As an web business entity, your website is your true identity in an online marketplace that is cramped with thousands of sites selling the same product or service as you. Therefore, to stand out in the competition and to get more buyers, you have to be different. Even if your product quality and features is the same as hundred other sellers, you can make more profits if your website has more substance than theirs.

Designing a website is much more than just deciding the fonts and colours. It encompasses a whole range of services that help in creating a site that is both user and search-engine friendly, and constantly developing it in accordance with prevailing online trends.

Listed below are the dos and don'ts that should be kept in mind whilst designing the basic structure of your site:

i) Your homepage should have relevant, informative and timely content. It is the mirror image of your company and you are most likely to be judged on the basis of its impressiveness.

ii) Keep updating your site's content frequently, as it helps in faster crawling of your pages. Search engines and users both like dynamic pages that have something new to offer on every visit.

iii) Try and keep the size of your web pages small. Such pages are crawled and read faster, and are easy to download in comparison to heavily-loaded pages.

iv) Use a shallow structure for your website if you wish to get indexed faster. Do not nest pages too deep inside folders, or else it becomes difficult for a search engine spider to crawl and index them.

v) Use a JavaScript code and place it in a separate .js file and link your pages to it. This will help in faster crawling of your site. Similarly, create a stylesheet .css file and link to it from your web pages.

vi) Do not use Page Redirects because it might get you blacklisted by renowned search engines – it is not considered as an ethical practice.

vii) Avoid creating one-page mini sites or doorway pages. Instead, work on your main site by adding new content periodically.

viii) Do not use hidden text or image links to bolster the optimization process of your site. This is yet another unethical practice banned by search engines.

ix) Do not use gratuitous animations, Flash or image maps as this adversely affects the web design and development process of your website. Also avoid the use of frames – they can be problematic in certain areas.

As a webmaster, these tips will help you in getting users to your site, retaining their attention and coercing them into buying your products, and all this without any 'visible' or 'tangible' presence.