Copyright 2005 Robert Evans

Setting yourself up to earn a steady monthly income has to be a pre-requisite to your success online. There is no doubt that large sums of money can be made (and indeed are being made) from selling products or services online.

With over 500,000,000 internet users (and that figure is already obsolete even as I write this) the potential for long term wealth is very high indeed.

This fantastic new medium has brought untold possibilities for the small trader operating in a niche market. In fact the internet is made for just that type of marketer. It therefore goes without saying that anyone with the desire, knowledge or ability to market just about any kind of product or service online is a potential millionaire in the making!

You are probably already aware of the importance of having a website to use as a focal point for any products or services you are selling.

But do you know the golden rule you should always keep in mind when building your site and making it ready to welcome all those potential buyers? This rule is - keep it simple!

When I started out with my first web site I broke this rule of simplicity by filling every inch of my Home Page with all manner of graphics and fonts. This slowed down the loading time. There were also a number of links to other web sites that took my visitors away from my site - and almost certainly they never came back.

It took me a whole eighteen months to realise that what I was doing was never going to work. When I now look at the websites I was promoting a year and a half ago I cringe. What possessed me to put so much effort into them! Because I really did work hard at putting them together.

Take a good look at your own site. Pay very close attention to the following points:

* page design - navigation should be easy
* HTML - use of keywords in title and description meta tags
* use of graphics - minimum number should be used relevant to the theme of the site
* use of text/fonts - black text on a white background works best
* hyperlinks - use the "target_blank" tag to ensure external pages open in a new window
* reason for existence - is the purpose of the site clear?

Believe me, when it comes to setting up a website that SELLS, you do not need stunning graphics, dynamic HTML or Java Script. These things could spell the end of your business! Especially when it comes to getting ranked on the major Search Engines. (Don't ignore these, they could be responsible for up to 80% of traffic to your site!)

So, here is a summary of how your Home Page should be made up:

* a maximum of 2 graphics and these must be central to the theme of the site
* about 800 words of text, including a list of benefits and a good description of what you offer
* a clear navigation bar
* a colour scheme that is consistent but not "glaring"
* any links to external sites should open in a new window
* try to avoid placing a graphic at the top of the page
* use Meta Tags that include one or two keywords in the title and three or four in the description
* try to keep the page under 20 kbs - 10 would be ideal

And all other pages should follow the same basic design. Keep these points in mind and you will be well on the way to creating a fast loading page that will be pleasing on the eye and will also be acceptable to the major Search Engines. And when it comes to submitting your site - there is no real need to do this, just keep updating your pages on a regular basis. This is better than submitting your site because in any case the search engine spiders ill find your site if it is worth finding.