The Foundation: Building an Effective Web Site

Web sites serve many purposes and in todays fast-paced world of instant information and you have about 2.2 seconds to capture a visitors attention before they are off to another site. This article provides you guidelines to help you plan and build a web site. It touches on a variety of topics and is not meant to be an all-inclusive source but rather a basic guide to arm you with knowledge and resources for building your own site or researching web development companies.

The Planning Phase

Before you begin to build, understanding the purpose of your web site is essential. Some questions you may start with are as follows: Is your web site informational only? Will you need ecommerce functionality? Who is your target market? Is it for general audiences, specific to a geographical area or vertical market? What is the message you are trying to convey? Who are your competitors? To get a better overall picture, you might also try brainstorming with colleagues or soliciting feedback from your customer base.

Once the purpose of the site is determined, the next step would be to determine the site structure such as navigation, customer logins and access, secondary menu items. At this stage of development, think of your site as a document with a table of contents. Your table of contents has main headings (chapters) and sub-headings (sections). Main headings or menu items should consist of a general overview about the topic, product(s) or service(s), sub-headings or menu items should contain details on specific topic, product or service provided in the overview pages (for more information on navigation, please refer to the section on sitemaps).

In conjunction with the structure of your site, start thinking about the design and content that will be added. This process can in and of itself require a separate planning session. Some items you will need to consider when designing: web standards (W3C Standards - Usability, syntax), cross-platform browser compatibility (will my page appear correctly on Firefox (Mozilla), Internet Explorer, etc.), page loading times are graphics and images optimized?

Tips for Using Graphics and Images in Your Web Site:

- Graphics and images should have a purpose and be placed strategically with corresponding text. They should only be used to help convey your message.
- Site colors should help establish your corporate identity or brand.
- Consistency in colors and structure should be used throughout the site.

Adding Content

Content is king. Keep your content concise and relevant, remember the 2.2 second factor. People searching for specific information usually want it immediately and generally will not spend time searching through page after page to find it. The key here is to provide enough information to grab their attention and once you draw them in and contact has been initiated, that is when a more in-depth dialog can begin. Content is also relevant for the placement in search engine results.

Important Pages to Include

Privacy Policy. Make this page accessible throughout the site. Typically placement for this is at the bottom every page next to the copyright. A good example of standard policy can be found at www.bbbonline.com

Contact Us. Make this page easy to find and access. You will want to make it as easy as possible for interested parties to contact you. NOTE: If you intend to apply for programs such as the BBB Online Privacy Seal or TRUSTe, full disclosure of your contact information is required.

Site Map. If you have a large site, a site map assists visitors in finding the specific information they are looking for. In addition to human or manual navigation, a site map is a useful tool for web crawlers (spiders). This will ensure that all of your pages get indexed in the search results. Google offers a free site map tool.

Terms (Optional). This page depends on the products or services you are providing. If you are building an informational or brochure site, it is probably not necessary to include. However, if you're offering downloadable information, 3rd party links or products it is advisable to not only have a terms and conditions page but to have it reviewed by a lawyer to ensure your liability is covered.

Choosing a Hosting Provider

There are several hosting options available and with that much competition, the least of your worries should be price. Things to consider when selecting a hosting provider: amount of space and bandwidth, dedicated or shared hosting, Windows or Linux (Linux is open source and Windows is proprietary) and features such as scripts, ecommerce capability, SSL, SQL databases.

The Calling Card

Web sites are your calling card to the world and first impressions do count! Investing the time, energy and resources into building a functional and attractive web site is well worth the effort.

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