When the time comes to hire a professional to design a customized site for your company it is easy to be influenced by the competition. Many small business owners make the mistake of creating overly flashy websites that have the latest technology and features. While this might create an impressive impression it might not be for the best. Before you give your designer a list of requirements that you feel will generate sales remember these three things.

First of all, your website must be easy to navigate. Visitors should be able to find everything that they need without hunting for it. Include links to all major parts of your website; "About Me, Contact Us, etc." at the top of your website and at the bottom. Make sure that everything is easy to understand your clients should not have to spend an hour figuring out how to get around the site.

Secondly, the website must clearly state your companies name and contact information. When a visitor gets to your website they must be able to tell, right away, that it is your site. With visitors going to hundreds of websites each day they will eventually get confused. This will happen a lot if you are selling goods or services that will lead to your visitors doing a lot of comparison shopping. Your site must be able to stand out in the crowd by showcasing a brand name, logo, or other identifying graphic that will be memorable and easily recognizable.

Third, and finally, your website must be able to load in all browsers quickly. Web surfers are notoriously impatient and after a few seconds of dealing with a slow loading website they will move on to the next best thing. The only way to avoid this is to cut down on large graphics, excessive animation, and anything else that will slow an Internet user down. When you are trying to come up with ways to make your website load faster, always remember that not all users will have access to a DSL or high speed connection. Test your website out using dial up and test it in multiple browsers. Even though you might like your exciting flash entrance page a user with an older computer, outdated Internet Explorer, and dial up might get angry when your website crashes there entire system.

Always remember that it is your company's services and products that matter. Do not let yourself get fooled by the flash that some company's use to hide their lack of quality. Focus on what your website needs to educate potential customers and rank well on major search engines.