This article describes not only how to create a successful Web Site, but also how to build a strong web presence in just three easy steps. Not every business should have a Web site. Yet, any business can enhance itself by having a presence on the World Wide Web. These two statements may seem contradictory, but if we examine the requirements for success on the web, we'll understand why these two statements can co-exist. The steps outlined below describe three essential ingredients you must have for a successful Web presence.

Step 1. DEFINE THE PURPOSE.

"What am I trying to accomplish?"

• sell a product or service?
• provide education?
• gather/distribute information?
• entertain?

Ask yourself the following questions:

If I'm selling on-line will I accept credit cards? How will these transactions be processed? Will I need to have photos of the products?

If my site is educational, will it include tutorials or seminars with on-line exams?

If my site will be used as a means of gathering information, is some type of programming required?

If my site will primarily entertain, how can I make it fun to use? How do I make it interactive?

Who will be visiting my website? Who do I want to visit my website? Is your Web site to be used solely for branding or will you be selling a product or a service?

If selling a product or service,

• you'll want to have new products/services/pricing on the site all the time to encourage existing customers to return.
• you'll want to have lots of product information for new customers.
• you may want to have testimonials from existing customers describing the benefits of the product or service in order to attract new customers.

Once you have defined the purpose of the site, the next step is EASY!!!

Step 2. DESIGN.

The site's purpose will dictate the content and presentation for your site. Keep the purpose and audience in mind at all times.

Your Home Page is the FRONT DOOR to your cyberspace business. First impression means everything. You must send a clear, unambiguous message.

What you don't want is a haphazard, difficult to navigate site. This will only encourage visitors to click away to your competitor's site.

What you do want is an orderly, easy to navigate site. This will entice visitors to stay.

You may be asking: "Can I do it myself?"

There are plenty of web page design applications available that let you create a web site without knowing HTML or Javascript. But these are only tools, and a tool is only as good as the person using the tool. Thinking that you can create a great web site because you possess a design application such as MS Front Page is like thinking you can build a beautiful house because you have a tablesaw. You must also learn to use the tools.

If you want to try it yourself I recommend the following:

• GET A GOOD BOOK ABOUT WEB DESIGN
• GET WEB DESIGN INFORMATION FROM THE WEB
• LOOK AT THE COMPETITION

Picasso said "Good artists copy, great artists steal". Make this work for you. Investigate what your competition is doing on the Web. Visit their Web site or the Web sites of similar types of businesses. Get feedback from your customers. You need to do a lot of surfing and Web exploration to really know how you should be presenting your business image on-line. There are also many good links to Web design that exist on the Web itself.

Step 3. PROMOTION.

If you think that simply having a web site will guarantee visitors to that site, well think again. Nothing could be further from the truth.

YOU MUST PROMOTE YOUR WEBSITE

This does not mean that you need to spend millions, thousands, or even hundreds of dollars on marketing but it means that you need to take some basic steps to ensure that your site is visible to the public, in this case, the web-surfing public.

OFF-LINE PROMOTION

I have seen advertisements in the newspaper, on radio and television in which a Web page address or URL is blatantly missing. What's worse is that these businesses actually HAVE a Web site. Are they promoting that Web site? NO! How much extra would it cost to add their URL to the ad? What's the point of having a Web site if you're not going to let anyone know about it? This may seem pretty basic but you'd be surprised at how many businesses make this egregious mistake.

Your URL should be on:

• Letterhead
• Envelopes
• Business Cards
• Advertisements
• ALL Correspondence

ON-LINE PROMOTION

SEARCH ENGINES - AltaVista, Excite, Lycos, Yahoo!, WebCrawler, HotBot, Northern Light, and about a zillion other search engines, portals, vortals, and directories! Submitting your site to thousands of Search Engines generally results in being swamped with email from third parties that purchase you address from the Search Engine data base. It is best to submit to a dozen or so of the larger more popular Search Engines (listed above) and design your site to be easily indexed by their spiders. For more information about Search Engines and how they index web sites, visit Search Engine Watch.

EMAIL - Learn email etiquette - know how not to SPAM

EMAILINGS - $1000 for 5000 opt-in emailings. Visit Net Creations.

NEWSGROUPS - Learn Newsgroup etiquette. Visit each newsgroup and become familiar with the type of postings and the culture of its members. Most newsgroups forbid commercial advertising so BE CAREFUL!

BANNER ADS - $5000/month DoubleClick for 500K impressions - huge audience. These folks handle the advertising for AltaVista.

$20/month smaller sites and vortals, smaller audience

LINK EXCHANGES - These are usually FREE but their effectiveness is based on the traffic which your site generates. If done correctly, it can be a tremendous way to promote your site.

CONCLUSION

If you're not willing to adhere to these THREE basic steps, then you should probably reconsider porting your business to the Web. On the other hand, if you adhere to the steps outlined here, you can be assured that your business will be enhanced by having a successful and dynamic presence on the World Wide Web.