for your project, and can be held personally accountable. In contrast, in working with a larger company, a perfect stranger may be assigned as your account manager once the sale goes through.

Freelancers may also represent better value for money. With a freelancer, there are rarely any hidden fees, nor many complex contractual details to overcome before the project can begin. Freelancers may also be more readily available to go onsite if required.

Depending on the size and complexity of your site, a big agency may be the right choice. A larger company may be in a position to deliver bigger projects more quickly than can an individual freelancer. An individual freelancer may often need either to subcontract or learn certain skills or technologies in order to get a job done. This can mean extra time and/or cost, and, depending on the freelancer involved, can also result in a less-than-expert product. For this reason, if your project requires the use of a particular language or technology, it’s a good idea to seek out designers who already specialize in that area.

Pricing and Guarantees
To further refine your list of possible designers, you’ll want to make note of their service rates. The prices designers put on their services can vary drastically. Compare rates between designers with similar levels of education, experience and talent. Like most purchases, with Web design, you tend to get what you pay for. If your project is fairly small and straightforward, freelancers may charge less than big agencies. By “small”, I mean a site with a few forms and a small database.

Once you’ve narrowed the list, get in touch with the companies or individuals concerned, explain your project, and ask for an exact price quote. Make sure your designer can outline all costings and the work in detail for you. If you have questions, don’t be afraid to ask, and remember: it’s not unreasonable to negotiate a lower price that that quoted if you feel the quote price is not justified.

If possible, also take a look at the supplier’s Web contract. Make sure that the client is protected under this contract, and be sure to check the copyright and payment policies. Make a note of the supplier’s response time, too. You want to work with someone who’s readily available, easy to contact, and who will get back to you promptly.

Look for, and ask about a guarantee of work. Stated policies such as, “If you are not 100% satisfied, we will give you your money back,” or “Our rates are competitive but if you find a similar service for less, we will be happy to match it,” will give you a clear idea of the designers’ confidence that they can meet your needs. Guarantees are important: there’s nothing worse than paying big bucks for a site you’re embarrassed to show your clients or customers.

Guarantees show potential clients that the company cares about making them happy and is doing its best to ensure your project’s success.

Last Steps: Contact and Check References
When you’ve narrowed your choice down to just a couple of designers, it’s time to contact them and check their references. First, call the providers and ask questions. Are they polite on the phone? Are they good listeners? Were they helpful at all? If they are difficult to talk to and you don’t like the way they treat you, it will be difficult to work with them.

Check each provider’s references by reading any testimonials on the site and perhaps even talking to past clients. Go to their portfolio page, locate the contact information for a couple of clients, and give them a call. If there are no testimonials, ask for references when you call the provider. You are looking to hire, so you have the right to check their work references.

Lastly, it’s a good idea to meet with the designer in person and go through your project ideas. Even at this point, you are not obligated to enlist in their services unless you are perfectly confident they are the right person for the job.

It’s Worth the Work
Follow these steps and you should increase your chances of successfully finding and hiring a Web designer or developer who meets your needs and those of your project. This process may seem like a lot of work, but when you’re spending thousands of dollars, over many years, on your online presence, it pays to do your homework!

The above article was first made available at Workz. com.