The Top 5 Things NOT to Do on Your New Website
Hurrah! You started a website. Congratulations! You are on the path to expanding your business reach, increasing your audience, and, you know, entering this century.
But, the internet is tricky. People are mean (we call them "trolls" around these parts). Search engines are disciplinarians. These are a few things you just can't do and before you go about doing them, I wanted to give you some heads up. Here are my website tips for beginners.
The Top 5 Things NOT to Do On Your New Website:
1. Allowing Spam Comments
Ah, spam. Unlike it's meaty counterpart, spam comments are never enjoyed by anyone (except those gaining from their existence). Today, they can be really hard to spot. People write these comments to make you think they're real, but they link to fishy, fake websites that will spam your readers.
Now that you have a website, you're the mama or papa bird to all of your readers. Don't let the predators prey on your readers. Use a strong spam filter or learn to identify real comments over fake ones. It's crucial!
By Annie Mole from London, UK (By Atlaslin) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Okay, so my thought is that you should have a Facebook Page as soon as possible. Heck, many people start Facebook Pages before they open websites. My thought is that Facebook is one way to increase conversions. People who are interested want to stay in touch. Facebook is a little less pressure than committing to full on email updates. Therefore, you should have Facebook (and email lists) immediately.
But, you can do some naughty things on Facebook if you don't know what's going on.
Social media isn't a set-it-and-forget-it kind of deal. I'm sorry. You need to spend time engaging and developing user interaction. This takes time and patience. Unless all of your Likes come from your family, they don't want to hear all of the dirty details about web development and such.
Before you create a Facebook Page, grab a piece of paper and outline the who, what, when, where, and why of your website (like a business), and then list how you want to use Facebook. Come up with a list of adjectives to describe your Facebook persona, and share/post accordingly.
3. Leaving stock pages
I've discussed this in the past. Stock pages are those sample posts and pages set up my WordPress and other website development programs to show you what they look like and how to use them. Leaving these up is a sure fire way of telling the whole wide world you haven't been in and out of your website, and are a total noob. Check for these ASAP.
4. Using photos illegally
Hey! There are laws about pictures! Just like using someone else's written work, it's illegal to take a picture and plaster it all over your site. Really. And people can find that stuff pretty immediately with a simple Google Image Search. It takes more time and you won't always find what you really want (for free), but seriously, do not infringe on copyright. There are some major consequences.
I've been using MorgueFile a lot lately, so check that out for some really great free images.
5. Focusing only on the sell
If every post you write and interaction you have is 100% focused on the sell, it just won't work. Be human, share your story, and engage naturally. There are ways to incorporate the sell efficiently and, well, not like a creepy business, so read around and get a grip on what works.