Build Business Web Site

Creating a successful business Web site is an undertaking that requires a great deal of planning and focused, goal-oriented work. The fruits of your labor, though, can be more than worth the effort.

Building a business Web site should begin with a plan stating how the Web site will enhance your business and how you will create an appropriate and focused site.

Meeting needs

Your Web site should serve a very specific purpose, and it should be designed to meet a very specific need. The web is littered with sites that lack focus and serve no apparent purpose for anyone.

Your purpose, of course, will vary depending on the nature of your business. If you are a retailer, it may make sense for you to sell some of your products online, or at least let your customers browse online before purchasing in the store.

If your business is service-oriented, you may not have a product to deliver over the Web. However, you can tell your customers - or potential customers - about the services you provide, pricing information and facts about your company.

Proper planning

With proper planning - and by sticking to that plan - you can make sure your Web site project stays within its focus and, more importantly, its budget. Before you begin creating Web pages, you should know approximately how many pages you'll have, what will be on them, how they will fit together, and what resources you'll need to get them created.

Creating your Web presence

You don't need to be a master of HTML code or JavaScript to create a successful Web page. While basic knowledge of these elements can be helpful, many good Web pages are created without once looking at the code.

Instead, all you need is WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) software. WYSIWYG Web development software allows you to create Web pages with great ease, functioning like word processing software. Some of the leaders are Dreamweaver (from Macromedia, http://www.dreamweaver.com) and FrontPage (from Microsoft, http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage).

A big part of almost any Web site is its graphic identity. Visitors to your Web site should recognize each page as being connected to the previous one, and there should be consistency to the design and navigation. This consistency is important, to establish business identity, to aid the visitor in browsing the site, and to create trust.

Another important thing to keep in mind is: If you don't need a feature, don't use it. Fancy animation, background music, and other bells and whistles ultimately hinder the visitor's browsing experience.

Your writing style on the Web will be different from normal, as well. You need to write short, punchy sentences and paragraphs. Don't put more than one or two pages of text on a single Web page. Break up pages with well-chosen and carefully placed pictures, sub-heads and white space for ease of reading.

Surfers don't read Web pages like they read books. Books are consumed in a linear fashion, word by word. Web pages are, for the most part, quickly scanned for important information.

An ongoing project

Once a business Web site has been built, it is not a static piece of marketing material. It should be almost continuously updated to ensure accuracy and functionality.

When properly constructed and maintained, a Web site can be an invaluable tool for a business. It provides a way for your business to be available to customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.