With internet use increasing at a rapid pace, establishing an online presence is becoming de rigueur for even the smallest businesses.

But an unattractive or difficult-to-use website can do more harm than good. To be successful as a marketing tool, a website must be eye-catching, professional, and easy to navigate.

Here are some tips for maximising the effectiveness of your site.

Maximise your website's impact

• The basics. - One of the main purposes of your website must be to encourage and enable prospective customers to contact you. For this reason it is essential to include basic information such as your phone number, fax number and address in an easily accessible place. It is a good idea to include this information on your title page, along with a succinct summary of your business.
• Design. - Use your website as an opportunity to promote your brand and logos. An eye-catching design can of course be effective, but be careful not to sacrifice download speed for beautiful, complex graphics.
• The nature of the internet community is such that users tend to have little patience, and will generally go elsewhere rather than wait ten minutes while your pictures download.
• Content. - Make sure that your content is well organised so that information is never more than a few clicks away. If your website expands considerably, you may want to include a search facility.

Maximise your company's accessibility

• The domain name. - Resist the temptation to use free web space and a free e-mail account for your business. An e-mail address like john_smith46[at]freemail.com or a company website address like www.example.com/uk/smithandjones/ will not enhance your standing in the marketplace, and will make you look amateurish compared to your competitors.

It is both easy and affordable to acquire a unique domain name that matches the name of your business. Having a website URL such as www.adderblack.co.uk will create a leading edge image for your business and instil confidence that you are keeping pace with developments in technology.