If you have ever been to a "bad" website, you didn't need an expert to tell you it was a bust. Maybe you didn't know exactly why it was bad, but dysfunctional web sites tend to exhibit similarities that make them unlikely success stories.

For instance, have you ever visited a site and wondered "what are they selling anyway?" I know I have. I get frustrated with websites like these and quickly start my search again for a website that focuses on the information I was looking for.

A well designed website can either make or break your website success. The tips below will help you get started and to learn what works for a successful website. These tips are by no means all-inclusive; you will also learn a lot through "trial and error" just as with any brick and mortar business. These tips will however, help you to avoid web blunders that hinder even more seasoned web developers and designers.

Must-Have Tip #1 - Make it clear what you do. Find a niche market and don't try to be a "jack of all trades" selling multiple and unrelated products, services, or information. Instead, figure out who your target market will be, and what products and/or services you provide that will appeal to this market. Then, stay on topic; don't throw in a bunch of irrelevant information just to try and lure visitors. They will resent the deception and you'll lose customers.

Note: It is very important to note that search engine crawlers index and categorize your website based on the text and content you provide on each page. The content on each page is also compared to all other pages on your site, so having a cohesive set of pages that focus on your niche product or service is always better than trying to provide too many products or services.

Must-Have Tip #2 - Do your visitors know how to contact you? You would be surprised how many websites leave no way for a customer to contact them with questions or to order their products and services. Think about it this way: if you stopped into a store that provided widgets, and no one was around to help you or answer questions, how comfortable would you feel spending money with that company? You wouldn't, of course, because if they can't even make themselves available for questions before the sale, they certainly won't take time for you after the sale.

If you worry about getting too much spam, or receiving unwanted phone calls by leaving your contact information on your site, make sure to add your business phone to the federal "Do Not Call" list, and use a contact form instead of just providing your email address. This won't eliminate the problem of spam (what does?) but it will make it more difficult to abuse your contact information.

Note: Always respond to email in a timely manner. Treat them as you would any business phone call. Customers typically expect a higher-than-average response rate when shopping or doing business on the internet; if it takes you longer than 24 hours to respond to an email you will probably lose a customer. Even an "I received your email and will respond to your question shortly" is better than waiting too long to get back to a customer.

Must-Have Tip #3 - Don't use flash introductory pages. Everyone knows they are fun and entertaining, but if your site is designed for sales, a business, or for a professional purpose, what will they add to your site? In fact, for many, these are just another added aggravation they have to wade through to get to the information they really want.

Note: If you must use a flash intro, be sure there is a "Skip" feature clearly marked so visitors can bypass it if they choose.

Must-Have Tip #4 - Focus your web copy on satisfying the needs of your customer. Content can make or break the sale, or determine whether a visitor stays or finds another site to shop. Be sure to provide your costumers with unique and interesting words to help pique their interest and differentiate your products and services from your competitor's.

A well-thought through home page and a few articles that prompt a desired action, while simultaneously provide information to help your visitors quickly (in one or two clicks max) find and pay for products and services will keep them interested, and coming back again and again for future information and purchases.

Note: Consider hiring a contact writer if you're at a loss with web content. This may be a significant investment, but the results, and the success of your site, will definitely be worth it in the long run!

Must-Have Tip #5 - Update, update, update. This cannot be stressed enough; if you provide no reason for visitors to show up on your site again, why would they? If the information is the same week after week, month after month, who would want to? Even your local Wal-Mart will provides weekly sales flyers to entice shoppers back to their store! Keep your site fresh and updated!

In closing, I am sure you are reading this article because you want a professional website. If you have programming skills and can write your own code, great! If not, there are many affordable, quality online website builders available; many hosting packages also provide web software and templates. With a little elbow grease and effort, you can build and maintain a successful website as well!

This is a question you will have to address. Many folks just a build a website but do not think out why they are really doing it. As a result they don't take it seriously and therefore they do not get serious results. This makes logical sense right?

A website in and of itself means nothing unless it has visitors and achieves a certain objective. So you have to be clear what you want to achieve as this will help you focus on your research and build a site that can achieve your objective. Quality research will help you build a quality website.

To build a business online you are going to have to build a relationship with your site visitors. You will need to show them how to connect the dots and you can only do this by providing valuable content that is benefit driven.

Furthermore you are going to have to show them solid evidence of how your product or service can help them achieve results. Connecting the dots means moving them closer to their outcome. Once they can follow this and see how it will work for them you will naturally build credibility which will result in you having a profitable website.

As mentioned when you build your site you want to clearly have your visitor's objectives in mind so that you can address their concerns and overcome their objections. If you can help them achieve their goals it will be a win win situation for all parties concerned.

Anyone can have a website, but is that website going to be seen by anyone?

There is so much more that needs to take place when building a website. Most people have no idea. Websites need to have good content, proper keywords, good hosting etc...

Do you really want to know how to create a website that is steps above most and one that will make you money? If you answered "yes" then you need to follow the rules of CTPM in order. CTPM stands for:

Content

Traffic

Presell

Monetize

Good Content will get you alot of traffic. Preselling is when you build a relationship with visitors, not treating them like another digit to your bank account. People visit this site looking for ideas to improve their lives, so that's what must be focused upon. The last step is monetization. This should be the least of your concerns.

Pick a niche that you know something about or at least a little bit about. This will make building content alot easier. Don't worry about doing anything else except writing good content. I know you are saying "I can't write", but don't let that get you down. Do some research on the topic you chose and pick out some key topics and write about that. It doesn't have to be award winning, just keep writing.

Once you have Content the the rest is very easy.

If you want the rest to be very simple in a step by step format you should check out SBI (Site Build It). Domain name, hosting, analyzers, keyword research etc are all included at one place. They'll even help you find a niche.

SBI over delivers unlike anything I have ever seen.

This site will help if you are an experienced website designer or someone who knows nothing at all. I've never seen anything that even comes close.

When you get that profitable site up and running you can send me part of your profits. My address is 4934 East St... Just Kidding. But really do check out the site. You'll be so impressed.

Become the expert on the block.