Site Prep Checklist

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Originally published at Internet.com

It's never too soon for e-tailers to reap the rewards of months of site marketing and technological development. Even though the season of mass consumerism is still months away, your site should be fully prepared to service the volume of expected customers.

Take the time NOW to give your site a thorough inspection and ensure that it will sustain the traffic that you expect. Have friends and family members run through the site as customers and try all the functions. Be willing to hire professionals if you are not able to make the site fully operational on your own.

Here's a checklist of areas to review, refine and correct: * Have you paid close attention to what your customers seem to want? Have you implemented the results of surveys, marketing programs, traffic reporting and site analysis? (Advertising, Marketing & Site Promotion Library) * Is your content current? Have you updated your site recently? Do you continually add interesting information? Are product descriptions up-to-date? (Site Development Library) * How easily can customers navigate and find information? Is there a prominently displayed FAQ and Site Map? (What's Your Navigation Quotient?) * Do you offer enough methods for accepting payment? Have you established merchant accounts for various credit cards? (Payment Solutions Library) * How secure is your site? Do customers need to worry about transmitting their personal information? (Security Library) * Is your staff fully trained in the finer points of customer relationship management? Do you have enough employees to handle a large volume of customers in a timely manner? (CRM Library)

If you work hard and long on building and refining your site, profitability doesn't have to be a seasonal event.