As our culture becomes more and more dependent on the internet many realtors, in a panic to not be left behind, are putting up their own webpages in order to cast an advertising net into the online sea of prospective clients. However, just as you wouldn't go fishing with a net that you tied together yourself out of odds and ends of string that you found in your pocket, you shouldn't try to catch clients with a homemade, cobbled-together website either.

Many people don't understand the reaction that clients have to poorly constructed websites. This may be from a lack of exposure to well designed sites, a lack of exposure to the internet, or just a complete lack of common sense. Some of the websites floating around in cyber space these days make one wonder if the person who constructed it has ever tried to navigate a website much less get information or products from it.

On the internet there are myriad Frankenstein websites, attractive only for their use as the antithesis of good taste and effectiveness. Many websites use poorly thought out colours and fonts, making them ugly and hard to read. Others are difficult to navigate or haven't been checked out in different browsers for usability. Sometimes you come across websites that force you to listen to the agent's favourite country music or sounds of running water, both of which are more likely to make a prospective client to immediately close the browser window than hang around to check you out.

If you have a website now, take a look at how it looks and functions. There are many flaws that a site can have that make it less appealing to prospective clients, but some of them will just make them look elsewhere for a less irritating site to search for properties on. Remember that your website shouldn't just appeal to you; it needs to appeal to people who want to hire you.

When you put up a website advertising yourself it becomes a reflection of your competency in your profession. A garish and awkward site will, at best, make you look like you have poor taste. Just as it is in a seller's best interest to hire a professional, YOU, it is in your best interest to do the same.  Mike Ciucci