One of the first steps in starting your own online business is creating a website. This website is your place of business and should be treated as such. Your potential customers will visit your site and decide in seconds whether to stay or leave. Turning these fast browsers into buyers is one of the main obstacles to building your new business.

Here are ten things you can do to help increase your website’s conversion rate:

Call to Action: Telling your visitors what to do can help turn their indecision into action. Tell them what to do to start the ordering process. Tell them why they should buy from you and that they should “Buy Now.” Tell them to click here to make the purchase. Give clear and concise instructions.

Simple Navigation – Don’t turn your site into a maze for your visitors to try and navigate. Have a simple and clean design with an easy navigation menu. Use short, simple, and easy-to-read paragraphs. Make all your pages consistent and professional.

Be direct: write your page copy like you would your client. There is no need for fancy words. You need to be professional, but your web pages DO NOT need to be written like a complicated legal contract.

Contact information: Always have your name and contact information on each of your web pages. Be sure to write a page about us. People will NOT trust you if they don’t know who you are. Create a Privacy Policy page to make your visitors feel safe, which will increase that trust.

Professional Graphics – Graphics can help increase sales, but don’t use childish-looking cartoon clip art. Use well-designed professional graphics. There are a few sites where cartoon clipart will fit, but most will need sharp and clean professional graphics.

Simple ordering process – One sure way to lose a customer is through a lengthy and lengthy ordering process. Having to click through too many pages to place an order will cause your potential customer to click on another site. Make sure your shopping cart is safe and don’t ask your customer to write a book or click on the moon!

Upfront with prices: One thing that makes me leave a site very quickly is if they try to hide their prices. Even if your prices are a bit high, you’d better be honest with them than try to hide them. Plus, have easy access to your shipping rates and return policies.

Sense of urgency – Sometimes people need a little help deciding whether or not to order. Creating a sense of urgency can help them make that decision. Limited time offer, limited supply, first 10 customers, buy now and get a free gift. All of these types of phrases help get the customer into the “Buy Now” mood.

Highlight the benefits – Be sure to explain what your products and / or services can do for your customer. Benefits outsell features. For example: if you sell office chairs, be sure to tell them how it will help your posture, thereby minimizing back pain, rather than explaining what the chair is made of. Let them know that the chair will support your spine rather than go on and on about the fabric. People want to know what your product can do for them!

Make Your Visitors Feel Appreciated – If your visitors feel appreciated just for being a visitor, then they know they will be treated well as customers. Give a gift just for stopping by. Give them a discount on their first order. Let them know that you appreciate them and thank them even for visiting your site.

All of these things can help influence a person’s decision to “buy or not buy.” Try as many as you can and see how effective they can be.