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CS1
- Reading Assignment #2
The 10 Vital Parts of A Business Website
Business owners who
are ready to bring their brick 'n mortar businesses to the Internet
experience headaches dealing with designers, while the latter too often
end up wanting to rip their hair out because of add-ons, or things they
learn about their clients after they've started the projects. Why? Web
sites require planning and lots of communication. So before you decide
to speak to a web designer or client... consider these 10 parts of a
business website. Also, students
of web design should consider these 10 parts in order to help businesses
have a better experience in the design and development process.
Planning
Just as a new building needs planning before construction
begins, the creation of a web site is preceded by preparation. Preparing
for a new site includes having a business vision, an ideal client
profile and a clear picture of how your site will compliment your
overall marketing strategy. From the web designer's standpoint, it also
includes where the files will go, what will they be named, the number
and type of graphics, text copy, programming needs, server environment
and similar technical issues
Trustworthiness
and Integrity
Much is made of the virtual business relationship nowadays:
doing business with people you've never met in person. The fundamentals
of a virtual business are the same as those of brick and mortar
business: you must prove that you can provide (and service!) what you're
selling. Your site must also exude trustworthiness or your visitors will
leave faster than they arrived.
Text
Copy
One
of the most common embarrassments in the web design industry is the
pervasive presence of text copy with misspellings, poor grammar or
simply poorly written. I've personally seen this even on the sites of
famous companies whose print publications are flawless. Why? Take the
time to get it right the first time. Hire a Copywriter or Virtual
Assistant.
Graphics
Where are you getting them from? Do you have legal permission
to use them? Do you know that you have to format graphics differently
for the Internet than for your printed literature? What are JPEG, GIF or
PNG? Which format is best to use and when to use it? Have you calculated
the extra time it will take for someone to view a page with your
graphics vs. without them. Think twice about using free graphics. Your
professional image may be damaged when you use commonly available and
free clip art.
Supporting
Documents
Documents are often a special case issue, as they require the
viewer to possess the proper helper applications (programs such as Adobe
Reader) in order to open them. Special software is required for PDF (.pdf)
documents, Word docs (.doc) or WordPerfect (.wpt) files. Provide your
target audience with as many options as possible. Make sure they have
the programs that you want them to use or provide them with what is
freely available. Consider protecting your files from being plagiarized,
too.
Coding
Your web site is created through the use of one or more
computer languages. The type and version of each language can affect who
is able to see the pages, the cost to create the site, the difficulty of
ongoing maintenance and the ease of upgrading or making major changes.
If you want to easily maintain the site yourself, or to include
sophisticated forms, or utilize a database or provide services such as
personalization or ecommerce, consider hiring a programmer qualified in
an appropriate discipline, such as PHP, ASP or Cold Fusion.
Multimedia
Depending on your ideal client profile, multimedia usage can
make a good site great or it can make it completely unusable. Movies,
audio files, and Flash movie presentations: all are relatively large
files requiring special applications (programs called plug-ins) to work.
Multimedia has an impact on your site's performance. Consider these
questions: Where would a Flash movie best serve your viewer? Do you want
music? Should your sound file play continuously or not? Is your ideal
client multimedia-enabled, or would they prefer viewing a website
without multimedia features?
Implementation
Now that you have made all your decisions and collected all
your materials, it's time to put the plan into effect. What is a
realistic amount of time to get from this point to a finished site? Have
you included extra time for unforeseen coding issues (bugs)? How long
will the beta period (public testing time) be for your site and why is
it necessary? Building a web site is so much more than sticking images
and text on web pages. Invariably, the design team is faced with
last-minute challenges that will threaten the professional image you are
striving for and the only way to minimize the undesired impact is to
allow for the time and resources needed in advance.
Marketing
Did you hear the one about the company who built a web site
and nobody came? Probably not, because neither the company nor the site
exists anymore! The Internet is comprised of millions upon millions of
web pages, with a tiny percentage of the web sites getting the majority
of the traffic. How is your site going to pull in its share of the pot?
Your marketing plan consists not only bringing traffic to your site, but
also of providing stickiness: convincing visitors to purchase your
services or projects, to tell others about them and to come back time
and time again.
Customer
Service
Getting
people to your web site is a beginning, but keeping their interest and
patronage is an ongoing job. A great customer service policy includes a
code of ethics, guarantees, and consistency. Your viewers want to be
able to easily contact you without providing their life history! They
want to receive answers to their questions within a reasonable and
predictable amount of time. They want to know when you'll be there to
call and when you won't. People may contact you initially based on what
they find in your site, but they will only stay with you if they like
what find in you.
SOURCE:
Maria Marsala is
an international Business and Life Coach-Consultant. She assists
entrepreneurs, professionals, executives, coaches, consultants and
others as they propel their success to even higher levels. Visit her
website at http://www.coachmaria.com
Darrell
is president of The Web Center, Inc., a firm specializing in dynamic web
sites for small businesses. He routinely handles requests to automate
web sites, build customized online forms, and create professional
graphics or design and implement databases. Learn more at http://webctr.com
Hector
Salas is a Career and Technical Educator in Business and Information
Technology. He specializes in providing sound academic solutions in many
areas related to integrating technology for educational institutions and
small businesses. His greatest achievements, he’ll always say, is
helping others. He enjoys planning, designing and marketing new web
sites and often builds customized online forms, and implement databases.
Visit his website at http://www.hectorsalas.com
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