Getting Live On The Internet
Why the Internet ?
The Internet is the new high street : its where we all go to shop. IMRG report that online sales grew 55% between April 2006 and April 2007. Unlike the traditional high street, it's a level playing field, where a small business can be as accessible, as easy to get to, as a major player like Asda or Tesco.
Why a web site ?
Are you wondering “why do I want a web site ?” If so, may I suggest there is a more important question : “why do my clients want me to have a web site ?”
And I suggest the following answers :
- to find you : if they know your name, but not your phone number, it's easier to find your details from your site via Google, than to find your number in Yellow Pages
- to get more information on your offering
- to see if you meet their specific need
- to get that information when it suits them, anytime day or night
- to avoid making a phone call : we Brits are a reserved bunch, and wary of getting a sales pitch over the phone
- to be right up to date
- because they can loose your brochure and loose your business card, but cannot loose your web site
Reinforcement, not replacement
Internet marketing is a reinforcement, not a replacement, for your traditional marketing. Your web site adds value to all your traditional advertising. It means people finding that year-old Yellow Pages ad can get to up-to-date information, and people reading that little newspaper ad can get to full and detailed information.
And, of course, your traditional advertising adds value to your site, by telling your contacts where to find it.
First step : a domain name
The first step to getting online is a domain name. Reserving a domain name can be done instantly on-line and costs a few pounds. Names, apart from trade marks, are basically first-come first-served. So, even if you don't plan to have a site just now, it might be worth reserving the name you want. If nothing else, it will stop your competitors using it !
Next step : choosing a designer
There are a lot of designers around, so here are 5 starter questions to help you find a good one.
- How long will the supplier be in business ? Many developers don't last very long, leaving their clients high and dry.
- How will my site be maintained ? Make sure you know how it will be done, how long it will take, and how much it will cost.
- How will the sites effectiveness be measured ?
- How far can the supplier develop with my business? Can they do what you may need in the future, so that you never have to chuck away the existing site to add new features.
- Who does what ? Make sure you know who will provide text and pictures for the site.
Next step : working with the designer
Creating your site is a partnership between you and your developer. They bring technical and design expertise, you bring your unique understanding of your business, your clients, and what you want to say. So, be prepared to put some hours in to making the site good. Two specific things worth thinking about are
- sites you really like, or really dislike
- what is unique about your business : why do your clients choose you
If you have a brochure, please resist the temptation to copy it to the site. People read sites differently to how they read brochures. They hopscotch around websites, and the text must be written to reflect this.
There are a couple of very boring pages that add credibility to your site, and may just prevent a problem. They are a terms of use statement, and a privacy policy. The terms of use essentially says that you do not guarantee anything about the site, and that any disputes are settled under English law. The privacy policy essentially says that you will not sell email addresses to spammers. They are legal documents so take a lot of words to say this. For an example, see ours here and here, but please note we are not solicitors and cannot give legal advice.
Keeping your site up to date
One of the benefits of the web is its immediacy : it can change as quickly as your business. If it is important to you to be able to make changes to your site quickly, then you should consider using a Content Management System ("CMS"). A CMS enables you to update your site without learning new IT skills. If you can use a word processor, you can update your site. With a CMS it is as easy to update the site directly as to email your developer and ask them to do the changes.
Using a CMS does make the development a little more complex, and therefore expensive. It does not restrict the design options available. Webuseful have created CMS-based sites for high-tech security company Guardhome and a site updated by members of Harlow Church St Stephens.
Next step : assessing the design
The product of your partnership with the designer is a first draft of your site. You then need to be sure you're happy to go live with it. Is the design aesthetically pleasing, and does it convey the right message about your business ?
This is a very specific judgement, but there are a general set of design principals you can apply to any web site. They are HOMERUN :
High quality content : interesting and informative
Often Updated : don't waste the immediacy of the web
Minimum download time
Easy to navigate
Relevant to the user
Unique to the web. What does your site do that a paper document couldn't do ? The web is more immediate and more interactive : don't waste it. For example, the news headlines on our dynamic websites page are continually updated.
( “HOMERUN” is modified from “Designing for Web Usability” by J. Neilsen, 2000)
We hope you have found this briefing useful. The next section, Getting Better Online is about getting the most from your website, and the final section Trading Online is about e-commerce.
