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Making the decision to do business online can do
wonders for your business - if your site is designed
properly...or for your webmaster's business if there are a lot
of "redos". Taking the time to do a little preparation can save
you time and money. No matter who designs your site, whether it
is you or someone else, follow
these steps
and you will save yourself time, money and grief!
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1. Plan your
site's
purpose
Information? E-commerce?
Who is your target market?
What
keywords
will your target market use to
search for your site? (3 to 5)
Define the purpose of each section of
your site.
What
keywords
will your target market use to
search for each section?
Ask yourself: What specifically do I
want this site to accomplish? Where does it fit into my
business plan?
2.
Domain Name
Should be easy to remember, fit onto a
business card
may want to use 2 of your most important
keywords
Ask yourself: Will my target market
remember this?
3. Design Appeal
The most effective websites focus on:
a. Load Time: Have you ever
clicked onto a site that took too long to load? What did you
do? Your e-visitors will do the same thing!
b. Targeted Information: This
ties purpose and target market - most importantly, KEEP IT
CURRENT!
c. Searchability: 92% of
people on the web search, not
surf. The internet's appeal is its time saving - ensure
you're found and that your visitors can find what they are
looking for within your site once they are there. This
includes an internal search function and that your
navigation
system is simple and easy to follow.
d. Visual Appeal: This is your
photos, graphics, logo, background, special touches...the most
effective sites find the balance between appealing and
functional.
Ask yourself: Which sites do I like and
why? Which sites don't I like and why?
4. Content
This is dictated by the purpose of your
site i.e.: information = current, on-point information;
e-commerce = products, prices, method of payment and delivery.
Ask yourself: What is my target market
coming to my site for? How do I deliver this in the most
effective way?
5. Forms
or other methods of gathering customers'
responses, questions and feedback
Ask yourself: What information do I
want to collect from my visitors? What is the most effective
way to gather it? How do I respond in a timely manner (BIG
pet peeve: not getting a response from an email. This can be
the biggest cost of having a web site)
6. Uploading and Testing
Once your site is online, several FREE
services exist to allow you to test your site's technical
correctness. This includes:
meta tags,
broken links, spelling/grammar (another pet peeve).
7. Registering and Advertising
"...if you build it, they will
come"...NOT true with the internet. Yours will be one of
millions of sites - how will they find you? Once the
preceding 6 steps are maximized, your site needs to submitted
to search engines and directories. Again, there are services
that will do this for you, but if cost is a factor, this can
price it out of the ballpark.
Put your
url
on absolutely everything. Traditional advertising
still accounts for a huge portion of internet traffic.
8. Track, Analyze and
Reassess, Maintain
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a. Track: What you track really
depends on the purpose of your site and what justification you
need for the time and effort. Again, several FREE services
exist to help with this.
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b. Analyze: Look at the results
and determine a plan of action to correct what is wrong and
capitalize on the most popular areas of your site.
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c. Reassess: The dynamic nature
of the internet dictates a dynamic nature for successful
sites. Using the information gathered, change to meet the
needs of your e-visitor (always keeping your purpose in mind)
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d. Maintain: K.I.C.S. (Keep
It Current Sweetheart)
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