Frequently, we come across sites which are offering superior products and services but which are failing to thrive in the Internet Marketplace. This can be the result of a number of problems. The most common cause tends to be that the site was originally built by the owner who devoted considerable time and care to the project, but simply was not trained in the protocols of modern web site design and search engine optimization. The other leading cause of a failing website is that it was designed by someone billing themselves as a web designer, when they are really only a 'designer'. They build pretty pages that will never rank anywhere because they are simply not SEO-friendly. Take a look at the following checklist of major issues we see. By doing so, you'll start to get a clear picture of what may be going wrong with your web site:

1) Site was designed using Microsoft FrontPage
FrontPage is a software program which enables the user to build their own website. Unfortunately, it is a really poor product which fails in more areas than we want to count. The proof of this lies in the fact that Microsoft itself does not use FrontPage to build its company sites - not even the pages selling FrontPage! Enough said about that.

2) Original Web Designer Not SEO Savvy
As mentioned above, unless you've devoted considerable time to educate yourself about search engine optimization, it's no surprise you didn't know how to build a site to please the folks at Google, Yahoo! and MSN! Less forgiveable, in our eyes at least, are the people who claim to be professional web designers, but who are totally ignorant when it comes to building an SEO-based web site. At Solas Web Design, we build sites which are SEO oriented from the ground up. You've got to build the site right to begin with, and then continue to improve and expand its value over time in order to be ranked with favor on the Internet.

3) Site is full of Flash
Okay, if your business is about selling Flash graphics, go ahead and use them. But, if you are selling clothing, jewelry, food, insurance, books, toys or just about anything else, PLEASE don't use Flash. At Solas Web Design, we have our browsers set to block Flash graphics because we find them so annoying. So do most people. Your customers, included. If your company logo, featured items and advertisements have been programmed in Flash, chances are, half your customers will never see them, either because they have blocked them or because they cause your site to load so slowly that visitors will click off rather than wait 30 seconds to see windows light up in a skyscraper. You are not going to make money with gimmicks on the Internet. Rather, you will lose important traffic and waste vital screen space which could be presenting visitors, at first glance, with your fine products and services. We realize that companies feel the need to look up-to-date, conversant with the latest technology. But, we assure you, Flash graphics are not the way to go. Truly excellent company images can be achieved with good old HTML and proficient use of Photoshop. Our major clients rank in the top 10 of all 3 of the big search engines, and none of them use Flash.

4) Site is Image Heavy
Graphics are great. They create an atmosphere and provide your visitors with a warm welcome. However, if your company logo is so huge that it is taking up half of your screen space, you are wasting the most vital selling areas available to you. Because of this, logo banners designed by Solas Web Design are horizontally oriented. Vertically broad banners push down your important products and text and our research has taught us that a staggering percentage of Internet shoppers would rather click off than scroll down.

Another issue common to non-professionally designed websites is huge background images which not only load slowly but can also make the site look very confusing to the eye. Artistic and careful use of background colors and images can enhance the design of your site, but should never overwhelm the products and services you hope to vend. A good balance of images and text will create a site which loads quickly and is visually appealing.

5) My Home Page is All About ME
An e-commerce home page is the most important page of the site. Frequently, we encounter home pages where the center area of the screen has been devoted to talking about the owner of the company, their family, or even more peculiar, how to use the website. Ten years ago, it may have been important to explain to Internet users how to get from page to page on a website. Nowadays, virtually everybody knows that all you have to do is click on buttons and links to get to the next page. Please do not waste vital screen space explaining how to use the Internet. The central area of the home page should be utilized to feature your top products and services and to give a little information about why your company is special. For instance, if you own a handcrafted furniture site, it will be enough to explain on the home page that your craftsmen work in traditional methods, accept custom design contracts, and offer their furniture in oak, maple, cherry, and cedar. The home page is not the place to go on for paragraph after paragraph about the life story of your company. Save that kind of interesting information for additional articles you will write to boost the web ccntent of your site. Bear in mind that all of this advice is geared toward getting your website to perform its function - winning profit. Your loyal clientele will love to know all about your business, but passing visitors want to be able to purchase a product from you as quickly as possible. A well-designed home page accomplishes this.

6) It's July and there's a Christmas tree on my Home Page
To a visitor, something like this says that your site is not being consistently maintained and that your company may even have gone out of business. If you have had the misfortune to contract with a web designer who has not kept up their end of the bargain in maintaining your site, it is time to find a new designer who will take your company's needs seriously. Professional web design firms pride themselves on constantly attending to their clients' needs. Having successful clients looks good on the web designer's resume and, at Solas Web Design, having satisfied clients is our #1 priority. Be sure that your site looks like people are living there. Presenting a vibrant Internet presence is very important.

Whatever the issues may be that are causing your site to sink or swim, they can and must be fixed before you spend another month, wasting investments of time and money in a site that doesn't return a profit. A website redesign can either be simple, or it may require burning down the house to start fresh, keeping nothing but your products and your domain name. Every case is different. In many cases, the site owner simply feels baffled by what the issues may be that are causing the site to fail. This is when it is time to bring in a professional advisor who has proven experience in building sites that rank well.

Many business owners who find themselves in this predicament benefit tremendously from hiring us to perfom an expert SEO appraisal of their site. Basically, this involves asking us to visit and critique their existing website to see what measure will need to be taken to bring it up to par. We communicate this information to them in a service we provide called THE LONG EMAIL. The information we give the site owner in this appraisal will be enough to help them determine whether they want to undertake their own redesign or SEO work on their site, or whether they want to hire us for the project. To learn more about THE LONG EMAIL, please view our Expert SEO Review article.