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Building A Successful Web Site
By Marc McDonald
These days, there's no shortage of "how to" guides and
articles out there that purport to explain what one must
do in order to become a successful Web site owner.
If you want to build a successful site, however, it's equally
important that you also learn what NOT to do on the Web. Most
experienced Webmasters are aware of a number of major no-nos
to avoid. Examples include having a welcome page that takes
forever to load. Or designing your site to accommodate only
one type of browser.
However, there's a number of lesser-known, but still common,
mistakes that many Webmasters consistently make. These
include:
1.
Not paying close attention to your visitors' feedback.
Although many Webmasters don't realize it, feedback from your
visitors is one of the most important sources of information
you have, if you're serious about building your traffic. If a
visitor has taken the time to E-mail you, you should carefully
consider anything that he or she has to say, whether it's
positive or negative. True, if you've worked hard on your
site, it can be annoying to have a visitor write in and
criticize aspects of your site. But rather than feeling
slighted, you should make the most of such feedback. I've
found over the years that many of the most valuable and useful
features and changes on my sites were inspired by visitors'
comments and critiques.
2.
A second common blunder that a lot of site owners make is
trying to build revenue before they've built a sizable, loyal
audience. This is a bit like putting a cart before a horse. If
you're trying to build your traffic, you severely damage your
prospects by focusing too much on the revenue side of your
operation at the outset. If your site isn't established yet,
and you don't have a loyal, growing audience, then it's
important to minimize your focus on making money. For example,
you shouldn't be plastering banner ads all over your site - or
pestering your visitors to sign up for an affiliate program.
In short, forget the revenue: at least at the outset. Instead,
focus exclusively on promoting, developing and fine-tuning
your site. The fact is, once you have built an audience, the
revenue will inevitably follow.
3.
Don't just take from the Web: give something back. I'm not
a starry-eyed idealist who pines for the days before the Web
became commercialized. But I do firmly believe that it's
important for any successful site to give something back to
the cyberspace community. I'm not talking about money here:
only effort. This can range from offering a useful service on
your site to lending a hand to a newbie who is just starting
up his site. If you earn a reputation as someone who's not
just a money-grubber who's out to make a quick buck on the
Web, it'll pay you back in spades for years to come. For one
thing, you'll be able to build lasting, trusting,
mutually-beneficial relationships with fellow Webmasters (and
I regard the latter as the single most important asset that
I've built up in my six years on the Web).
4.
Don't be a bandwagon jumper. I've constantly been amazed
over the years at how many Webmasters will embrace the latest
fad, whether or not it makes sense for their sites. An example
is the current fad of placing a Flash animation on one's
welcome page. While I've seen a number of eye-catching and
interesting Flash animations, I have seen very few sites where
such content made any sense. Too many Webmasters blindly
embrace the latest gimmick on the Web, simply because they've
seen it on many other sites. But the fact is, unless your site
specifically focuses on Flash, it doesn't make much sense to
force your visitors to sit through a Flash intro every time
they visit your site. For all the high-tech, multimedia
potential that cutting-edge Web technology promises for the
future, the vast majority of people on the Web still want one
thing: information. And they want it as quickly and
hassle-free as possible. And the fact is, you don't need Java
applets or Flash animations or multimedia plug-ins to present
information (or, for that matter, to build a successful site).
In summing up, building one's site is an ongoing learning
process for any Webmaster. And just as it is important to
learn what to do to ensure your success, it's equally vital to
learn from your mistakes and to be aware of what NOT to do, if
you're going to succeed.
About The Author
Marc McDonald is a former journalist and editor with the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram and the creator of FreebieDirectory.com
as well as several other popular Web sites that have received
extensive media exposure from CNN's "Headline News," the BBC,
Fox News, ZDTV, CBS Radio, the Washington Post, and many more.
Visit the
FreebieDirectory and
AAAScreenSavers for
great software and resources.
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