Simon Paul Thurston

Now you may think that the title of this post is rather obvious, but why do businesses not use their site to their maximum benefit?

One of the problems that I encounter is that business owners often consult a graphic designer or web designer to do their marketing as well as their web design, but this is a huge mistake and one that you do not want to make.

Although this may sound rather harsh, let me quantify what i have just written with some evidence, evidence that can be costing businesses thousands of pounds each year no less!

1. Web sites with lots of flash may look pretty to the eye, but the fact is that it can reduce the loading time of a web site and affect SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

2. Very often designers will go for design over any commercial benefit that the site can offer the business owner, and so it merely becomes an expensive sign for their business, nothing else.

3. Too many distractions on a web site (images, sound effects, flashing graphics) can affect what visitors do and preclude them from taking the kind of action that the business owner wants, namely getting their credit card out!

Now I’m not bashing all web designers here, however in what is now an ultra-competitive business world, you need to have what I call a ‘direct response’ website – in other words one that converts visitors into buyers.

This is something that I talk about in my DVD “The Seven Strategies For Effectively Marketing A Business Online” but it is something that many business owners overlook,  and it is costing them thousands.

So what I will do in my next post is give you the key elements that I feel all web sites need in order to work harder for the business that it represents.