Article Library

The marketingsource.com article library contains thousands of articles on topics of interest to business owners, marketing professionals, and much more. New articles are added daily.

Search:

 


NEW!  FREE Do-It-Yourself Press Release Kit     Get It Now (Adobe PDF)
 
Close This Window

Free Do-It-Yourself Press Release Kit


Fill out the information below to receive our free e-book. We'll automatically redirect you to the download area.
First Name: *
Last Name: *
Company:
Email: *
Phone #:

Are you interested in any of the following?

Press Release Writing Services
Press Release Distribution Services

Notify me of special offers and promotions
Subscribe me to the Getting Results newsletter


Close This Window

Planning a usable website

by: lingoway on Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 Time: 12:28 AM

A website is like an information flow, with you as the provider and your site visitors as the receivers of the information. If you don't plan your website with this in mind right from the start, you could find yourself with a brand new website that solves all your immediate needs... but not those of your site visitors.


Business Goals:


When planning any website, it is vital to consider what you are looking to achieve as a business in the next 24 months. If you are clear in your own mind what you want to achieve as a business, then you can begin to consider how a website will help you achieve this.
To draw out your business goals consider the following questions:


  • Do you want to grow your business? If so, by how much?

  • Do you want to reduce costs? If so, where, and by how much?

  • Do you want to improve efficiency?

  • Do you want to improve customer service?

  • Do you want to launch a new product?


Objectives for your Website:


If you are to measure the success of your website it is vital to develop a set of website objectives. A website should support your overall business goals, so consider how your website will help you achieve your business goals stated above. Consider the following questions (and any others appropriate to your business):


  • Do you want to sell more to existing customers? If so, how much more? How much of this will be through your website?

  • Do you want to acquire new customers? If so, how many?

  • Do you want to target new markets? If so, what are these markets?

  • Do you want to sell online? If so, how much revenue do you want to generate?

  • Do you want to reduce your marketing costs? If so, where, and by how much?


  • Create an information flow:

    An information flow that their site visitors might go on could look something like this:


    • Homepage

    • Portfolio

    • Client testimonials

    • Company background

    • Staff bios

    • Terms & conditions

    • Good web design tips

    • Contact us


    The web design company's ultimate goal is for site visitors to contact them and request their services. Whenever users are in this flow, they must be able to easily and immediately jump straight to the contact page at any point.


    When a visitor comes to a site, they come with questions and are seeking answers:


    • Can I trust this company?

    • Do they do good work? Are their products affordable? Can they get my job done?

    • Where can I sign up, reserve, buy, call or learn more?


    Through careful website planning and design, you want to have all of these bases covered. Your site should answer these questions quickly and then direct the user to a place that calls for action - a purchase, filling out a contact form, signing up for your newsletter, etc.




    For More Details visit us at: http://www.lingoway.com




    About the Author

    Lingoway is a team of IT professionals that provides like Website Development, Website Designing, Multilingual SEO, Internet marketing solution, as well as SEO and SEM Services. Lingoway’s unique approach reduces the time, cost and risk of delivering and maintaining world class technology based business solutions.




    Rating: Not yet rated
    Login to vote | Not Registered? Create an account

    Comments

    No comments posted.

    Add Comment

    You do not have permission to comment. If you log in, you may be able to comment.


     

          Phone:  1-877-732-6101

          E-Mail:   Send Us A Message

     

    News + Promotions

    Enjoy exclusive promo offers, including an immediate 10% discount. Plus catch valuable marketing advice and trends with our weekly newsletter.

    Offers and Discounts
    Weekly Newsletter

    Did You Know?

    You can increase direct mail response rates dramatically by integrating your traditional direct mail campaign with an e-marketing campaign.

    Tip #1
    Mailing to prospects you've had contact with before? E-mail them a few days before your mailer arrives, and they'll be more likely to respond.

    Need help integrating your direct mail with e-marketing?
    We have extensive experience fusing traditional and internet marketing. Contact Us Today