by Scott Hughes

I’ve heard many people say, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Despite that old cliché, business is inherently superficial. Appearances count more importantly than anything. In fact, any confidence man can tell you that in business it is no exaggeration to say appearances are everything.

Offline, you always see successful business-people that are clean, well-groomed, and well-dressed, usually in suits and ties. These successful business-people ensure to keep good posture and a kind, trustworthy expression. You never see successful business-people who look scruffy & shambled that wear old dirty clothes. Customers judge a business and a business-person by their superficial appearance.

On the internet this is even more the case. On the internet customers only have your impersonal website to judge you, and they can do that judging in a matter of seconds.

Here’s some tips for increasing your aesthetic appeal on the web:

1. The first and foremost feature a viewer of your website will judge your business on is page loading. A page that loads slowly or is offline will instantly ruin your potential customer’s opinion. Many times, a potential customer won’t have the patience to wait for a long page load; the surfer will close your slow-loading website and never return. A page that fails to load is even worse. What reason could a surfer have to come back to a website that they never even saw in the first? None, the surfer won’t come back. Make sure your page loads quickly by working with a quality web-host and keeping the file-sizes of your website to a minimum.

2. The layout of a website is the online equivalent of a business-person’s dress, clothing, and hygiene. Surfers won’t do business with a sloppy website that’s full of errors. Demonstrate your professionalism to your potential customers by designing a sleek and attractive website that doesn’t have errors.

3. Order your own domain-name (e.g. www.yourdomain.com), make it simple and memorable. Don’t put your website up on a free or cheap host, especially one without your own domain-name. Firstly, people won’t be able to remember your website’s address if it’s just some folder on someone else’s website (e.g. www.someotherdomain.com/freewebsites/yoursite/). More importantly, potential customers will assume that you and your business are cheap and unprofessional too.4. Display contact information on your website. Give potential customers a phone number and/or mailing address where they can reach you or your business. Would you do business with a business-person who didn’t give you their full name, phone number, address, business-card, etc.? Of course not. Similarly, a website without contact information seems sleazy.

4. Have responsive customer service. Not only do your customers need to be able to contact you or your business. They need to receive prompt, attentive, and polite responses. Especially since the internet has many old websites collecting dust, it is imperative that you show your customers that your internet business is full-functioning and well-managed. In addition to fast, your responses must be polite, answer any questions, and solve any problems, so that your customers continue to hold your internet business in high-esteem.

About The Author: Scott Hughes creates and runs many successful e-businesses. Read more articles like this on his website, Web Business Resource, at http://www.webbizresource.com/.

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