Wednesday December 6, 2006
Tips for planning your website design
If you haven’t had a website before, then this is for you. It can be a nerve-wracking experience and a new world for you. But think of your website as only another marketing tool for your basket.
Take some time and prepare before you go to your web designer. Do some simple learning; have a play on the internet and find what you like and what you don’t like. Do some simple research and you won’t be overwhelmed with new terms and functionality.
If you’re planning on having a website, it’s either to make money, or to create awareness. But as a small business you may not have the budget of a larger company. You will need to understand the medium itself – the internet and how it works – so that you can feel comfortable talking with your website designer. You may hand the entire process over to them, but to get the best result, take some time to have a basic understanding.
The best preparation you can do for taking your business online is to become familiar with the internet itself. As a new user, you can be the best person to contribute to the design of your website! So put aside a few quiet hours, relax and take a surfing trip – below are fourteen tips and tasks to help you build ideas for your website.
1. Stick at it!
At first, the internet and searching can be extremely frustrating. Remember those frustrations – write them down. Some of your website visitors will be first time users too. Others will be experts. If you see websites that you particularly love or hate, write down the web addresses OR learn to use your ‘favourites’ folder to store them.
2. Search for something.
Find out how many websites are out there…. try searching for ‘image’ if you are an image consultant; ‘flowers’ if you are a florist. There are billions, and you will be competing with them all! But don’t get despondent – start to narrow your search using phrases like ‘florists North Shore Auckland’. We are all getting more experienced in searching and are learning to narrow our search by using keyword phrases, rather than a keyword.
3. Use your ‘favorites’.
On your browser there will be a ‘favorites’ folder where you can store websites you want to refer to later or often, like a filing system. In Internet Explorer, it is in the top toolbar, and when you find a website you want to keep, click on ‘Favorites’ and then click on ‘Add to Favorites’. Learn to use this filing system – it’s a very useful tool.
4. Ask a Question.
If terms or words you meet during your tour of the internet confound you, search for them on the internet. Use Google [ www.google.com ] as a search engine – at the moment, it’s the world’s most simple and effective search engine.
5. Buy something online.
A book, a music CD. Is it easy? Is it frustrating? Do you understand what is happening as you go through the process? Is it explained carefully? Do you feel comfortable that the goods are going to be delivered? Do you know if your credit card details are secure? What do you do if you have a complaint?
6. Download something.
Try Acrobat Reader – it’s free. Go to www.adobe.com and find Acrobat Reader – it’s a very useful small product to have on your PC. If you already have it, download the latest version. Do you fully understand what to do? Do you understand what is happening? How long did it take?
7. Be inquisitive.
Enquire about something on the internet, and use the website enquiry form to do it. Do you feel comfortable giving all your details to them? Do you think they need all that information so that you can get an answer? Wait for a response, and see what you get. How soon did it come? Did it answer your query? Did you get one at all? Did it have a personal touch?
8. Subscribe to a newsletter.
A lot of websites will have a free newsletter – subscribe to some that interest you. Are they useful? Interesting? Can you unsubscribe when you are ready?
9. Listen to some music.
Search for your type of music or your favourite artist. Maybe they will have music you can listen to. Find a radio website and listen to some music.
10. Look for your competition.
What are they doing? What can you do differently? What can you do better? Can you find them in a search engine, or did you have to type in their website addresses? What are the things that frustrate you when you go through their websites?
11. Look for your suppliers.
How could you improve systems between you and save costs by going online? Can you be linked to from their website? How can you benefit each other online?
12. Basic business and marketing rules still apply.
Write down what you find: – what you like – what you don’t like – your frustrations. What attracted you to particular websites – the description in the search engine list? The colour and design? The title listed in the search engine?
13. Does your market search the internet?
Does your business need a website yet? Will it in the future? Very, very soon our home internet will be on the TV, using a remote to switch between TV and the internet. Order pizzas, order a video. On a rainy afternoon – it will be easy!! Your market may not search the internet for your services just yet e.g. builders, but you may choose to have your portfolio on the internet as an innovative and cost-effective marketing tool.
14. Become comfortable with your e-mail programme.
If you have a website, you need to be very, very comfortable with your e-mail programme. You need to be able to respond quickly and informatively to any queries from your website. Save e-mails, create folders for filing, spell check, create a signature. Start a database of enquiries, clients and contacts.
As you play, jot down all notes – your likes, dislikes, and your frustrations. When your research is done, review the notes and rewrite, ready for your designer. As you have learnt more on your research journey, some of those notes will have become irrelevant.
You should now be more confident talking to a web designer, and be able to tell them what you would like, and what you don’t want.
