This information was sparked by Ali Brown's Online Success Blueprint Workshop when she was talking about ideas of things to talk about in your ezines; I came up with this topic idea because every client that coaches with me either needs a new website or we need to update their current site - EVERY ONE! So, take a good look at your site for some of these...

Why does it matter who you choose to design your website or redesign the one you have? Because all web designers are NOT created equal!

What I've found over the last 6 years of business is:

- 95% of the web designers out there are NOT sales and marketing focused (which means they will NOT be able to help you figure out the best ways to present or write your site in order to get the best results from your target market)

- 99% of them do NOT offer a content editor/manager (which is crucial for us entrepreneurs to be able to get in and make our own changes in the middle of the night, etc. - most simply don't have access to that kind of technology)

- Many of them do NOT help you figure out how your website will flow with the rest of your marketing, networking, follow up, direct mailing, speaking, selling, etc. (which means it may not end up helping you to fill your funnel)

- 97% of them don't have any idea what an opt in box is!!!! (this is astounding to me!)

Now, I'm not trying to rag on web designers out there; I refer to a few all the time and frankly I have many web designers come to me as clients so they can learn this stuff and become more effective with their clients and that's fabulous because that means there will be more marketing educated designers out there eventually.

After you find the right web designer (which unfortunately most of us do not the first time around), then you need to also make sure they agree with and/or are aware of the following 16 Crucial Must Haves for your site (otherwise, keep looking ok?). Your website should:

1. Be easily found on the search engines

2. Increase your traffic to your site

3. Increase your conversions (people who visit your site that sign up on your list)

4. Be updated regularly with new exciting, keyword rich content

5. Be professionally designed and maintained (and NOT by YOU!)

6. Be built with the user in mind

7. Increase your exposure in your local area or nationwide

8. Have the functionality that your users need and want

9. Be extremely attention getting on every page, especially the home page

10. Have a way for visitors to sign up on your list in order to build your database

11. Provide free resources to keep visitors coming back

12. Provide links and content that generate interest and repeat visits

13. Continue to build your relationship with your visitors, clients and prospects

14. Have an easy way to contact you

15. Tell your story and why you're doing what you're doing

16. Allow people to trust you and get to know you

17. Do 100 Million other things too...but you'll have to contact me to find out more!

There is so much more to building an effective website which is why I write and teach about it a lot so if you're in the market for a new one now or know it's time to update your current site, I'd urge you to check out the service that I created just for this planning purpose - so you only have to redesign your site ONE more time....