The First Step to a Great Web Site: Research
The First Step to a Great Web Site: Research
Not everyone who has a Web site necessarily spends a lot of time online. After all, many people work in businesses that don't require much time at a computer. But surfing around, doing searches, and looking at Web sites forces you to find out what else is out there. Unlike many other advertising mediums, with the Internet you can easily look at what your competitors are doing with their marketing.
As you wander around the Web, study Web sites with a critical eye. Write down the Web address (URL) of each site and take notes with your answers to these questions.
* Is the overall layout pleasing? What works and doesn't work?
* Do you like or dislike the photos? Why?
* Do you like or dislike the colors used in the site?
* Does the navigation make sense?
* Can you find information easily on the site?
* Is the written content clear? Does the site do a good job of explaining what it's about?
* Can you read the text easily (is it too small or too large)?
* Do you like the fonts that are used?
Once you have a page of notes on other sites, you'll probably have a good feel for how you want your Web site to look and behave. And how you don't want it to look. What you don't like (and why) can be as important for your developer to know as what you do like.
You may discover that many sites in your business niche look particularly amateurish. In that case, you may need to explore sites in other industries to find sites you actually like. Conversely, you may find that every site in your niche offers high-end (read: expensive) tools. Banks have ended up in this situation, for example. Almost all banks now offer some type of online bill-paying service. Similarly, to remain competitive, many real estate sites now almost always have large database back-end systems for their listings.
Because people use the Internet to find information, think about the information you want to provide. With a new site, you have an opportunity to offer information that your competitors don't. Look for obvious holes in their coverage of your industry. These lapses are opportunities. Many people find Web sites through searches, so if you can write articles on topics that aren't covered by your competitors, people will find your site instead of theirs.
The old saying, nothing happens without a plan is true online too. After doing all this research, you will be able to formulate a good plan of action for your site.
The First Step to a Great Web Site Research - To learn more about this author, visit Susan Daffron's Website.
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Once you decide your business needs a Web site, you should do a little research to determine your own preferences. Online research is a good idea whether you create a Web site yourself or hire a developer because design is subjective. Realistically, you will probably end up looking at your Web site a lot, so it's best to try and figure out what you like and don't like.
Not everyone who has a Web site necessarily spends a lot of time online. After all, many people work in businesses that don't require much time at a computer. But surfing around, doing searches, and looking at Web sites forces you to find out what else is out there. Unlike many other advertising mediums, with the Internet you can easily look at what your competitors are doing with their marketing.
As you wander around the Web, study Web sites with a critical eye. Write down the Web address (URL) of each site and take notes with your answers to these questions.
* Is the overall layout pleasing? What works and doesn't work?
* Do you like or dislike the photos? Why?
* Do you like or dislike the colors used in the site?
* Does the navigation make sense?
* Can you find information easily on the site?
* Is the written content clear? Does the site do a good job of explaining what it's about?
* Can you read the text easily (is it too small or too large)?
* Do you like the fonts that are used?
Once you have a page of notes on other sites, you'll probably have a good feel for how you want your Web site to look and behave. And how you don't want it to look. What you don't like (and why) can be as important for your developer to know as what you do like.
You may discover that many sites in your business niche look particularly amateurish. In that case, you may need to explore sites in other industries to find sites you actually like. Conversely, you may find that every site in your niche offers high-end (read: expensive) tools. Banks have ended up in this situation, for example. Almost all banks now offer some type of online bill-paying service. Similarly, to remain competitive, many real estate sites now almost always have large database back-end systems for their listings.
Because people use the Internet to find information, think about the information you want to provide. With a new site, you have an opportunity to offer information that your competitors don't. Look for obvious holes in their coverage of your industry. These lapses are opportunities. Many people find Web sites through searches, so if you can write articles on topics that aren't covered by your competitors, people will find your site instead of theirs.
The old saying, nothing happens without a plan is true online too. After doing all this research, you will be able to formulate a good plan of action for your site.
The First Step to a Great Web Site Research - To learn more about this author, visit Susan Daffron's Website.
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The First Step to a Great Web Site: Research
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| Online research is a good idea whether you create a Web site yourself or hire a developer because design is a subjective thing. |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Michel NerayMichel Neray has over 25 years of experience as an award-winning copywriter, an Internet pioneer, a tradeshow pitchman and a senior sales and marketing executive. An online pioneer, he was one of the first marketing professionals to embrace the Internet by building websites as early as 1993. In 1994, Michel co-authored a book entitled "The Great Crossover: Personal Confidence in the Age of the Microchip", which made it to Jack Canfield's Achiever's Recommended Reading List. Michel founded Portfolios.com in 1995, the world's first online source directory for creative professionals and one of the first websites based on community generated content. Since creating The Essential Message in 2003, Michel has helped thousands of independent professionals and entrepreneurs as well as growing corporations find a better way to differentiate, position and brand themselves. In 2005, his chapter "Everything Starts With A Conversation" was selected as the lead for the book, "Sales Gurus Speak Out" and re-published in 2008 for 'Awakening The Workplace Volume 3'. He is also a co-author of "In the Company of Leaders" (2008) with 40 top North American leadership experts. - Visit Michel Neray's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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 Susan Daffron (Visit Susan's Website) Susan Daffron is the President of Logical Expressions, Inc. (www.logicalexpressions.com), a book and software publishing company in Sandpoint, Idaho. She is the coauthor of Web Business Success: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Web Sites that Work (www.WebBusinessSuccess.com) and several other books. She also has written more than 300 newspaper and national magazine articles and publishes three ezines.
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