Your website can be a powerful marketing tool--if you do it right. Many sites are quiet, passive and, yes, boring. They don't give people much reason to stay there and even less to come back. But there are things you can do to make your website a lot more friendly, more valuable and more productive.

Have an appealing front door. Make your home page brief and compelling, visually and verbally. Grab people at the entrance and they're more likely to come in and explore. Be sure to let them know upfront what's in it for them---the benefits of your product or services.

Avoid gobbledygook Make your text clear and easy to understand. People don't want to work to comprehend what you're saying. If you make them work, you can lose them with the click of a mouse button. Especially avoid using the jargon of your business. It tends to be obscure and just plain irritating. (Personally, the term "high net worth individual" bugs me.) A good rule to follow is this: write the way you talk. If you read it aloud and it sounds stilted or forced, people won't be comfortable reading it.

Give them a reason to return. Have an area that's dynamic or changing. It could be helpful tips from your area of expertise, relevant articles, things like calculators or tables if the subject is financial. Your webmaster can change these for you regularly. Or, if you prefer to do it yourself, your webmaster can install a content management system that lets you change things yourself fairly easily.

Use a "send this page to a friend" button on pages that are especially interesting or helpful. Just make sure that the page has your contact information on it so the recipient knows where to come for more information.

Have printable pages. If people can print or download them, you have an easy, inexpensive way to disseminate information about yourself--like your one-sheet.

Use your site to harvest prospects. You can build your database by having visitors sign up to receive a newsletter. Or include a brief, useful questionnaire. e.g., "If you answer 'Yes' to any of these questions, you're paying too much for your mortgage." Anyone who responds is self-selecting and an automatic prospect.

Don't lose visitors: If you have any links from your site to another site (that might have an relevant article, for example) make sure that it opens in a pop-up window. That way, when they finish the piece and close that window, they're back on your website. (If you don't do it this way, you're relying on their hitting the "Back" button on their browser to return to your site. Don't count on it.)

In our increasingly web-based world, websites are more important--and more competitive--than ever. These tips can help you maximize the effectiveness of yours. And most of them won't cost you much to implement. They're easy ways to help make sure that you don't waste your website.