DO:

• Make your site easy to navigate with clearly placed links and navigation elements.
• Make it clear to your site visitors on the first page what it is that you do.  For a store like Amazon.com, it’s clear that they sell books and other media.  If you run a logistics company, it might not be so apparent from the design of the site. 
• Offer relevant, regularly updated content for your site visitors to keep them coming back for more.
• Provide an easy way for site visitors to contact you.
• Make your site uncluttered and pleasing to the eye
•  Encourage visitors to stay on your site by opening new windows when they click on a link to another site.
• Re-evaluate your website strategy on a regular basis to fully leverage the power of the internet.
• Consider search engine optimization strategies and other marketing efforts for driving traffic to your site.
• Make sure that any images you use are high quality with no blurriness or pixilation (jagged edges).  Remember, NO image is better than a poor quality image.
• Include a clearly written privacy policy.
• Keep your audience in mind and be kind when using large images or files on your site.  Not everyone has a fast internet connection.
• Remember that your website is a direct reflection on your organization.

DON’T:

• Use overly large buttons as your navigation elements.
• Use color combinations that are difficult on they eyes (for example, blue text on a black background, or red text on a bright yellow background).
•  Encourage users to leave your site by clicking on links to other sites and having that content open in the same window as your site.
•  Create your site and then leave it untouched for months.
• Assume that if you have a site, people will find it.
• Use spinning gifs, blinking gifs, or other elements that may be viewed as less professional.
• Antagonize your visitor with overuse of popup messages.
• Ask the user via a popup message to bookmark your page as they are leaving your site.
•  Take images or content from other sites without their permission.
• Use “gimmicky” effects like scrolling messages in the browser’s status bar, page hit counters, etc.