|
Author: Juliet Austin Article source: http://www.macosx.com/. Used with author's permission.
1. Be clear on your purpose.
Building a website can be a long and arduous procedure if you are not sure what
you are doing. However, if you have a clear focus as to what you expect your
website to do for your business/organization, things will flow much more smoothly.
The purpose can be anything from selling widgets online to keeping members of
your soccer team updated. Regardless, figure that out before setting sail on your
journey.
2. Establish your target audience.
Your target audience will affect what sort of content your site includes as well as
how it will look and function. Obviously, writing for kids will be much different than
writing for adults. For business websites, a narrow and specific target market, will
not only make it easier for you to market your product or service, it will also make it
easier for customers and clients to find you.
Also, consider how many graphics and "bells and whistles" you'll want. If your
audience is not very computer literate and generally includes people with slow
Internet connections, it doesn't make sense to include large, slow-loading graphics,
animations, and video clips. You want your site to be user friendly and don't want
your visitors to leave because they've become frustrated with the navigation or
because your website loads too slowly. Conversely, if your audience is the younger
generation, including flashy graphics and other "fun" elements might be more
appropriate and even necessary to grab their attention.
3. Determine your budget.
One can spend anywhere from $99 to $10,000+ dollars on having a website
developed. Your purpose should help you decide on your budget. Remember, a
website should ideally be a work in progress. Don't worry if you can't do everything
you want with it initially — you can always add to it later, and it will work better for
you and your customers if you keep it up-to-date and fresh.
4. Assess the value of your time.
Many people have undertaken to create their own websites, especially with the
advent of desktop publishing programs. Still, they expend a huge amount of time
and energy and end up unsatisfied with the results. While it may be true that
"anyone" can design a website, the same could be said about any type of work. If it
takes you hours and plenty of frustration to cut your own hair, wouldn't you be
better off going to a barber or hairdresser?
If you have a flair for design, feel confident in your writing and marketing skills, and
have the time, knowledge, and passion to build your own website, go for it! If your
time would be more productive doing your own work and contracting out the web
creation, that might be worth considering.
5. If hiring a professional website designer, make sure you are comfortable
working with him/her.
Do you feel he or she understands your vision? Does he or she provide useful ideas
and solutions you hadn't thought about? Have you looked through his or her past
work? Do you feel like you're getting professional service? Is the price right for your
budget? What is included in the fee you will be paying?
6. Think about how you'd like the website to look and function.
Often you will have a logo and/or other graphics you'd like to build a design around.
You probably have some colour and style preferences. Perhaps a certain font has
caught your eye. If you're stumped and lacking ideas, go surfing! Look through a
wide variety of websites — both your competitors' and other successful businesses/
organizations. Write down (or bookmark) the sites you like and what appealed (or
didn't appeal) to you. Do the same with magazine ads. You'll get a lot of inspiration.
7. Organize and formulate a layout for the information you'd like to include.
Assign page names to each distinct "chunk" of information and, if the total number
of pages is sufficiently high (over 12, as a rule of thumb), group them into sections.
This will make navigating through your site that much easier. Your designer should
be able to make some recommendations in this area.
8. Make sure you understand the importance of effective website copy
(text).
Your website copy will be determined by your purpose and your audience. On the
Internet, people have very short attention spans. If they don't get the information
within a few seconds they'll usually move on to the next website — possibly your
competition's. Furthermore, the more you know about writing web copy, the more
customers you will draw in. You can learn some basic copywriting skills yourself, or
you can hire a professional copywriter to write it for you. Always make sure you
know what you want to say and say it concisely. If you have the need for a lot of
text that can always follow further down the page or on another page.
9. Choose a domain name and find a hosting company.
Your website will need to reside somewhere so that others will be able to access it.
And, you'll probably want to register a domain name, such as www.mybusiness.com.
Doing so rather than using the long, awkward name (and free web space) provided
by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), sounds much more professional and is much
easier for customers to remember. Choosing a good domain name can also help you
get found in search engines, such as Google. You'll also get related email addresses,
such as info@mybusiness.com, which, again, sound professional and reinforce your
domain name. There are plenty of hosting companies out there at a variety of
prices. Find one that suits your needs. Your web designer or marketing consultant
should be able to help you with all of the above.
10. If you have a business website, develop a strategy on how you will market
it.
Having a website without visitors will get you nowhere. An analogy is writing a
fantastic book, hiding it in the library, and not telling anyone about it. You will need
to drive traffic to your site. There are numerous ways to do this. You can either learn
to do this yourself, or hire a marketing professional to help you. Although hiring
someone will increase your initial costs, it can pay off in the long run when you have
more potential customers visiting your site, and ultimately increasing your sales.
© Juliet Austin & Nathaniel Richman, 2005. Juliet Austin is a Marketing Coach, Consultant & Copywriter who assists counselors, healing professionals and socially responsible business owners in marketing their practices and businesses. Juliet can be reached at:
http://julietaustin.com/
Nathaniel Richman is a Web Designer/Developer who assists
socially responsible businesses and organizations to promote themselves by
creating unique, professional websites and other multimedia applications, such as
CD-ROMs and newsletters. Nathaniel can be reached at: http://nrichmedia.com/
Together, Juliet and Nathaniel provide a unique website design and promotional service to help professionals, businesses and organizations make the most out of their websites. Visit their blog at: http://www.websitedesignandpromotion.com/
The authors grant reprint permission so long as the article and contact by-line remain intact.
The Power Of Charisma
How to tap into the Power Of Charisma in you...
Conquering Your Acne - A Few Helpful Tips
Here are some great tips to help you conquer your acne and feel great about life again.
Developing Relationships at a Networking Event
Everyone seems to really enjoy their own comfort zone and straying far from that is a real chore and taps into personal "fear factors". It is not that we fear e...
Poker Strategy - A Simple Six Step Guide to Big Profits
There is no one set strategy that suits everyone in poker. We're all different, and if everyone could win by playing the same way, then poker would not be such ...
Move On!
No matter how worse it seems, just move on.
Let the Intern Do It - Affordable Help for Your Business
Do you have more projects than time? Help might be as close as your nearest college. Many have intern programs, where students complete tasks for businesses as ...
Actual Achievement Part 2
Actual achievement refers to what it takes to: get what you want right NOW. Like winning a gold medal or closing a major deal, something you may not get another...
Defending Middle Eastern Oil Refineries and Assets
Innovative idea to safe guard US interests in the middle east from rogue terrorist elements.
Natural Hormones for Treating Perimenopause and Menopause Symptoms
Alternative treatments based on natural hormones are becoming increasingly popular for treating perimenopause or menopause symptoms.
Does Your Goal Enhance Your Overall Quality of Life?
Do you set goals because of things you think you SHOULD or HAVE to do? Make sure your goals are taking you in the direction that you want to go. Ask yourself ...
15 Tips for Writing Winning Resumes
The thought of writing a resume intimidates almost anyone. It's difficult to know where to start or what to include. It can seem like an insurmountable task. ...
Why Mobile SMS/Text Messaging?
What is Mobile SMS/ Test Messaging? Mobile text Messaging, or Short Message Service (SMS), as we all know it, is the ability to send and receive text messages t...
Possibilities in Prayer
Learn about the infinite possibility of prayer and how to effectively eliminate fear and doubt from your prayer life today!
The ABCs of Choosing a Suitable Partner Online
Do you want to know the truth about any online Hotty? Follow these three steps and you will!
How to Build Your List
Your list is your life. If you do not have a list of customers and prospects, you may do okay in your business but you won't be great. The one and only thing ...
How To Write Headlines That Grab Your Prospects Attention
Your headline is like an ad for your ad. It is responsible for getting the attention of your prospect and enticing her to read what you have to say. If it succe...
Marketers Still Dont Get RSS Metrics - How We Really Can Measure RSS
Even after all that's been written and explained, even reputable online marketing publications such as ClickZ still don't get RSS metrics.
For Love of Ghosts
The "For Love of Ghosts" Chaplain recalls the ghostly encounter that led her to a life-long adventure with the afterlife.
Feng Shui Guidlines for Storage Spaces
Professional organizers and helpful-hint sources often recommend storage solutions such as shelves above doors and in corners, hooks on the backs of doors, and ...
By Now, Im an Expert at Memory Loss
I sat down to write my weekly humor column, but I just could not remember what I wanted to write about. This seems to be an increasingly more common affliction...
A Guide To Performance Management
Nowadays, great significance is being given to Performance Management, as companies incorporate them in their effective management strategies. However, a lot of...
Google Zombies Need To Wake Up
Over the last couple of weeks, I've received more e-mails in response to my article, "Google's Trap, DMOZ's Nap, And Yahoo!'s Crap," than any other article I've...
Avoiding Scams: If It Sounds Too Good to Be True, It Probably Is
Information in story form about ways in which people from Indonesian can place convincing orders with stolen credit card numbers. Also included is information a...
Greek Turkey Burger
Here is a melt in your mouth Greek Turkey Burger. This recipe is a low fat version of they typical beef burger. Made with Feta Cheese, Red Onions, and many more...
|
Print this page