Fact: The vast majority of small-business Web sites exist for one reason -- to generate and grow income.

Fact: Far more Web sites FAIL, than succeed.

Why are they failing? Lots of reasons. Among them are "The Seven Deadly Sins" -- mistakes that can be fatal to your website.

Warning: You may not like what you learn about your site with this quiz. It is not designed to make you feel bad. It is here to help the large number of cyberpreneurs who are NOT getting the results they envisioned when they set sail online. It is completely up to you what you do with the results.

QUIZ: THE SEVEN DEADLY WEBSITE SINS!

Read the following questions and answer them honestly. For every YES answer, score ONE point. For every NO, score ZERO. The object is to keep your score as close to zero as possible. At the end, I'll let you know if your site has a passing grade.

SIN #1. Does your site contain LESS THAN 50% FREE, VALUABLE information about your area of expertise?

Too many Web sites are merely sales letters and nothing more. The best sites offer genuine, quality assistance. It is a simple fact online, that businesses who willingly share valuable information are more likely to keep people at their site and earn repeat visitors. Moreover, if you are trying to sell something, this will earn your potential customer's respect and confidence.

SIN #2. Is your site using someone else's domain name?

In other words, is the first impression you make, coming across as "www.somefreewebspace.com/user/"? Or is it a more established "www.yourcompany.com". Hey, let's face it, if your company won't spring for a domain name at $35 a year, many potential customers will think twice

SIN# 3. Is your entry page or home page more than 40K?

Some home pages literally take minutes to load! People simply will NOT wait this long.

Example: Recently my own bizweb2000.com home page grew to over 70K. A test at http://websitegarage.com showed a load time of over one minute with a 14.4 modem. I quickly pared it down to 40K by removing a few graphics. The results? 15% more traffic and nearly 5% more sales - instantly! Remember, the average modem speed online is NOT 56k! If your home page is too large, break the information up into several pages.

SIN #4. Do you offer your website visitors only one or two ordering methods and NO secure credit card ordering?

This is one of the biggies! Secure credit card ordering is a MUST at every business site. In addition, be sure every product or service page has a link to an order form that can be printed and then mailed, emailed or faxed. That is a minimum of four methods right there. You'd be surprised how many people prefer specific options and will not order unless you can accommodate.

SIN #5. Are you failing to offer a free email newsletter or product update to all your website visitors?

An electronic newsletter is a cost effective way to stay in touch with your prospects. It's more effective than a print version because you save on printing and distribution costs. Even if you offer mail catalogs to your visitors, you should be emailing them occasionally. It will keep your site traffic up and increase your business. (Don't ask a million questions when people subscribe. They may be interested in your e-newsletter but may shy away if they have to reveal too much information about themselves. A lead is a lead. Don't scare them away - they may never be back.)

SIN #6. Are there pages within your site that fail to offer a single click to your home page AND your email address?

You'd be surprised how many sites overlook this! When folks are browsing your site, they need simple navigation and a fast way to ask questions. These two components are a key part of any effective website.

SIN #7. Is your site catering only to users of speedy modems and the most current browsers?

Recently I removed my spiffy "hover buttons" from my home page because the Java applets caused problems with people using Netscape 3.0. If your site is overloaded with large or animated graphics, Java and sound, not only will it lag on slower modems, but some visitors simply will not be able to view it. If you must have the latest technology, be sure to offer "text only" pages for people with time constraints or older hardware/software.

So, how many deadly sins is your site committing? If you scored a 2 or more, your site is FAILING! That's right, answering yes to just two of these deadly sins can be costing your company a bundle of lost revenue.

Remember, I didn't write this to upset any small business owners out there. Quite simply, I know from experience why many sites fail, while others flourish. If yours isn't doing so well, time is on your side. Print this quiz and get busy fixing your site, one step at a time.

I promise you'll be pleasantly surprised with results!