|
Do
the following exercise:
| Write down at
least 5 to 10 things that you would like your website to accomplish. Write down
whatever comes to mind, you can edit the list later. |
Here
are some examples:
| |
I
want to sell my company's products on the Internet.
I want to promote by company's service.
I want to let people get the latest information about my governmental agency.
I want to share the knowledge my organization has collected with as many people
as possible.
I want to increase the sales of the "widgets" my company produces by
5000 units per month.
I want to provide automated customer service. |
Next,
organize the list by category. Give each item a rank, by order of priority:
1. Essential
2. Desirable
3. Optional
Look at each item that you ranked essential, and create a simple statement that
articulates your essential goals.
Now you have developed a single statement that clearly states the essential goals
of your website. This statement in essence defines what you consider success or
failure. Second, you have created a list of all of the things you would like to
achieve with your site and ranked their importance.
| Creating
Your Site's Focus |
Now
that you have identified what you want to achieve with your site, you will want
to identify how you want to present your site in order to achieve these goals.
Keep in mind, that the Internet is one of the ways which your customers will use
to judge your organization. A poorly executed website that frustrates customers
can diminish the reputation of even the best companies. Your website is part of
your corporate branding, used properly it can help build your business.
It is essential, that you clearly focus on what you
want to achieve with your website. This will help you to develop a cohesive
well organized site. There are too many sites that are poorly designed and add
no value to the company that it represents.
How Do You Create A Website that is Clearly Focused ?
| |
Create
a list of content that you can include on your website that will help accomplish
the essential goals you have identified.
Create a Cohesive theme that creates strong corporate branding and that ties all
of these elements together.
Use consistent easy to identify navigational elements throughout the site. |
If
you site is clearly focused, your customers should enter your site and immediately
be able to grasp what your company and website is all about. Remember this very
important fact: Visitors to your site will often make instantaneous decisions whether
they are going to stay or go. These decisions are often made based on the following
factors:
| |
Is
this site interesting (or appealing).
Is it useful to me
Will I be able to find the information I want.
Will I be able to find the information I want without investing a lot of time
and effort. |
A
clearly focused site, strongly branded site will allow you to convey your message
to your visitor in a clear, concise, no non-sense manner.
In the next section, we will look at how to turn those who visit your site from
browsers to buyers.
Previous: What's Involved
Next: From Browsers to Buyers 
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