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Excuse Me, Your Website is Naked!

by Cathy Goodwin

"Come see my new website!" read the proud email from a well-respected professional, eager to promote his first book and seminar series. His website was indeed beautiful -- exquisitely laid-out with customized graphics.

Alas, the website was unfinished. A well-dressed website has:

(1) A title that tells what you do -- functional and keyword-friendly, not necessarily a high fashion item. A title of "home" screams that you're an amateur -- or you chose the wrong web designer.

(2) Don't tell me what you wear under your designer suit -- but when I click "view source," I want to see meta-tags! You'd be amazed how many expensive websites go bare.

(3) Accessorize your site with 500-word articles or ezines. But choose carefully to complement your objective.

(4) Your choice of attire signals whether you're attending a high-powered meeting, representing a client in court or washing your car. And the first words on your site tell the world who you are and what you do.

(5) Most successful people have a signature fashion style that says, "This is who I am." On the web, discover your own writing voice and share your individual persona. Sanitized biographies ("Dr. Z is a well-known…") and copycat slogans are equivalent to shopping in a bargain megastore.

If you've got good fashion or word sense, you can get away with all sorts of rule-breaking. But if you show up wearing a bare bones birthday suit, most would say that's one rule too many.

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