The 4 Elements of a Successful Website

No business can succeed these days without a web presence. There are several ways to create this presence. By far, the most effective tool is a quality website. Other avenues include weblogs (blogs), social networking sites, email campaigns, forum discussions, and advertising. Most of these concepts are covered in other areas of the site, but this particular section focuses on the importance of a well-planned and content focused website.

There are endless variations of web development software, both online and physical end user products. Do a simple search for “build a website” or “web development” and you will quickly find yourself overwhelmed with possibilities. Finding the right one is tricky. Unfortunately, there is no one site that is better than all the rest; although there are several which provide higher quality products. Ultimately, you must choose the service that best fits your needs. To learn about what I used to develop my website, click here.

Regardless of the package, all effective websites are structured following the same formula. 

C --> T --> P --> M

(Content, Traffic, Presell, Monetize)

Content is the meat of your site. It includes your experience, in-depth knowledge and personal reflection of the subject matter. Traffic is the lifeblood of your business. No website can succeed without adequate targeted traffic. Pre-selling is the message you are attempting to convey. This is your opportunity to introduce yourself to your audience and earn their trust. Monetizing is the capitalization of traffic to your site. In some form or another, all businesses have the ultimate goal of monetizing their client base. Without monetization, your website is more of a public service than a business.

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is the practice of matching your “copy” (the content on your website)with strategic formulas, which make your site more attractive to search engines. It is a big business and many folks claim to be SEO experts. To a certain extent, if you are writing original and genuine content, you are SEO’ing yourself already. Not much else needs to be done as long as you are writing to your targeted audience and focusing on the keywords you set out to explore.

But many people outsource this part of their website design.

The problem with hiring an outside source to optimize YOUR content for search engines is two-fold. First, it is no longer your content or unique voice. And second, SEO is AT BEST, a guessing game. No one can nail down exactly what works best for search engines. And even if they do, it is likely that the standards will change by the time they figure it out.

Truly a futile task.

It’s kind of like predicting the weather. Sure the meteorologist gets close sometimes, but look at their product and how they measure success. I can tell you that it will be hot in the summer, and cold in the winter. So what? I can tell you that it will probably rain when a front comes in. Big deal. Meteorologists have some sophisticated tools that help narrow down their guess, but rarely get it exactly right.

What about that “30% chance of rain” forecast? Would you hire someone who could predict success in SEO with a 30% chance? Save your cash and skip this highly popular, yet unnecessary step.

Systematic Approach

However you build your website, you need a plan. Set goals and meet them. Develop a blueprint and follow it. Taking a systematic approach to building your site will yield effective results that will please you, your visitors AND the search engines. Do this, and you will be light years ahead of folks who think building a site is a matter of simply paying a fee and putting up some pictures of cuddly kittens.

There is quite an abundance of vehicles available to help meet your specific needs. Choosing the right one can be a daunting task. More important than the vehicle, however, is the driver. If you are looking for some good free tools and information on building a website that works, check out the tutorials section on this site.

“Get a fast car and you might win a race or two. Learn how to drive, and you will become a champion!”

A great deal of the information provided above was gained from studying a web building system called Site Build It or SBI! Ultimately, SBI! was not for me, but there is tremendous value to be gleaned from their training. Perhaps SBI! fits your personality a little better, so I encourage you to check it out if you are looking for a comprehensive website building solution.

I think it's very well done, and they have more than a few massive success stories. But, KompoZer WAS the better fit for me as I wanted total control and was willing to learn HTML, CSS, etc.

Check out SBI! HERE