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October, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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An OrangeYouGlad article | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Before even building your site, you will need to create and register a super simple and memorable domain name. Long or obscure URLS can easily be forgotten or misspelled. For example, http://www.longandobscuredomainname.com/ could easily be mistyped and is not easy to remember. And subdomains are even worse, so if you were thinking of being hosted with a provider that only gives a subdomain, think again. (i.e. http://www.hostingprovider.com/subfolder or http://www.name.serverprovider.net) To see if your name is available or already registered, visit www.networksolutions.com. There are 3 main reasons for a simple and memorable domain name:
Naming TIPS Try to keep the url to 15 letters or less. Less is more. Hosting If you use a shared provider, make sure they host on a server that your developer is familiar with and that they provide options for features you'd like to incorporate. (i.e., search, ecommerce, etc.) Make sure your ISP provides backup/redundant servers
in case one goes down. Avoid ISPs that only offer free email support - many ISPs provide live phone support which are quick and reliable. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Brand/Logo - the brand of the company is the emotional message and purpose of the organization. It delineates personality, energy and order and inspires company culture and consumer belief. Take for example Nickelodeon's "Kid Power" or Apple's "Think Different" or Nike's "Just Do It". These brands help consumers be something, express something, or fill some un-yet met need. The brand is the central organizing principle which every point of contact forms the customer experience. Make sure you understand and can describe your company brand before starting your site. Can the essence be described in 5 words or less? Is there a logo already developed that has these traits? If not, consider developing the logo before beginning the site. 2. Sitemap- Useability choices aren't made randomly. They are precisely mapped out with the goal clearly delineated. The sitemap (or information architecture) illustrates the best logical structure of your site in order to accomplish your goals. It ensures that the solution is not only beautiful and appropriate, but also intuitively comfortable from a user's standpoint. Ask yourself, will a search function help my audience? Will I need an email signup to feature promotions? What other incentives or enhancements will I need to ensure that visitors returns? 3. Know Your Target Audience - The success of the site depends on knowing the target audience. When you sit down to design your site, consider their abilities and preferences and select colors, navigation and other page elements that will appeal to them. In general, toy sites audiences are divided into:
Design Components: Content: Unlike print content, web visitors want useful information that is digestible and comes up quickly. Be succinct. Some methods of making information easy to find are: a. using bulleted items Make sure contact information (company name, address, phone number, email) is easy to find. Include customer ratings, awards and testimonials to ensure credibility if you are selling merchandise. Design Tips:
If you are planning on using an internal team (or yourself!) for making updates, consider deploying a Content Management System. This will allow non-technical staff to easily maintain designated “update-able” areas of the site such as calendar of events, photo gallery, products, press releases, etc. Also ensure that the developer thoroughly reviews the site for spelling and text errors and carefully tests on all popular and current browsers, platforms and systems. Once the site is migrated to the ISP, reverify all links and the fidelity of the site. Development Tip:
ECommerce There are several ways to accept Credit card payments.
Great! Your site is up and running and works on multiple browsers. Here are some of the most effective methods to get the word out. Search Engine Registration
Now you need to register those pages with key search engines for better placement. Searchers usually don't go beyond the first 30 urls provided, so top placement is critical. There are a number of paid search engines (and yes, Yahoo now charges) to register. At the very least, register your site with Google's Open Directory. This is a free service. Online Advertising Google: b. AdWords Select™ - enables you to manage your
own account, and with cost-per-click (CPC) pricing, you pay only when
users click on your ad. You control your costs by setting a daily
budget for what you are willing to spend each day. via Ad Banners/Buttons Promotional Tools
1. Newsletter subscriptions - offer a free subscription
to an off/online newsletter that provides timely news, hot topics
or the latest products. Asking users to join allows you to capture
data and target them for future promotions. 3. Contests - Create a giveaway contest where visitors who enter have the opportunity to get additional entries and chances to win by telling their friends – the cost of the contest is dependent on the server and database deployed; make sure the prize is relevant! 4. Share-the-Love program - after purchasing, the buyer can email friends a 10% discount 5. Email - straight discount promotions that are virally emailed. Public Relations 1. Write a News release - News or press releases can be an invaluable tool for gaining positive publicity, keeping your company's name in the public eye, and providing the public with information that builds a sense of good will. Remember, you aren't selling anything. You're sharing information about your company that the public might find interesting. A very good template can be found at BizMove. Even if you don't feel a need to send any releases to local reporters, maintaining a news release archive on your Web site is an excellent way to demonstrate productivity, activity and achievement. If your company appears busy, people will assume you must be great at what you do. Tip: Make sure to include appropriate contact information on top and keep the release to 500 words or 2 pages. Make it as fast and easy to read as possible. 2. Compile a list of relevant publications and trade magazines along with the appropriate contacts. (i.e., LicenseMag, Playthings, etc.) Call the publication and ask to which editor or reporter to address the news release and in what format they prefer (email, fax, regular mail?) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Website pricing varies according to how much content, how many pages and the technical complexity of the site. There are three qualifying factors in determining the success of the site: Quality, Time and Budget. Usually, it winds up that one of them is shortchanged. Even if you have a large budget but need it fast, you'll sacrifice quality. Likewise, if you have all the time, but don't have the budget, you'll also sacrifice quality. Focusing on the needs of your customers and pre-planning will save you both time and money. By working with a design firm that understands your objectives as well as your budget you are investing in the most important group in the entire project: your customers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Choose an easy to remember and short url 2. Spellcheck the site 3. Use images wisely 4. Do usability testing 5. Update you site on at least a monthly basis with fresh and interesting content
Top 5 Don'ts 1. Avoid broken links 2. Forgo annoying blinking animation 3. Don't submit to search engines until the site is ready 4. Only add music if it's a fast download and relevant to the site 5. Don't use crazy color combinations that are hard to read ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ fun: OYG is an energetic design boutique specializing in online and communication solutions. Services include web and print design, programming, branding, marketing and copywriting. Each team member works out of a virtual office, allowing OYG to operate with minimal overhead and to offer pricing well below traditional agencies, while still maintaining a high level of quality. Team members remain in constant contact via email, instant messaging, online intranet and conference calls to ensure that each project remains on track. Recent clients include FlowerDrumSong, Avirex, ECI,
Sherm Edward Candies, Factor Inc., MediComp, Number1issue, Different
Strokes and Robot Hot Dog. |
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