Whatever Genie

Last week we talked about how a bad website can do your business more harm than good. That column brought several emails asking what is the key to building an effective business website. I replied with the same answer I always give: building an effective business website is a simple matter of definition.

Before the first graphic is drawn or the first line of code is written, you must define the website’s budget, purpose, target audience, design, navigation, and content. And when that’s all said and done you must define the marketing that will bring visitors to your site.

It sounds easy, but you’d be amazed at how many really bad business websites there are out there. Yours might even be one of them. If so, listen up. For nearly ten years now my company has been building and rebuilding websites for every kind of business you can imagine: from mom-and-pops to multinationals. We’ve designed (or redesigned) a couple hundred websites and along the way I have come to the conclusion that most business websites do a pitiful job of working for their owners.

What’s that, you didn’t know your business website should work for you? You think it should just sit on a server somewhere taking up digital space and collecting digital dust?

Wrong. Every website, business or otherwise, must serve a purpose, and that’s usually where most websites falls short. They serve no purpose because the website owner never gave much thought to it. It’s not the website’s fault. A website is inanimate. It is only what you make it. The only life a website has is the one given to it by its designer and owner. If the human element doesn’t do a good job of defining the building blocks, the website will serve no purpose and eventually die a digital death.

Building an effective business website isn’t brain surgery, thank goodness, since that’s how I make a nice percentage of my living. Building an effective, well-designed website that works for its owner, that actually serves a purpose, is all about definition.

Define the Budget
Every website, no matter how large or small, must have a realistic budget, with “realistic” being the key word. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat with a potential client as they listed off the eight million cool things they wanted their website to do, only to find out that their budget was just a few hundred dollars. I always feel like saying, “Well you just wasted three hundred dollars of my time, so here’s your bill…”

Define the Purpose
Every website must have a purpose. Purpose drives everything: the audience, the design, the navigation, the content, and the marketing. I could do an entire column on purpose, but suffice it to say that there are five categories of purpose under which most websites fall: the purpose to inform, to educate, to entertain, to generate leads, to sell, or a combination thereof. If you fail to define the purpose of the website, all else is just wasted effort.

Define the Target Audience
Your target audience refers to that segment of the public that you hope to attract to the site. For example if you sell shoes, your target audience would be anyone with feet. Taking it a
step further, if you only sold women’s shoes, your target audience would be women (with feet) Why is defining your target audience so important? If you have no idea who your audience is, how can you expect to design a website that will appeal to them? Your target audience could be customers, investors, job seekers, info seekers, etc. Define your target audience, then figure out how to serve them.

Define the Design
Website design theory has changed over the last couple of years, primarily because the search engines now ignore graphic heavy websites and give preference to those that take a minimalistic approach to design. If you look at some of the big boy websites like GE, Oracle, Raytheon, HP, and others you will see that in many cases the only graphic on the homepage is the company’s logo. Search engines now give higher preference to websites that offer keyword-rich text over flashy graphics. Don’t fight the design trend. You will lose.

Define the Navigation
Bad navigation is the number one reason website visitors abandon a website. Navigation refers to the chain of links the visitor uses to get around your site. If your site has an illogical navigational hierarchy or too few or too many links or is simply impossible to get around, you’ve got problems. We live in a microwave society. We stand in front of the microwave tapping our foot and glaring at our watch wondering why it takes so damn long for a bag of popcorn to pop. Why can’t a three-minute egg be done in thirty seconds? If it takes a visitor more than 3 clicks to get to any page on your site, your navigation needs improvement.

Define the Content
Content refers to the information on your website, be it graphics, text, downloadable items, etc. Since the top search engines no longer use HTML Meta tag data to index websites, it is vital that your website content be text heavy, succinct and well-written to appeal to the search engine spiders.

Define the Build Method
Next, who will build the website for you? Will you do it yourself using one of the point and click website builders or will you hire the kid next door? Will you hire a freelance designer or a professional firm? Budget usually dictates the build method, but be warned, when it comes to website development, you get what you pay for. Sure, the kid next door will throw up a site for you if you buy them a pizza or make your daughter go to the prom with them, but you will end up a with a website that looks like and performs like it was designed by the kid next door.

Define the Marketing
If you build it, will they come? Not on your life, at least not without a good marketing campaign. Your website should become a part of all your marketing efforts, online and off.

Put the website address on your business cards, brochures, letterhead, and all collaterals. Include the address in your ads; print, TV and radio. If you prefer to do online marketing, figure out where your target audience surfs and advertise there.

If marketing is foreign to you, do yourself a favor and call in an expert. Many businesses fail because they simply do not know how to market their products and services effectively. This is also the downfall of most business websites.

Here’s to your success!

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If your small business is venturing into ecommerce, you may be daunted by the technical wizardry you think is involved. But fear not: complete web store software packages will keep all the technical wizardry safely behind the screen, so you don’t have to worry about it. All you have to do is choose a design, stock your store, and promote it. Here’s how to do that.

Designing Your Online Store: Choosing a Template

When starting a brand-new online store for a small business, you’re better off choosing a pre-existing design template rather than having a design done from scratch.

Why are custom websites so important?

Custom websites are among the most important PR instruments used in modern business. Studies show that suppliers, vendors, clients and employees are all more likely to research your company online than through any other medium. Recognizing the value in effective custom web design brings better awareness and professionalism to your organization, using your website and the internet to its full potential.

Your custom website design team needs to create professional, custom websites that impress your visitors, build brand recognition, and sell products and services. Being closely-knit with the design team, in collaboration with you, using a proven strategy to ensure that the final design matches your specific needs and expectations. In addition, the custom web design team should have a grasp of what information your visitors will be coming to your website to view, learn and educate themselves with.

Custom web design is just that, custom to your needs. When looking for a web design firm, they should always be thinking of you and your business. Whether you are selling products online or services to your clientele, your website should reflect that. The internet is a vast and readily used tool, don’t disappoint your visitors, get a custom web site that is designed for you specifically.

The first step to finding the right firm is by discussing your business and its objectives. Once you have a clear vision together of your needs, you need a proposal that includes details about your custom website, marketing plan and pricing. The next step is deciding upon which firm you will choose.
After you sign your contract, the development of your custom website will begin. At this time, it would be a great idea to supply your designers with information for your website (i.e. copy, pictures, products, contact information, etc.). An outline of the pages you would like to include, breaking each section down with what information you would like to have in those sections. The development of your custom website should begin smoothly from here.

Once you are pleased with the final product, your website will officially be launched. Once you are officially “online”, sending out press releases of your new site and its wealth of information is a great idea to bring some traffic to your site.

Custom web design for you and your company is highly important. Just having a templated site that isn’t truly right for your company layout and image is just a waste of time. Websites are an investment, invest wisely in custom web design for better results.

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I’ve been asked, “How do I design a successful website?”

I often respond, “Do you know the fastest way to ruin a new web site
design?” As you might suspect, the answer is, “Lack of proper planning beforehand.”

Let’s put it another way. In programming, there’s an old axiom, which states: "The sooner you start your coding the longer it takes to finish."

Planning out your site before you build it is essential. To borrow a technique from the film industry, I recommend that you create a storyboard, which is a type of a flow chart of your new site design. You don’t have to be an accomplished artist to draw out your idea, but it’s essential to create it on paper first.

On each piece of paper, the goal is to have room for an image at the top, plus space underneath for writing down information. As you might suspect, the first page to start with is your home (or welcome) page, which will typically have the most information as it will contain the page the people visit before they enter your site and as people go through your site, the will encounter more information (in tiers) as they go down.

Typically, the home page links to 5-15 pages below that, which we could refer to as Tier 2. Each of those pages links to another 5-15 pages, which you could call Tier 3.

If you use all of these pages, you’ll wind up with an extensive site, of at least 226 pages (including the home page).

It’s during this process that all sorts of problems will crop up. But it’s much easier to solve them on paper than in the middle of coding rather than when you are finished.. If you don’t, you might run into a major problem along the way that would require a “back to the drawing board” complete site re-design.

Working things out on paper will give you a much better idea of how things will work and how to fix problems. And, if you have knowledgeable friends, get a second opinion.

Once you’ve completed the on-paper process, and you or your web designer is satisfied with the results, you’re ready to translate it into code. Unless you or your programmer is a pro, I would recommend using a “template”. These are ready-made design formats. You can choose from several templates by typing “template source” in most search engines. Many of them are free.

Commonly Asked Questions

Q: For a Web site, do I have to employ a pro, or can I call the guidance counselor at my local high school and ask for the names of some computer whiz kids that I could call to help me out (for a fee)?

A: It really depends on what you want to do. If all you want is 1-2 pages , you can learn how to build the Web pages yourself. If it’s an intensive site with many pages, I’d recommend student or a pro (if you have the budget).

Q: I see a lot of photo-oriented web sites that have a black background. Is this the best color to use?

A: Not necessarily. It’s a matter of opinion and personal taste. White can work just as well. I don’t recommend the use of other colors as they can compete with your images.

Q: Is "Flash" or audio acceptable?

A: If you absolutely need Flash to demonstrate an animation, then by all means use it. If it’s for a fancy trick, I recommend leaving it out. It’s similar with sound. Unless it adds to your site, don’t use it. And if you do use sound, give users an option to turn it off. If you don’t, you’re likely to lose visitors.

Everyone struggles to make their sites appealing. Nonetheless, only a few has discovered the formula behind pretty and serviceable site.

Some sites need little alterations but some need total overhauling. The latter, being the most taxing than the former, has to start off on the right foot. What does it take to have tempting and pleasurable sites?

First, a site must have focus or concentration leading to a goal. Be sure not to leave the site wanting in details. Say everything that needs to be said. The contents must be material to the site’s objectives. Place in graphics that are valuable to the site. Bear in mind that the color, design and layout must agree to what you are saying. However, do not give beyond what is expected. Overdoing it invites confusion by reason of smorgasbord of links and all sorts.

Focus means organization of ideas and graphics. The more organized the homepage is, the better.

Another attribute of a good homepage is empathy. Marketing involves not just logic but a greater doze of matters of the heart. Persuasion is the key to a successful marketing strategy thus, this is also vital in websites most especially to homepages since they are primarily used to market products and services.

When visitors come to a certain site, their expectation is to be served and get solutions or answers. Therefore, your site must cater to the individual needs of these visitors. That way they can be satisfied and comfortable with your site. This will further build trust and loyalty between visitors and your site. This trust can yield you visitors and probable purchasers.

To empathize, you have to know first the possible reasons why visitors come to your site. Next, the class of visitors and level of knowledge they have in connection to your product and services. Be sure to answer all the doubts in their minds as well as needs, feelings and habits because that will affect the decisions they will be making.

The third thing to consider – is the ‘call to action’. This is the most important yet the most neglected attribute of a site. Without this, your site will be wasted.

Visitors want to know the action plan and they should get what they are supposed to do. The action plan can be getting information, buying the product, signing up for a service and the likes. Give a strong, persuasive and clear action plan to get the results you desire.

Reinvent and invigorate you homepage by making it stunning and functional!

How? Here it is…

1. Conceptualize an idea. Think what you like your future website to be. What audience will you cater? Everything you do must redound to their fulfillment. They will be visiting to get what they need. Be sure that their needs are answered. That way they will be satisfied and will keep coming for more. Not only that, they can recommend your site to their friends if they find it functional and nice.

2. Find a host. Having a host is not that expensive. In fact you can get one at $70 for two years. However, if you don want to spend a single penny, there are lots of sites that are hosting for free. The only consideration is that their banner must be placed in your site. That for one is a great deal, isn’t it?

3. Start with your first page. Do the layout and design your first page. It will be easier and better if you have basic knowledge in HTML. Though there are hundreds of What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editors, but you will create a better site using HTML. There are tutorial sections available online. Take advantage on them and apply your knowledge to the web design you are creating.

4. Edit your page. Observe the loading and the navigation. Are they doing well? How about the web design, is it pleasing to the eyes? Are the fonts readable? Is the content helpful? Are there errors in spelling and grammar? Better check all these little details. They may be tiny details but they make up the whole website. Be careful in dealing with them. If there is a need to redo the page do it. It will be disastrous if you are displaying a total trash.

5. Do the rest of the pages. The goal is to attract visitors, keep them and to gain more.

Edit, proofread and edit more. It pays off to have everything in order. Never sacrifice the quality of your website. It is your frontline. It is the one capable of attracting visitors that makes your business sell.

6. Submit the pages to your host. After you are done with the pages and the editing, you can submit them to your host. Wait for it to be shown in the net. Do not forget to update the pages regularly. You have to be updated in order not to lose your target market. Otherwise, they will look for a better site that can satisfy their needs. You don’t want that to happen, do you?

You may not realize it but your site is already done. Easy as your ABC’s!