Winning on the Web

6. Use an inviting site design

Your website should be designed in a way that makes it seem inviting, happy and professional. Think about how sites like Amazon, Google and Facebook use color and shapes. These sites avoid colors that are too dull (browns, grays) or too aggressive (reds, neons), and have just enough white space on their pages to avoid seeming too busy and tightly laid out, while still maximizing space.

7. Build communities on social media groups

Social media accounts give you a way to reach customers when they're not visiting your site, or even thinking about your business. A strong social-media presence can be valuable, but first you need to build a community on the sites of your choice.

Every social network is a little different in terms of community-building guidelines, but there's a general guideline that can be applied to them all: Be personal. Share pictures and video of people at your company working, having fun, or doing anything else that's interesting or shows personality. Write posts that have nothing to do with your business, such as "What's your favorite fall beer?" or "How was everyone's Thanksgiving?" or "Today is national dog day! Our favorite dog is the beagle. What's yours?" Comment on or interact with the post of another social-media account that's a client of yours. Anything you can do to make your company seem likable, interesting or fun should be your No. 1 goal on social media.

Why? Two reasons: One, sharing the personal side of your business is a good way to build affinity with prospects and customers, since the more they feel they know you, the more they'll trust you and want to do business with you. Two, a primary focus on fun, personal content will make the occasional serious post about your business much more palatable to your followers. Too many posts about product sales or other business-y stuff is a sure way to turn off followers on social media, but a handful of carefully crafted business posts within a larger body of fun, non-sales content can be an effective way to drive buyers to your website.