In the world of ecommerce you do not have the option of impressing your clients with your power suit, your wingtip shoes, your winning smile or your superior conversational skills. Their first impression (and every impression thereafter) is gleaned solely from your web site. That being the case, you and your web hosting provider must work together to make sure your site is always “dressed for success.”

When clients log on to your site, are they seeing a well-groomed appearance that projects a professional image or are they seeing an ensemble that is thrown together and looks unpolished and incompetent? The way you design and “dress” your website tells your clients a lot about your commitment to excellence. Your web site is the “entrance” to your online store.

Web hosting provider’s recommendations:

Some immediate questions that pop into the minds of potential clients when they first look at your site include:

1. Does this company pay attention to detail?
2. Is this company keeping its information relevant?
3. Do they seem to care about their business enough that I can be sure they will care about me as a customer?
4. Do they seem to know what they are doing?
5. Are they trustworthy?
6. Are they better than their competitors?

Web hosting provider lists every week tasks:

Take a few minutes every week to assess your website, your blog, your ezine, and other marketing materials. Are they appealing and user-friendly? Is your site hard to navigate? Is the language easy to understand? Are the pages too lengthy?  Is it easy to purchase from you? Is it clear that you have a product or service for sale?

If you don’t have web design skills (and most people don’t) then seek out help. Many web hosting companies either offer design services or can hook you up with a company that does. By using professional services, you can develop a unique website that will help your visitors understand clearly what you have to offer.

A ‘well dressed’ site should focus on the following:

• Superior Content: Your potential customers are fast paced, click happy and easily bored. It is critical that your website content be bright, relevant and geared toward results. Your website content tells your visitors what you have to offer and hopefully calls them to action. By all means have somebody proof your website. Even if your content is written by someone else you should still proofread it yourself. Even the smallest error can be a turnoff for many web site visitors and send the message that you don’t take your business seriously. Read every single line of text to make sure that it flows freely and that it makes sense. Adjust anything that is not absolutely clear.
• Natural Progression: Your website should flow easily through the natural selling process.  Organizing your website’s navigation is critical to keeping your potential customers online to minimize the possibility of shopping cart abandonment. While marketing experts typically go to great lengths to maximize the effectiveness of landing pages, getting more and more people to advance to subsequent pages, the average ecommerce shopping cart is abandoned nearly 60% of the time. Make it easy for your customers to complete a transaction. Your web host can show you how to effectively do this.
• Appealing Design: Develop that right first impression through style, color and simplicity. The font size and color of your copy may influence your visitor’s desire to complete their purchase. If your font size is too small or the color is too difficult to read your potential customer is likely to give up and go somewhere else. This is especially important to remember for online businesses that are marketing to older populations. A well-designed site will draw your visitors to what is important. Blending of color, graphics and design creates an emotional response to make your website memorable. Color communicates powerfully in business web design.
• Simplicity: Create a simple and focused message to avoid confusion and get results. With search engines, focus and simplicity gets faster and better outcomes. Ideally you should grab your visitor’s attention in five seconds or less. In most cases it is best to stick with muted colors in your web design. You want the colors to add appeal, not detract from the overall content. Muted hues have a calming effect and make visitors feel “at home” on your site.
• Search Engine Optimization: SEO should be carefully designed into the website. After all, a website without visitors is useless. Web site owners should make sure they have their SEO plan well defined before they design the site. Create a keyword strategy and use the keywords in page names, linking and headlines.  Web hosting companies are well-equipped to help you develop a winning keyword strategy.

So here’s the deal. Your web hosting provider doubles as your fashion consultant. Comb your hair, straighten your tie, shine your shoes and stand up straight and tall. Company’s coming and you want to look your best.