Web site plan
Questions to guide your web site's progress

April 2004.

You know you want a web site. Or you want to redesign your current one. So, what's next? What's most important? There are several factors to ponder as you build—or rebuild—your company's internet presence. These questions will help guide the process.

1. What is your goal? Is it to draw customers by establishing yourself as an expert in your field, the company with the best product selection and ordering system, or simply to give your contact information? The truth is, the first two are great—they set you apart from your competition with value-added services. The last, however, stops far short of your goal. Once someone comes to your site, they want to know what you have to offer—and your address and a phone number simply aren't enough to effectively draw in a customer, and keep them coming back.

2. Focus on content. As I tell any client, the first step you must take is development of content. Yes, even before you develop design, content is king. Focus on facts about your company's experience, skill base and product or service offering. Beyond this, consider writing expert articles on your field with which your customers will find value. Consider linking to partner sites and build reciprocal linking relationships. In all things, make sure you keep your site up to date and relevant, and error-free.

3. Organize your navigation. When you know what content you want, make sure it's organized to be intuitive to the user; test various information-gathering and ordering scenarios with people unfamiliar with your business [your own focus groups] to better structure the site. Do all this well before you start designing, or you may create costly problems as your site is built—and rebuilt.

4. Focus on credibility—in design. According to a 2002 study by Stanford University that polled over 2,400 U.S. adult internet users, the average consumer paid more attention to the visual aspects of a site than its content. Nearly half of all consumers (or 46.1%) in the study assessed the credibility of sites based in part on the appeal of the overall visual design of a site, including layout, typography, font size and color schemes. This happened far more with finance, search engines, travel and e-commerce sites than health, news or non-profit sites.

So what does this mean to you? Work with an experienced web developer to build a well-designed, targeted site. It's common to want to develop your own web site, but it's also a common mistake. You may be able to develop it quickly and cheaply, but does it reflect the sophistication, reliability and responsibility you want your clients to buy into?

The old adage that "you get what you pay for" applies here—you'll see the payoff of a well-done site long before that of one you did in your spare time. You'll already be a step ahead of the game with a great web presence you'll want to share with the world.

All in all, these are just a few thoughts you should consider before you jump into your web site. Ponder them, pick an experienced web developer, and soon you'll have a site worth seeing—again and again.

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