Make a point of understanding what third-party software, if any, is running on your website. Where a perfectly suitable tool already exists, a web developer will rarely reinvent the wheel. Shopping carts, blogs and discussion forums are examples of common requests that a web developer might choose to implement using existing open source or commercial software.

But popular software is also targeted by hackers, so needs to be monitored more closely and kept up-to-date with security patches.

Ensure it is somebody’s responsibility to know what software is installed on your website and when it needs to be upgraded.

When writing content for your website, consider what your visitor might be interested in doing next, and consider what you want them to do. Find a happy middle ground, and link to that place.

This is a call-to-action, and most business websites forget to include them.

Examples include “learn more about how we can reduce costs in your business”, “email us for a free consultation” and “comment on this suggestion now“.

1. Add a one-line summary of your business to your email signature. The person you sent the email will already know exactly what you do, but the colleague to whom she forwarded that email might not.

2. If you send HTML email and your email signature or stationery is rich HTML, sign up for (at the very least) a Hotmail and Gmail account and send yourself a test email so you can be sure your pretty signature doesn’t fall into a messy heap on those email clients. Find someone who has the opposite platform (Windows/Macintosh) to you, and send them a test email, too.

3. Don’t allow each of your staff to choose a different font for their name that matches their personality. Please, don’t.

Know who your domain registrar is — the company through which you registered your domain name(s).

You will receive dozens of letters and faxes from competing domain registrars that look a little like a renewal invoice, but are just an invitation to swap your domain name over to them, or register similar domain names to those you already own.

Ignore these. Stick with your existing domain name registrar unless you actually want to move your business elsewhere.

Ever notice how big business goes out of their way to hide contact details on their websites?

People want to contact you, and the sooner you can establish real, tangible contact, the quicker you’ll make that sale.

Make your contact details visible on every page of your website, in the footer. Include your email, phone number and physical address. Consider adding timezone details, hours of operation and international dialling codes — and invite your visitors to make contact!

(And, no. Hiding your contact details will not make you look like a big business. Being a big business makes you look like a big business.)