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If you haven't taken your home page online - or even if you have - here are a few tips for making your site more effective.
1. Look before you leap. Before you sit down to map out your Website, spend time exploring the "Net" to see how other people approach constructing a site, what technologies are available, and what features you like and don't like.
2. Add value. Nobody is going to drop by your Website - at least not more than once - if it's just an electronic ad. Give visitors information they can use. Be a resource.
3. Get creative. If you've been online lately, you know there are some fantastically creative sites out there. No one's saying that you have to try to compete with those at the farthest edges, but web surfers have come to expect a certain level of wit and cleverness when they visit a site. If you can't do this yourself, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Many, many outside resources (including us and others almost as good) are now available.
4. Change your site. People do find Websites they return to again and again. Just like with other forms of communications, it's wise to change your site to keep it up-to-date and fresh looking. Stay abreast of new technologies, new sites to link to or from and new features to offer.
5. Think Web session, not Web site. When planning your site, imagine your prospect sitting down and becoming involved with your site. Plan how you'd like him to move from section to section, what options you'd like to give him, what buttons and links will take him deeper into the site. If your site is truly interactive - as it should be - you'll build in opportunities for visitors to move to a more direct form of dialog. Remember what you want to accomplish is to have the viewer take an action, so make it easy. Give them an e-mail link, a form to fill out, a button to push... but don't forget to include your telephone and fax numbers as well as your physical address.
6. Proofread the heck out of your site. Am I hypersensitive? I don't think so. Typos and grammatical errors make your site look like it was put together by ignorant and boorish people - not at all the sort you'd want to do business with.
7. Promote your site in traditional media. Contrary to what you may read online, traditional media are still very much alive. In fact, they're a primary method people use to look for and exchange noteworthy cyber-addresses. Be sure to include your Internet address with all your advertising, public relations and other forms of promotion.
Marketing Strategy | Advertising | Public Relations | Web Development
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