Web Site Strategy & Design
The World Wide Web is Exploding as a Communications Medium.
Not only is the technology growing and changing, but the number of
people using, and publishing on, the web is expanding at incredible
rates. As the Web expands, it is critical that your Web site
stands out. It should be linked from high-traffic locations so
it can be easily found. As a result of the exploding growth on
the Web, new directories, search resources, and other listing sites
are being added daily. It is vital that this growth be
addressed in your online promotional plan.
Prepare Your Site
Before you tell the world to rush to your site - make sure it's
ready! This is not something to be casually underestimated, as
it so often is. There are several issues to consider, e.g.
 | Is your site attractive and interesting? |
| Can people find their way around in it? |
| Is it viewable on only a small number of platforms?
|
| Would you come back to this site? |
| Loading speed: Small graphics, use of
height/width attributes on images, intelligent use of thumbnails
where appropriate. |
| User interface design: Readable
color/background combinations, appropriate paragraph sizes,
consistent navigation buttons, etc. |
| Appropriate use of structural markup: Headers
used as real section markers and not for font scaling; links are
integrated into text flow (no 'click here'), good use of lists vs.
in-text enumerations. |
| Support for text-mode browsing: ALT
attributes on all images, navigation possible without imagemap
access, content all present as text. |
I offer a short Tutorial on some of the
aspects of Web Site Design.
Web Site Marketing &
Promotion
A good Web site is worth having only if it'll be seen by the
target audience. The goal is to get them interested and make
them curious enough to "check it out" I cannot stress
enough how important the correct kind of exposure
is. Not all directories will be appropriate for your
business.
Online Promotion
Each facet in marketing Web sites online should be done with one
thing in mind: to get results. Results can be measured in many
ways. Most people measure the effectiveness of their site by
the number of "hits" or people who visit their site.
One way to guarantee more hits is to list with the major search
engines. Listing on search engines and directories requires a
lot of time and effort. You also need to be aware that not
only people, but also 'robots' (e.g. from search engines) may visit
your site. I can help you come up with an effective strategy
to promote your site on the World Wide Web using the appropriate
keywords and descriptions that best describe your business.
And also find, and submit your site to, the correct directories and
search engines for your target audience.
Through an intensive email campaign, you can carefully target
prospective customers or people who may be interested in your site
and introduce them to your company.
Participating in Newsgroups by answering posts asking for help in
your area of expertise is a way to get "hits" for your
site.
Becoming part of a Web Ring or Banner Link Exchange is another
way to get more exposure for your site.
I offer a short Tutorial on some of
the aspects of Web Site Promotion.
Other Forms of Marketing Your Site
Use your current advertising by adding your Web site's URL to all
your advertising copy, including Business Cards, Stationary, Flyers,
and Newspaper/Radio/TV Ads.
I can help you with putting together Press Releases for your site
and finding the appropriate news source to send them to.
