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The Internet abounds with great websites, and more than a few bad ones.  The competition for internet traffic is fierce and in order to be successful you must stay a step ahead of your competitors.

Developing an effective website requires a strategic plan. The steps involved depend upon the aims and scope of the final product, but generally include objectives analysis, resource gathering, mapping out a site navigation scheme, enlisting the services of experts, developing code, and testing functionality.

Websites generally fall into two broad categories, those that display information in an organized way, and those that market products or services.  Many effective websites do both, but for planning purposes we first separate the two strategies.

Information Only Websites
Content oriented websites provide visitors with information about a specific topic, and are designed around free resources for a target audience.  Such websites may indeed generate revenue through advertising, but if they do not offer products for sale there is no need for e-commerce functionality.  Some information only websites advertise the goods or services of a company or individual, but the viewer is directed to a page containing contact information and transactions are not made online.

Information only websites are often the most tractable sites to build, but that is not always the case.  Encyclopedias and wiki projects can be among the most complicated websites in terms of the code that generates them.  The scope of your project will determine how much planning, time, and money will be involved.

Planning informative websites is largely an exercise in organization and content development.  After identifying a topic and determining the scope of coverage, the first step is to gather all of your resources and organize them into a hierarchical scheme that will form the basis for your navigation.  You must decide which of your resources should always be at hand for the user and which should be context dependent.  User-friendly navigation depends upon how willing you are to consider the behavior of your users in relation to the “behavior” of your website.  Finally, testing is an essential part of website development.  Much of the required testing can be done as the site is being developed, but final testing is important and should involve others who have not been part of the development process.  Again, the scope of the project determines the extent of testing necessary.

E-commerce Only Websites
E-commerce websites usually differ from information sites in that they provide little informative content that is “useful” to the user. They usually consist of one or two pages that focus on one or a series of products or services. The primary content of e-commerce sites is sales information or specifications for the product, though testimonials or product reviews may provide additional information.

The challenge in creating effective e-commerce websites is in having the sale go off without a hitch.  Assuming that your website looks professional, if the consumer gets to your site and your price is competitive you will make the sale if your checkout process is clear and intuitive.  The information and functionality that gets the customer to the sales confirmation page is of extraordinary importance.  Other required information includes terms and conditions of the sale and company policies, including a privacy policy and a security disclosure.  These elements must be on hand prior to the development of your website, and the display of this information has to be factored into the flow of a typical sale.

E-commerce websites can be designed without dynamic content deployed from the home server, but well integrated shopping carts are executed using a database and server application that generates a context dependent user environment.

When planning an e-commerce website one must pay attention to the user experience and, therefore, a pleasing overall design is essential.  One must pay careful attention to branding and consistency, because returning customers need to be able to distinguish your site from all the rest.  You want to pick a look and stick with it, at least until you have achieved name recognition.  This necessity makes it crucial to attend to brand identity before launching your website.

As with information only websites, testing is the final step in launching a well designed website, and this step is critically important to ensure the security of transactions.  Another recommended step is to employ a security consultant in your testing. Your customers depend upon a secure checkout, and this is no place for cutting corners or pinching pennies.

Combined Content and Sales Web Sites
Content oriented commercial websites provide visitors with information, such as articles, tutorials, ebooks and other free resources. This type of site attracts the target audience through tangible incentives. Products and services are usually mentioned on the main page with a link to the sales page(s).

Content sites educate their visitors and bank on sales generated through education of consumers. For example, a company that sells bicycle parts might provide a basic tutorial to assist their visitors in installing new sprockets. They provide this tutorial gratis, but the aim is to educate potential customers and promote their products.
When you provide your visitors with quality information that educates them, you gain their trust by sharing your expertise and you build your credibility as a provider of goods and services. The key to effective use of this strategy is to provide content that targets your potential customer.

No matter which type of website you design, be mindful that your site is a direct reflection of your business. The appearance of your website is absolutely critical in determining its value as a sales tool. Consumers are sophisticated judges of value and if your website does not present a professional or pleasing look, your sales will suffer. The value of your website, as perceived by consumers, will impact your company’s success.  Such value-based judgments are not simply a function of spectacular graphics and well designed navigation.  If your site takes too long to load, your potential customer will move on to a less pleasing site that loads quickly.

Development Strategy
A well designed website can be your most important sales tool, and can literally be the difference between a struggling business and a multimillion dollar enterprise. A professional website should be well organized, pleasing to the eye, easy to navigate, fast loading, and should be optimized for the search engines.

Assuming that you have a good idea of what your website should do, the next step is to find a reputable web developer that can build your website within your budget and on your schedule.  If you have some experience with HTML, you might want to try your hand at setting up your own site, but if you are serious about getting things right the first time, I do not recommend this avenue.  You will, however, be intimately involved in the process.  You should realize that a web designer is more like a collaborator than a building contractor.  A web designer takes your ideas and content and helps you organize your information into an integrated product.

A good web designer will help you develop a professional looking store front or information portal that will give your site a look of legitimacy.  But there are several things that you can do to help cut your costs and give your website the punch that it needs. Gather graphic images that you would like to use on your website. Write the information or sales copy that will appear on your site. Optionally, write articles that focus on the same topic as your product and tutorials that target your potential customer and provide ancillary information about your product.

Developing a website is a cost effective way to promote and sell products, and a great way to share information with colleagues and associates.  If you are ready to develop a website, please consider Presentation Magic as your web design source.

Article by Randall Reiserer
Presentation Magic Founder
www.presentation-magic.com

 

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