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By: David Frank, Thu Nov 16th, 2006
How to Get a Website That Works for You So you want a Website for your business or organisation? Here are several tips on what to think about before approaching a , to ensure you end up with a Website that really serves your needs effectively? What is your business or organisation really about? Briefly summarise your organisation?s profile: ? Mission, values, etc ? Products and/ or services ? Main target markets - age, sub-culture, ethnicity, social profile, etc ? Related organisations - competitors, partners, and their website addresses What will be the main purposes for your Website? Identify the required functions of your Website, and prioritise these, e.g. ? Inform - provide useful articles, blogs, media releases, reports, newsletters, etc ? Sell products or services - provide product catalogues, facility for online purchase, etc ? Facilitate community interaction - staff intranet, forums, etc ? Facilitate events or activities - field enquiries, process applications or bookings, etc Measures of success? What outcomes will mean success for your Website? e.g. ? Product or service sales ? Customer enquiries ? Email subscriptions ? Bookings or reservations ? Incoming traffic (hits) ? Search engine ranking How to convince customers to buy? How are you going to persuade people to buy your products or use the facilities on your Website? Consider the following: ? What are the key benefits that your products or services bring to your customers? ? What are your unique selling propositions? i.e. what key customer benefits can you offer that other companies can\'t? ? How will you establish trust and credibility with customers? e.g. photos, customer testimonials, guarantees, qualifications...etc. ? What fears or objections might potential customers have buying your products online?and how will you answer these? What design style? ? Do you have any thoughts on a suitable design style for your Website that will appeal to your customers...think beyond your own personal preferences... ? Do you want to use your existing branding, e.g. business card, letterhead, or brochures? Or do you want a partial or totally new look? ? What colours do you want, for foreground, background, text? ? What other Websites do you like and what features do you like in them? e.g. simple, centre-aligned, strong colours, dark background, subtle features like colour gradients, certain shaped buttons... there are so many variables you can choose. Information architecture How would you like your Website information to be structured?what menu sections might you need, e.g. Home page, About Us, Contact Us, Products, Policies, etc? How to get people to your Website? How do you intend to raise the profile of your Website and attract people... ? Include your Website address on business cards and brochures? ? Links from online directories such as Yellow Pages? ? Links from affiliated business Websites? ? Links from your own or others\' email newsletters or articles? ? Optimisation of your Website text for search engines, such as Google, or paid listings or adverts? All ready to go... Once you have answers to these questions, you?ll be well equipped to engage a Web design company to create an effective Website that truly serves your organisation?s purposes. The author David Frank?s company, Spectra-Media, focuses on ?organising and presenting information?effective communication? in writing and editing, web design, and technical writing for clients in New Zealand, Australia, Britain, and Europe. The company website is at www.spectra-media.net.nz. David came out of a broad career in telecommunications, mainly in engineering design, sales, project management, and technical writing. He also has experience in illustration, graphic design, and photography.