1. Assemble a web site development plan that is integrated with your overall marketing processes; the content should be consistent with offline materials, the graphics/images don't have to be identical with traditional media, but should be consistent with your overall branding, style guide, usage of colors etc.
2. Hire a web site design firm that understands your market position and one that won't get "geek crazy" - meaning they are so in love with their own design capabilities, your site gets bogged down with graphics, plug ins, GIF garbage, etc. But, conversely, check your ego at the door when you work with your design firm - I've see so many good web site designs get ruined by clients who can't or won't listen to what we tell them!
3. Pay attention to "load times," how long it takes a web site to load on a 56 KBPS modem (this is an industry average), if its more than 12-18 seconds you may experience the "click of death" - the site doesn't load quickly and the surfer is gone. Of course, if your targeting broadband customers who are reaching your site via ISDN or DSL then you can build a site that incorporates multimedia-ready content that may include streaming audio or video, or Shockwave or Flash capabilities - go ahead and let those digital geeks get carried away with cutting edge content!
4. Dare I say it, "keep it simple" - make your site easy to move around in, build a menu structure that is consistent with industry standards, local menus (for a page or section) on the left and global menus (overall site navigation) at the top and/or bottom of each page, keep as much information "above the fold" (above the cutoff point at the bottom of a monitor), don't make people use horizontal scroll bars unless absolutely necessary.
5. Inculcate "digital speed" into your overall site design, your client/customers should be able to get to their desired area of your site within one or two mouse clicks; they will quickly get frustrated if they have to click-through multiple menus to find information they are seeking.
6. Develop content that is web-enabled, people don't read web site content like they do offline media, keep your paragraphs short no more than two to three sentences, build in white space with your content, include links in your pages - don't try to tell your whole marketing story on your site - get people to call you (hello the telephone still works!), e-mail or fill out a profile form (see below).
7. Make your site permission-based marketing ready - I love Seth Godin's "Permission Marketing" book, http://www.permission.com, and we recommend it to all of our clients - he champions building a long term relationship with a customer by asking their permission to continue to market to them and incorporating value/information in all marcom processes.
8. Ensure your site is optimized for Search Engines by identifying 8-12 keywords that people will use to find your site, then incorporate these keywords in your site content (to drive relevancy with s/engine spiders/bots) and then manually submit your site to the top ten search engines. We don't' recommend most of the free or $19.99 specials available; yes, all will get your registered with the s/engines, but getting listed on page 75 of 350 pages (for example) won't really drive qualified traffic to your site, you need page 1-3 listings on the top ten engines to really drive qualified traffic.
9. Delve into your log server files to uncover "digital tracks" made through your web site - your log files are raw files that show how and from where (in most cases) people accessed your web site, where they went on your web site, how long they stayed, etc. Web Trends is the defacto industry standard, http://www.permission.com, but we use and recommend a market-experienced firm in Europe, Fantomaster, Ltd. to our clients http://www.permission.com, - they have a suite of Search Engine products that can be downloaded for free or purchased.
10. Think global in your overall site design - the greatest Internet growth is occurring outside North America, so it is essential to build a site that can be accessed easily by people around the world. What issues do you need to look at? Load times are very important (again), develop content that avoids colloquialisms that may not be understood by others who may not speak the same language, you may want to make your site content available in diverse languages, there are a number of emerging applications that will facilitate this process, ensure your e-commerce capabilities can be utilized by all.
About The Author
Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of business development and marketing experience - he is the founder of Intelective Communications, Inc., http://www.permission.com, a results-driven marketing services company providing proprietary services to clients encompassing startups to public companies. Lee@intelective.com
ohare limo service Grand Rapids ..As of September, Smartads went through what so many have... Read More
Before you take a road trip it is usually a... Read More
We've all surfed the web and seen some awful web... Read More
You have identified that to have an internet prescence would... Read More
You just created a new web site but want to... Read More
Getting a customer is not easy.Getting a visitor to decide... Read More
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) allows you to create fast loading... Read More
Imagine spinning someone around so profoundly and for so long... Read More
Typos, misspellings, hideous grammar, exclamation overkill and run-on sentences all... Read More
What colors do you have at your website?Can they make... Read More
Learning how to convert visitors to your web site into... Read More
Many people hire professional web site designers for as much... Read More
Websites that have multiple pages usually have a Frequently Asked... Read More
It is common sense.The more time people spend at your... Read More
Website Design Usability Tips1. Getting to know about audience membersYou... Read More
Here are 10 dynamic website advertising tactics to super-charge your... Read More
Your web site is the key to your success on... Read More
If you think it's simply a case of who will... Read More
First you need original content. Content is the heart beat... Read More
Now that you have decided that it is time to... Read More
A website should firstly be searched out by visitors before... Read More
Tips to brand your websiteInclude your logo in all pages.... Read More
The first step to starting any Internet business is conducting... Read More
As a web designer, I have a personal interest in... Read More
Let's face it. Buying products and services from the Internet... Read More
executive chauffeured services Barrington Hills ..All websites have a homepage. It is the most important... Read More
Let's look at what your user wants to see at... Read More
A highly effective website will always reflect its highly effective... Read More
Have you ever thought about the real stories behind all... Read More
Due to the large number of people offering web design... Read More
Reading on the web is different than reading in all... Read More
Do you remember playing with the jack-in-the-box toy as a... Read More
If you're running a website or online business, your number... Read More
The effective design is this one, which is maximum simplified,... Read More
Conventional Wisdom states you should use Sub-Directories to organize your... Read More
Flash is a powerful technology that can help you create... Read More
If you're not getting a lot of traffic to your... Read More
Websites, there's literally billions of them out there in cyber-space.... Read More
There are often many mistakes encountered when creating a webpage... Read More
When you develop a sales brochure, you have a mental... Read More
Remember the famous line from the movie Field of Dreams,... Read More
Good websites stand out from the masses of boring, hard... Read More
Creating your own website is great fun! But how is... Read More
Novice and professional designers alike ? you may probably be... Read More
The concept of web designing based on the nature and... Read More
A picture is worth a thousand words.And it still is... Read More
There are two important reasons to build your website from... Read More
So your web site's online and you've got high rankings... Read More
Chris, a new consulting client, asked me to help him... Read More
This is a very perfunctory look at the website code... Read More
Web Design |