The choices you make about your online presence are just as important as the choices you make opening a brick and mortar store and, if you make the wrong decisions, can cost you just as much.

Do the Research

You don't have to do it all yourself but you need to understand the basics so you can evaluate vendors. Choose who will build and host your site carefully and compare your options before you choose.

Remember Your Customers

It is harder to build a repoir with online customers but it is possible.

• Make sure they receive a welcoming email acknowledging their request or purchase
• If they send you an email, respond promptly and professionally
• Give your visitors alternate contact information. They may not use it but it will comfort them to know you can be reached

Remember the Search Engines

The majority of e-commerce sites receive most of their traffic from search engines. Your web developer needs to do everything possible to optimize your site's ranking for key words that your customers will use to find you.

Integrate Your Site Into Your Business

Include your site's address everywhere you can

• Business Cards
• Flyers and other marketing collateral
• Letterhead
• Print ads
• Anywhere else you can

See for Yourself

Spend some time using your site like a customer would and recruit a few people to test your site and identify any "turn-offs" that may drive your visitor's to the competition.

• Is information easy to find?
• Does the order process make sense?
• Are there unanswered questions?

Don't Think Small

Plan for success. When your online business starts to grow, it will most likely happen quickly. Make sure you, your site, and your hosting provider can handle the growth.

Your Site Isn't Enough

Having a high rank in search engine results is great but you're still missing out on potential customers.

• Plan and budget for a marketing campaign.
• Trade links with complimentary (but not direct competitor) web sites.
• Participate in banner exchanges, pay-per-click and other online advertising programs

Don't Frustrate Your Visitors

Be careful not to turn potential customers away by putting them through a frustrating experience on your site.

• Today's consumer's are more likely to make a decision before picking up the phone than ever before. Give them the information they need on your site.
• Avoid "heavy" pages. Too much content on one page is confusing, takes longer to download and will turn the visitor away.
• The focus of each page should be easy to spot. Move details to a separate page and provide clearly marked links.

Keep it Fresh

Update your site as often as necessary to keep the content relevant. Your site will perform better in search engine results and your customers will have correct information to base their purchasing decisions on.

Avoid these common mistakes and you're on the road to being a successful web site owner. 

Our new site includes a set of features that will help you get the most out of your relationship with Crockett Technologies.

Projects - All of our projects are now managed online. You now have the ability to see what we are working on and follow the progress of your project from inception to completion. 

Your Account - View and approve Quotes, access previous Invoices and pay current Invoices online.