Running a successful online business implies several interdependent key factors that most business people dissociate. As a consequence, their business is doomed to failure before even getting off the ground. That’s why there are so many people who start an online business but so little profitable online businesses.

In order to succeed online you have to make sure you build and maintain an excellent business website, as it is the core of an online business. There are four important factors that you have to focus on if you want your website to be a great one and stand out:

• Infrastructure

Having your business website built on the right infrastructure is the most important aspect in creating and maintaining a successful online business.
Many conductors of online businesses and their web developers neglect this essential thing and concentrate only on the content and the design of their website. That is a huge mistake because all that hard work is worth absolutely nothing if their website has the wrong infrastructure. Just imagine you’re a client interested in certain products and want to buy them online, so you Google them and find a company that gets your attention right away. However, when you access their website all you get is a 404 error or you spend long minutes waiting for their website to load. You’ll definitely feel annoyed and will access the website of a concurrent company in no time. If you don’t want your clients to go through a similar experience and lose them to another company, than you should seriously think about where your website will be stored and who will be providing support for it.

If you are tempted to buy a certain hosting package just because is cost-effective, think again! It is highly recommended to opt for a premium WordPress hosting package because a proper infrastructure is vital for any profitable online business as it affects directly the quality of service experienced by the customer in terms of speed and responsiveness.

• Content and Design

Once you have your website constructed on the right infrastructure you can focus on the most appealing and decisive aspect of your business: content and design.
All the other factors are extremely important for your business to work, however the content and design of your website reflect the vision, image and the positive attributes of your company. In order to get your potential customers’ attention, your business must be perceived as a reliable and efficient business. Hence, what you say or transmit and the way you do it is critical for the success of your online business.

Therefore, writing original and compelling SEO optimized articles, product descriptions and company description is a must in this competitive market. Equally important is to create a powerful visual impact with all your visual elements (the design of your website, photos, logo etc). The same point of view is shared by Chuck Longanecker who argued in his article for Mashable (entitled ‘Why Great Design Is the Future of Content Marketing’): ‘Facebook Timeline, Pinterest, and Instagram are forcing brands to think and act more visually. Couple that with the impact of mobile browsing, and these emerging trends give new meaning to the phrase ‘show, don’t tell.’

• Relationships

As I previously mentioned, the key factors for a profitable business are interdependent. In other words, the content you post on your beautifully designed website will only have an impact if you have an audience. Having relationships with the right people is just as important as the other factors that build an efficient business. Unfortunately, business owner tend to overlook, underestimate and ignore the power of relationship with people who might help them. The result of such a mistake: their company doesn’t get popular and they slowly fade out of the market.
Creating relationships with the right people at the right time is essential for the success of your business, as you have to create and grow your own online community and motivate people to spread the word for you.

• Monetization

Last but not least, an efficient monetization strategy is what every online business owner should maximize. Converting visitors into buyers is every online business owner’s purpose, but the successful strategies of converting existing traffic into revenue may differ from business to business depending on their niche. Some people concentrate on advertising or good design to drive sales while others are working on developing better strategies of content marketing and email marketing. The important thing is to develop the strategies of monetization that best work for you.
In order to conduct a profitable online business, you need to find the best strategy for each of these four key factors, because they are the essential elements of the formula that will lead you to success.