Killer Web Development by Liz Schmidt Pursuing success on the web is not for the faint of heart, and is generally not a do-it-yourself project. Creating a killer website requires expertise in market research, planning, direct marketing, writing, graphic design, and programming. To produce killer results, the site needs to be aggressively promoted, and the business must provide excellent fulfillment and customer service. Steps in Building, Promoting, and Maintaining a Killer Website 1. Research (provide specific, written responses to share with development team) What products and/or services will you be selling or promoting online? Who is the target market for these products/services? Who are you competing with (online and offline), and how do your products/services compare with theirs? What is your unique selling proposition and what market position are you taking? What do your competitors' websites offer? (content & functionality) How much can you afford to spend to acquire a new customer? 2. Planning (don't travel into unfamiliar territory without a good map!) Define the purpose of your website. Set a budget for initial development, future additions, and marketing. Select a development team (including SEO), domain name, and hosting service. With your development team: - Define the site's content, functionality, and navigation. - Decide the level of integration with existing systems, processes, infrastructure and personnel. - Decide which technologies to use, including developer applications, programming languages, plug-ins, databases, e-mail managers, etc. - Revise budget and/or develop phase-in plan. 3. Development Write copy, design and program site (see below!) Test site for design flaws, broken links, cross-browser compatibility, system integration, etc. 4. Maintenance (encourage return visits) Update frequently to keep content current and fresh Eliminate "link rot" Continue to improve by adding functionality and content 5. Integrated Marketing (promote your site) Traditional (print collateral, PR, advertising, direct mail, radio, billboards, etc.) Search engine optimization E-mail promotions (double opt-in please!), viral marketing Banner advertising Affiliate programs, endorsed e-mail, newsgroup postings Links from trades, organizations, related content and e-commerce sites Vertical exchanges / malls / regional directories / web rings 6. Follow-up (keep customers happy and prospects interested) Respond to incoming e-mail in a timely and meaningful manner Quickly and smoothly fulfill orders and requests, handle returns promptly Serve Customers well (provide a toll-free phone number, e-mailed order status, e-mail and online support) Development Strategies: Develop from a customer-centered position. - The Web is a place to serve customers in a convenient and efficient manner, not a place for showing off the company and its products and services. Ease and speed of navigation, clarity of message, security, privacy, and trust are keys to success. - Unbelievably impatient and demanding potential customers are only a click away from your competitors. Online and offline branding should be integrated. - Keep appearance, quality, and message consistent with offline marketing. Relationship-building is a primary goal. - Acquiring new customers costs 5 to 10 times more than retaining current ones. Happy customers give you repeat sales, up-sales, and cross-sales. And they tell their friends. Website Design: Should be professional-looking, clean layout, easy to navigate. Conventions: - Use italics and bold for emphasis, underline only links - Un-viewed links s/b blue, viewed links s/b red - Use thumbnail images that can be enlarged to show detail - On long pages use topic list at top with link to detail below Select limited color palette and use consistently throughout site. Keep page download time below 10 seconds (34k on 28.8 modem). Don't waste screen "real estate." Design resolution-independent page size if possible, if not, assume 640x480 or 800x600 monitor resolution (WebTV=544 pixels wide, cell phones and PDA's are tiny). No more than 3 screens per page, keep most important content in top screen. Avoid horizontal scrolling by using relative table widths. Keep layout and graphics clean and uncluttered. To get clean HTML, hand code your site, or build with a quality WYSIWYG editor and enlist a programmer to help with cleanup, troubleshooting, and advanced features. Use animation sparingly for interest, but stop after a few loops. Navigation: Organization and speed are key. Conventions: - Navigation bar on left and bottom - Logo in left corner linked to home page - Include a site map - Install a search engine on large sites - Include occasional "top" link on long pages Use consistent navigation elements throughout site. Make nav buttons short and descriptive. Minimize number of clicks to destination. Don't use frames on homepage (search engines hate them). In fact, don't use frames unless there's a very good reason to do so. If you do use them, build each framed page as a separate "frameset" so it can be bookmarked and linked. Writing: Users want depth of easy-to-read, objective information. Keep copy and headlines concise, clear, and simple. Bake marketing messages into editorial, provide facts and options rather than selling messages Categorize content and use subheads liberally. Use bullet points linked to detailed copy. Functionality: Focus on easy-to-use features that have clear benefit to visitors. Don't be on the "bleeding edge" - wait a year after technology is introduced, or longer if not yet in wide distribution. If you want to self-maintain, have user-maintenance screens designed. Allow the viewer to interact with the site in a meaningful way. Provide contact form rather than "mail-to" links. E-commerce sites must use SSL (secure transmission of credit card info). Utilize a link checker periodically to prevent "link rot," and statistics reports to see where viewers are coming from. Provide a way for visitors to ask questions. Content: Content is king on the web. Provide company's toll-free phone number, address(es), and customer service contact info. If possible, use illustrations, comparison charts, small graphics or images with captions to show features, rather than lengthy text. Provide a "news" section (press releases, newsletter, industry news, new products/services, etc.). Write an easy-to-understand privacy policy and link to requests for identifying information. E-commerce sites should offer quick, easy access to clear pricing information including shipping, sales tax, return policy, and restocking charges. Provide links to in-depth information about products and services. Homepage is like a headline: primary benefits should be emphasized and visitor invited into site. Write FAQs and update with common inquiries. View websites we've developed!

Also see:

Killer Web Development

The Logo Mystique

Think small/WIN BIG... why and how to market to small businesses

Customer Loyalty... Satisfaction has its Rewards

Headlines... Your Very Important First Impression

Photos and Color

The information presented on this website is intended to be accurate and authoritative information on the subject matter covered. It is distributed with the understanding that Intelligraphics is not rendering professional advice and assumes no liability whatsoever in connection with its use. © Intelligraphics, 2000-2006. 949-586-8372

 

 

 

 

 

copywriting    graphic design    website development    logo design    website marketing    small business    results-oriented    marketing