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Don’t just pick up the phone and ask a web designer to create a website for your business! A bit of planning with a pen and paper is essential if you are to end up with a site that really adds value to your promotional strategy.
Consider your objectives and the needs of your target audience
Jot down your objectives for having a website - and keep them in mind throughout the development process
Consider carefully who your target audience is, and what different people with differing requirements will want and expect when they get to your site
Choose a good domain name
It is important early on to choose and register an effective domain name. It helps if your domain name:
- is snappy and easy to type
- is easily recognisable by customers
- sums up your selling proposition
- contains at least one of your target keywords
- isn’t too similar to any registered by other businesses
Plan effective content
Think carefully about where the content for your site is coming from. On the web, every point you make must count, so if you don’t have a way with words, get someone with experience of writing for the web to help you.
Source quality images
“A picture is worth a thousand words”. Never more true than in website design, but to give a professional impact, your images must be relevant and high quality - no home snaps!
Differentiate between pages that can benefit from creative images to support your brand from those where functional images are needed to support a product description. If necessary, get a professional photographer in for a day to take images - it costs less than you might think, but you must ensure you plan what shots you need adequately before hand to get the best results.
Consider how your site will be updated
Finally, think about how your site will be updated. You shouldn’t think that the task is done when your site is launched. Content can quickly become out of date, and a well maintained site with regular updates about your business is an effective business PR machine.
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