4. Headfirst into testing, usability and promotion

Testing

If you want your website to work well, then testing helps make sure it all works in accordance with your wishes. It is worth testing the technology and testing the way the site works from a user's point of view.

Below are some useful links to test your site:

• browsershots.org (see how your site looks in different web browsers); and
  
• check your site from Craig Cecil (various tests including page load times).

Useability

Many sites could benefit from being more usable, see:

• Jakob Neilsen's Top 10 web design mistakes (3 different sets of mistakes), Top 10 mistakes in web design, 1996 Top 10 mistakes in web design and Top 10 mistakes in web design,
• One hit wonders - top 10 web mistakes from One Vision, and
• Web pages that suck.

Promotion

On the Web

When you build a site, generally you want people to find your site.
There are 2 ways to do this, get known on the web and using non-web advertising.

Before you submit you need to check that you have page titles (especially the first page). Also, make sure that your metatags are right (see page 5 of this guide for resources on metatags) before you submit your site.

Sites to submit your site to include:

• google.com.au or google.com
• dmoz - the Open Directory Project
• Yahoo Australia or yahoo
• NineMSN or live.com

It may also be worthwhile submitting to other Australian search engines, see this search page for references to search engines.

You can also freely advertise your site by inserting an auto-signature in your email program. That way every time you send an email you advertise your site.

Off the web

Some possibilities:

• Tell your friends and family about your site,
• put your business website on each page of stationary, on business cards, promotional material and on packaging, and/or
  
• have references to your website on your vehicles.

There are lots of options, and many are cheap.

If you are confident about your site and it is finished, submit it for review in a relevant area.