In both of this month's newsletters we are going to examine Ten
Design Mistakes to Avoid for your Website. Avoid these mistakes and
your site will be steps ahead of your competition.

1. Not planning your site
Before you even have a website, you must have an idea, a focus. Why
do you want a website? What are your plans and goals for the site?
Sit down and draw out a map of possible pages and ideas for your
site. Include your site's purpose --whether it is to sell more
product or make the public more aware of your issue -- whatever it
may be. Build your site from it's strong foundation (your goals)
and you'll have a better, more solid site.

2. Failing to put contact information in a plainly seen location.
This could be disastrous. If a customer doesn't see this
information, they can't contact you. You should consider a 'Contact
Us' button or link from your Home page. Even better, make a link to
your email address in your header or footer, somewhere that will
show up on every page. Even if no one ever contacts you this way,
just the presence of this information comforts edgy customers.

3. Broken Links
Do you enjoy clicking on a search result only to get a Page Not
Found Error? No one likes them. Check your site statistics at
least once a month (if not more) to make sure you don't have bad or
broken links.

4. Outdated Information
A sure turn-off to a potential customer is the presence of old
information. If it's July and your website is announcing the 'new'
products available in February, your site just lost major
credibility. Make sure your information is up-to-date. Consider
adding a 'Whats New' button or a Business Blog.

5. Too Many Font Styles and Colors
This is a huge pet-peeve of my company. I've had people ask me to
review their website and the first thing I notice is 4 different
fonts. It looks bad, unorganized and unappealing. Different colors
may attract the eye for a short time, but constant flashing or
otherwise bright fonts (and graphics!) become annoying. Beware,
this is a sure-fire way to scare people away from your site!

See some mistakes in your website that need repair? Let Lighthouse
Technologies help you get your website running smooth!
Write to us at help@...

Join us again next month for the other 5 web-site killers!
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Sponsor
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Sponsor. Our new lower pricing will get the word out to potential
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Announcement
Because of a change in our Yahoo! Groups subscription process, many
of you may be getting this newsletter for the first time, even if
you subscribed months ago. We apologize for this occurance, and are
proud to have you as a new member!

If you no longer desire to receive this email in your email, you can
unsubscribe at the address below. You can also always read our
newsletters on our website. www.techlh.com/newsletters
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Host 3 and Save - A Webmaster's Dream!

Are you a master of your domain? Do you own multiple websites? Do
you create websites? Looking to make a few more dollars? Look no
further.

If you host two websites with Lighthouse Technologies, your third
one will be 50% off! Keep the savings for yourself or pass them on
to your customers! All three websites do not have to be registered
at the same time. If you have one or two, and don't expect the next
for a few months, that's fine! We give you a 6 month window from the
time you sign up for the first site to get your other two hosting
plans signed up and ready. All plans require a one year signup.

For hosting information, view our website!
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Filtering Email to Your Advantage

If you are a busy entrepreneur, or just like to keep up with your
email, setting up a filter could greatly help you in your business.
Consider these ideas:

* Add a filter that contacts you when new mail comes in from certain
email addresses.

* Set one for important messages to be forwarded to your cell phone.

* Create a reminder email for important events, and have that email
sent URGENT to yourself.

* If you get recurring emails that you want to keep but don't need
to read, make a filter that automatically dumps them into a
subfolder. Then they are out of your InBox, they are still there if
you need to access them, and you've saved a ton of time.
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Want to do something really cool with your website, but don't know
how? Need a custom script or database? We can help. Check out our
new Custom Services listed on our Home Page (www.techlh.com)
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As always, Lighthouse Technologies thanks you for your interest in
our newsletter, and hope you have a great day! Good luck in your
business ventures, both online and offline!

Will Hanke
Lighthouse Technologies
www.techlh.com