Websites are a lot like cars. They are designed to take people places in a easy and non-frustrating way. And just like the family wagon, your site needs to be checked on a regular basis to make sure it is in top form. Here is a very quick and easy way to do this, and like any good mechanic it will tell you what needs to be fixed without charging you an arm and a leg.

First, let's look at some of the ways your Website can get "out of tune" and negatively affect visitor experience:

• Slow to Load - typically because some of your graphics are much larger than they need to be

• Broken Links - want to disappoint a visitor, have links that don't work. Links often stop working because the URL of the resource you are trying to show has changed without notice

• Poor Spelling - need I say more?

• Bad HTML - sometimes the code in your site is just, well "bad" and may cause your site not to display or function properly for some of your visitors.

Unfortunately, these kinds of problems can creep into your Website (through updates, etc.) without you even knowing about it, which means you could be losing valuable online leads and not be the wiser to it.

A Web-based service called NetMechanic has an awesome Website "tune-up" tool you can try for free called HTML Toolbox. Using just your Web browser, HTML Toolbox can check for all the problems listed above and even suggest repairs to your HTML code (NOTE: let your Webmaster decide if the corrected code is appropriate to install on your site!).

You can check the first 5 pages of your site for free by simply entering your site URL and clicking the "Test Now" button.  (NOTE: if your site uses a FLASH intro page, use the URL of your site's home page instead). In just seconds it will diagnose your site and report back to you about your site's loading time, broken links, spelling errors, and bad HTML code.  CLICK HERE to see a short FLASH video of how this works using my ePOWER NEWS site as a guinea pig.

If you want to use this service to check your entire site (highly recommended) you need to subscribe to the service for US $60 per year (as of this writing) which gives you unlimited use for up to 100 pages. Pricing goes up for sites with over 100 pages. If you do decide to purchase the annual subscription, make sure your Webmaster uses it at least monthly to do a check up on your site.

HTML Tool box is clearly a useful "Web mechanics" tool.  However you don't have to be a cyber mechanic to test your site. In just minutes you will know if your site is humming like a NASCAR racer or needs some serious engine work. Either way, you will have the feedback you need to keep your site working at top, business-producing performance!