What do I include on my website?
If
you're designing your own site (or paying someone to do it), there are two important
issues you (or your designer) should consider:
What information should I include on my site?
To bring visitors back to your site, your website should be informative, attractive, and interesting. It does not have to showcase the latest in web-based bells and whistles (which people often find annoying), but it must portray your business, your vision, and your ethics as well as your products and services.
Content
You will want to write your content before doing any design work. Thus you will need to know what you want to say before you need to know how you will say it to your audience.
Determining what your audience (composed primarily of customers) wants is your first priority. What kinds of questions will they ask about your products or services? What do you sell that they might need?
Less tangible are issues of perception. How will you tailor your language to your audience? Will they trust your company enough (based on what you say and how you say it) to do business with you over the Internet, or will they be swayed sufficiently by your promotional website to contact or visit your business? How do you want your clientele to perceive your business?
Both what your audience wants and how you want them to view you are important issues for you to consider as your write and design your site.
You site should be comfortable for your audience to navigate. If there are too many functions that only high-end/newer computers will process (multimedia, for instance), you will alienate those who cannot make use of these functions.
Content links
"Building a Content-Rich Website"
This site tells you how to organize editorials, feature articles, interviews, and a host of other features which might draw a repeat visitor to your site.
"Professional Website Usability"
Learn how to create a web usability study for your organization.
"Recipe for Building a Successful Website"
A chief creative officer writes about the six elements of a successful website (including content, information and visual design, and performance).
"12 Web Site Design Decisions Your Business or Organization Will Need to Make"
Securing your place in cyberspace requires maintenance. Your website will need to be monitored on a consistent basis to maintain its attractiveness. Does your site list the most current information? Is your name, address and phone number correct? The following links discuss the maintenance aspect of having an Internet presence:
What type of image is your firm trying to portray? Who are your customers? Your site is a reflection of your reality therefore it should be constructed with your firm’s goals in mind.
"Creating Commercial Web Pages That Sizzle"
Click on the following link for information on creating a site that sizzles!
Design
Answers to these questions can be found at Uneven Internet, an online newsletter. Editors there give their opinions concerning the use of frames, page size, and the use of white space.
Design links
See what professional website designers have to say about what you should include on your website.
How To Make Your Website Annoying
Learn what one expert considers extras guaranteed to annoy any audience. (NOTE: avoid using the things the author talks about)
Ten Principles of a Good Website
About.com's Small Business Information section includes a list of the ten principles of a good website.
In their archives, About.com offers design information on backgrounds, fonts, and color choices.
"Choosing the Right Design Firm"
Whoever considered that 1 out of 12 men (4 percent of your client base) is color blind, so our web color choices alienate them!
About.com formerly (1997-1999) awarded the Focus Marketing Award for successful Internet endeavors. Check-out their 1999 winners.
Look at what teams of experts consider some of the "world's best websites."
"Recipe for Building a Successful Website"
A chief creative officer writes about the six elements of a successful website (including content, information and visual design, and performance).
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