Custom Website Design - 7 Steps to a More Professional Website
by Michael Turner

If you are trying to sell a product or service on your website, then it is important to make your site as professional as possible. You might think designing that your own website to look like a professional did so is a rather difficult proposition, however there are many tools online that will help you achieve professional looking design.

Step #1 URL
First of all, you want to come up with a URL that is professional. This means nothing long, difficult to spell or pronounce, or vulgar. What you want is a short and easy to remember URL that has something to do with your website and one that people will be able to share easily with others through word of mouth. This might take some effort to come up with because many simple URLs are taken, but with some thought and creativity you will be able to come up with something that works. NOTE: Dont even think about registering a domain unless it is a .com!

Step #2 Design
When it comes to design you want your page to look professional. Fortunately, there are thousands of professional web page design templates that you can either buy or download for free. Then, all you have to is upload your grammatically correct and perfectly spelled content and your appropriate photos and graphics to have a professionally designed site.

Step #3 E-mail
You want to make sure that your web host supports e-mail for your URL. This is an important design element that makes you appear professional.

Step #4 Newsletter
A weekly or monthly newsletter on your website about current trends, need to know information, and the like is a great way to appear professional and well put together.

Step #5 Secure Payments
For a professional website you must be able to accept credit card payments and they must be on a secure server. There are no if, ands, or buts about it. If you do not accept credit card payments and if your site is not secure you can forget making any online sales. Be sure that your website itself is as secure as possible and that the software you use for credit card processing is safe and has extra security measures build in.

Step #6 Testimonials
Testimonials are another excellent way to build confidence in your product and promote a professional appearance. When you make a sale, simply send a follow-up e-mail asking for feedback and permission to post what they have to say on your website. Testimonials can really make a difference!

Step #7 Password Protection
If you have a membership type site, youll want it to be password protected so you can save the information of each member, allowing them to personally manage their pages. This is very important and can really give your website a professional appearance that will stand out.

• Cotton Traders tightens credit card protections (Computing.co.uk)
  
  Angelica Mari, Computing , Thursday 20 November 2008 at 11:26:00 Retailer deploys 'tokenisation' middleware Clothing manufacturer Cotton Traders has increased customer payment data security to become compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The company is deploying 'tokenisation' middleware which ensures that credit card details are ...
  


• Cotton Traders tightens credit card protections (VNU Net via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News)
  
  Clothing manufacturer Cotton Traders has increased customer payment data security to become compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
  


• Visa's digital credit card could raise legal stakes (The Register)
  
  Competitors may hop on bandwagon Visa has introduced a computerised credit card which it hopes will help banks battle fraud. The innovation could force other card issuers and banks to implement similar technology, one data protection expert has said.…
  


• Cotton Traders tightens credit card protections (vnunet.com)
  
  Angelica Mari, Computing , Thursday 20 November 2008 at 11:26:00 Retailer deploys 'tokenisation' middleware Clothing manufacturer Cotton Traders has increased customer payment data security to become compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)....
  


• Disney and JCB Launch Disney-JCB Card, Japan's First Disney-branded Credit Card (Japan Corporate News)
  
  Tokyo, Nov 19, 2008 - (JCN Newswire) - The Walt Disney Company (Japan) Ltd. (the Walt Disney Japan), a global leader in the entertainment business, and JCB Co., Ltd. (JCB), a pioneer of Japan's credit card business and brand holder of Japan's only international credit card brand, have teamed up to develop and issue Japan's first Disney-branded credit card, the Disney-JCB Card. Applications for ...