What Do You Want Your Web Site to Do for You?

Article: What Do You Want Your Web Site to Do for You?
By Julie Friedman Bacchini

The fact that you need a web site nowadays is well-established. But it’s important to go beyond the simple “Yes, I need a web site” to ask yourself “Why do I need a web site? What do I want my web site to do for me?” This takes you into the realm of purpose, direction, goals, and strategy. Asking these questions ensures that you don’t simple “have” a web site in the same way that you have a picture hanging on your office wall, but that your web site is accomplishing something very definite for your business.

Here are eight questions to ask yourself as you consider the purpose and design of your web site:

Do I want to direct potential customers to my web site for information about my services, my expertise, and my experience? If so, then your web site needs to be designed in order to establish your credibility in a competitive marketplace.
Do I want visitors to see me as a knowledge expert in my field? Then your web site needs to serve as an informational resource, with articles, white papers, books, audio, video, etc.
Do I want to make money from my web site? In that case, you need to design a streamlined, secure e-commerce site, and build a web marketing strategy to drive your target market to your site.
Do I want people to contribute funds to my non-profit organization? Then you want to make a web site that encourages donations by providing clear information about your cause, establishing your credibility as a valid non-profit institution, and offering a secure and easy way to donate funds.
Do I want people to be able to schedule or register for events? In this situation, you need to make sure you have a scheduling module that is well-organized, easy to use, and fully integrated with the other aspects of your business model.
Do I want to free up time for my employees? If so, then you need to design your site carefully as a customer service hub, with FAQ sections, product information, quote generators, account logins, etc. so that customers and potential customers can do their business via the web rather than relying on your service staff.
Do I want my web site to generate leads? If you do, then you will have to engage in extensive search engine optimization so that people who are looking for your product or service can find you, qualify themselves as potential customers, and call you for more information.
Do I want visitor interaction on my web site? If you want organic content, virtual relationships, intercommunication, commenting opportunities, etc., then you need to create an online community and give people a reason to participate.

Most likely, you will find that you want your web site to accomplish more than one of the above purposes. Taking the time at the beginning of the design process to establish exactly what you want your web site to do for you ensures that your web site is developed as an integrated, effective, streamlined whole. Failure to ask these questions and plan accordingly results invariably in a hodgepodge of poorly integrated modules, sections, and applications thrown together over time that never achieve the desired results.

Ask yourself the hard questions: the answers are worth their weight in gold.

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About the Author:

Julie Friedman Bacchini is President of Neptune Moon Design (www.NeptuneMoon.com), a full-service agency providing businesses and non-profit organizations with custom web designs, web site marketing plans, and strategic search engine optimization (SEO), all designed to build brand recognition, increase site traffic, and generate leads, clients, and revenue. Be sure to visit NeptuneMoon.com to read additional articles that will help you reach your business goals!