Knowing which sites are ... is ... to anyone who works online. Aftera while you begin to develop some ... apply when deciding whether a site is ... worthy of your Knowing which sites are trustworthy is veryimportant to anyone who works online. Aftera while you begin to develop some touchstonesto apply when deciding whether a site is legitimateand worthy of your trust.I have had very few problems with purchases madeonline, but it can happen to you and me both.Here are five things to look for in a site: 1) VIRTUAL DOMAIN NAME-- Does the site havea virtual Domain name like this ? http://www.goodbusiness.comOr is it based at a free host address like this? http://www.angelhair.com/9985409/?cgi/interpol/geodcities.com/xppd.gsr/Well, I don't know where your thinking is, but I am definitelygoing with the identifiable virtual address here as an indicator that they are legitimate. They at least thought enough about their business to investa few dollars in a name.2) TESTIMONIALS-- Are there any good testimonials of others whohave done business with them ? Can they be contacted ? If there are, chances are you are on the right track to having a good experience with them yourself. Beware, however, of made up testimonials that cannot be verified.3) HOW LONG ONLINE-- How long has the site been online ?This may take a little researching on your part, but it maywell be worth it to know how long this business has been making it's offer for products, software and/or services.An easy way to verify how long the domain name has beenregistered is simply to a search at: http://www.allwhois.com/You will find lots of information including who owns the domain name, their address, who hosts the domain name, and when it was registered.It can give you some useful information about the genuinenature of the site.4) CONTACT INFORMATION-- Can you contact the webmastereither by phone, fax and /or email. Personally, I like dealing with those that give you all of the above information. There is something comforting to methat I can call or e-mail the site manager if something goeswrong with my purchase.5) CREDENTIALS-- There are several "credentialing" sitesonline. There intention is to offer some validity to the siteby tracking complaints from former users. If the site does offer such a service, by all means checkout what others have said about their experience with thebusiness.A note: Not all legitimate businesses offer such a "seal of approval". I assume because there is usually a cost involved,or they just don't feel that they need it.While this article is not all-inclusive, it is intended to giveyou a "heads-up" when surfing to unknown areas of the internet and experiencing dealing with new sites thatyou discover.Larry Johnson, author(You are free to reprint this article or display it on your site by including the resource box below)=========================================GET A QUICK START with this free, weekly publicationthat includes powerful marketing tips, fresh ideas andoriginal articles. Hey, it's FREE... come on down and join us.Subscribe: mailto:[email protected]========================================= Article Tags: Domain Name Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com