TerraMedia | Website design in Lismore, Ballina, Byron Bay and Lennox Head through to Brisbane.

Previously I had a look at different tests you can run on your website to determine the validity of the code, whether or not your website is usable, and how easy it is for people to understand. Today we are going to look at Website Grader and how it can help you figure out what might need fixing or improving on your website in order to help you to better compete in the online marketplace.

If you were asked how well your website’s content is written, what would you say? Do you know if it is compatible with the major browsers? How many seconds it takes to load on average in different parts of the world? Are there any broken links on your site right now?

It might not seem to make much difference to replace a rich text apostrophe with the HTML equivalent special character or for your website to meet some general accessibility guidelines, the reality is that the more accessible and polished your website is, the better the chance you have to gain not only more visitors, but more sales as well.

Unfortunately, our Lismore office is currently unavailable.

This doesn't mean that we are no longer servicing Lismore and the Northern Rivers region though. We will still be servicing the area in the same capacity. The only difference is that all mail should now be sent to:

Meetings in Lismore, Casino, Ballina, Byron Bay, Lennox Head and elsewhere in the Northern Rivers and Northern NSW are still available by appointment only (as was previously the case as well).

I've written previously about how important directories can be in making sure your website, and subsequently your business get found. I mentioned a couple of directories then, but there are more, and there are others that I have come across since, so I will be making this page a growing list of directories that you can use to locate suitable places to submit your website to. If you have any others not in this list, feel free to mention them in the comments!

Australian Only

AussieWeb Local Search

URL: http://www.aussieweb.com.au/
Submission URL: http://www.aussieweb.com.au/add-listing.aspx

While your website is under development, there are a number of things you can do to start marketing it and getting potential customers. This is especially important if you are selling a product or service.

Even if you are not ready to sell yet, people may be interested in what you are selling, so why not offer a way for them to know when you are ready to sell? Why not develop a customer base that is just waiting to be able to purchase from you?

There are a number of possibilities available to you, all offering a different service, different costs, different advantages and different disadvantages, so what is the best option for you and your business?

Let's have a look at the three options we offer you at TerraMedia and compare them.

Standard POP3 Email

This is the standard email that comes with your hosting when TerraMedia is your hosting provider. We provide up to 15 email accounts for free, any more than that incurs an additional fee.

These email accounts require you to either use an email client on your computer like Outlook or Apple Mail, or to use one of the three available webmail clients.

In part 1, we had a look at making sure your website is actually indexed by search engines, and then leveraging the power of Google Maps. In part 2, we looked at a number of directories and how they can be used to not only provide a place for people to find you in, but can also be used to benefit your search engine rankings. Now we are going to have a look at link building.

What is link building?

Link building overlaps with directories with the aim of developing quality links to your website and pages within your website.

In part 1, we had a look at making sure your website is actually indexed by search engines, and then leveraging the power of Google Maps. Now we are going to have a look at utilising directories to do a couple of things at the same time.

Directories can not only provide a place for people to find you in, but can also be used to benefit your search engine rankings.

2008 has been a great year, despite the challenges that many of us have faced with the financial crisis and reduced consumer spending around the world. However, when times get tough, we innovate and improve. So for the start of 2009, I would like to have a look at what you can do yourself for free or with a minimal cost to help make sure potential customers are able to find your website easily.

A website says a lot, but what does it say to anyone that is searching for it? Do they even consider looking at your website? Getting your website indexed by search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Live is one thing, but making sure they list what you want them to list is just as important.

I was looking for a particular item the other day and came across their website in the search results, what did it say?

"Sorry your browser does not support Iframes. Please update your browser in order to view our site properly. We recommend IE 5+ for both Mac and PC. Thanks!"