The web is 24/7 and unforgiving! A true story … about 10 years ago during the infancy of the internet, one airline published an online air fare between New York’s JFK Airport and Hong Kong for $4 each. Needless to say, hundreds of travel agents jumped on it before the airline quickly changed it. Because it was published “live” online, the airline had to honor this fare and lost hundreds of thousands of dollars …. And I bet, someone lost their job!

So whether you’re a business owner, a webmaster or just an online consumer, here are “3 Ultimate Website Breaking Tips” that you can test on every website you do business!

1/ The 10 Click Stress Test! In an age when virtually anyone can use a credit card online to create a “start up website,” not everyone evaluates how their website will react if dozens of people arrive on it at once. Since internet Stress Test Tools have a $3 – 10,000 price tag, one of the easiest “cost efficient” methods for testing performance is gathering 10 computer users together where each person has their own computer. The leader of this test would then provide instructions on where each user needs to be on the website being tested …

For Example. It’s best if everyone is in the same room or connected by a single conference call. If you’re website has a Contact Form that can be filled out or a credit card purchase capability, tell everyone to fill the form out and then wait until everyone is ready to click a Submit button. Tell everyone to have their fingers poised to click and then give the command, “Click!” (so the transaction is attempted by everyone simultaneously).

The next moment in time will speak volumes for how good your website really is! If the 10 Click Stress Test crashes the website, then you know that if you have a promotion where hundreds of online visitors come to your website in a short period of time, you may lose hundreds of thousands of dollars because your web page just crashed. If your web page “sticks” or goes slow but completes the transaction, then this is good because it didn’t crash …. But it could probably use additional capacity to weather the next marketing promotion storm! However, if the web response is slow, a business owner could get nervous about how many other users may be held up on their website if you are lucky enough to have a couple hundred visitors come see you online! All these visitors could slow your web surfing “down to a crawl!”

2/ Email Field
Your the webmaster for a new website, you just launched the site and have begun to review the database information and discover to your horror that the emails don’t have an “@” (ampersand)!

Everyone makes mistakes but you just made a big one! Your code should be “error checking” for the “@” (ampersand) and should provide an error if the user forgets it.

Accurate emails save postage, provide an immediate way to respond to a potential customer and are key to any marketing campaign.

3/ Name Fields Virtually every website has a contact form where you can type in your information, ensure it is correct and click Submit!

What happens if you accidently left your name off the form?

If you are able to leave a form blank, click Submit and your information is sent, you’ve just broken that websites Marketing Strategy! One of the most personal and valuable pieces of information is a person’s name and if you’re website doesn’t remind you that you forgot to type it in, you’re database is missing info!

Stay Tuned For More Tips Coming Your Way! (…And if you like our web tips, please bookmark thetexaswebguy and visit us again for more!)

So you contract a webmaster or purchase a website package AND you’re 24-7 online – “Open for Business!” Initially, you are not discouraged by the slow trickle of customers from your website but become disenchanted if it continues. What happened?

Marketing! The days are gone when you launch a website and receive hundreds of hits from surfers on the web (unless you are paying hundreds of dollars for browser placement, online ads, etc).

Maybe you don’t know what you’re online Target Audience really is!

“Text and Image Positioning”

A great example of reaching the right target audience would be the Pepsi commercials that have played in the past.

The CocaCola truck took their soda to the wrong customer and it shows a group of “placid” teenagers drinking Coca-Cola watching TV while the Pepsi truck took their soda to the Senior Citizens Rest Home. The Seniors were partying, dancing and having a great time! What’s wrong with this picture is that statistics tend to show soda is primarily consumed by kids or young adults and the product was “directed” to the wrong audience. It’s a funny commercial though … (I hope I’m dancing when I get there)!

The lesson is, Your website should “speak to” the customers you want!

How? Easy. Go right now, without delay, and round up a few friends or acquaintances who represent your target audience, have them surf through your website and let them tell you if they like it. If they give it THUMBS DOWN, don’t despair, go round up a greater number of web surfers before you make a decision because “it takes a significant number of reviews to represent a quality sampling of users”. That’s Marketing lingo for, “The More people who say no, the more you know you’ve got work to do”!

Dollar signs appear in your eyes and you say, “Oh know, I wasted all this time, spent money, lost sales, and now I’ve got to redo it!” Be calm, get your “target audience” reviews, evaluate what needs to change and then make a decision. Maybe you change only a few words, a few pictures (pictures are worth a thousand words) and Presto – your website can re-launch!

Remember, you may be an expert in “flying” a Professional Flight Simulator with dozens of aircraft available in an online game, but you never claimed to be an expert in Marketing!

It’s not rocket science! Look at your online competition. Better yet, print out several competitors web pages and make notes on their various weaknesses, obvious strong points and whether you like how they use words and pictures to attract customers.

If you don’t have the skills to create a website, Webmasters usually “sign” their work by leaving a webmaster email or website where you can contact them for prices, designs, etc. There are “How To” CDs or books but be sure you’ve dedicated the time to learn, create and make it like you want it. Since online users may give you only 10 seconds once they arrive on your site to decide whether they “go” or “stay,” launch when you’re ready!