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It is almost becoming a necessity these days for many types of
businesses to be on the internet and have e-mail. Perhaps you don't have
any idea how to even get started in this area. We can help! Here are
some things to consider when considering and designing a web site for your
business or organization.
Choose a domain name. All web sites have a domain
name. This is the name you type in to go to that site (e.g. www.microsoft.com).
This can be up to 67 characters long, but remember it should be easy to remember
and identify what products or services you offer. What domain name would you
like to use for your company? Most for-profit businesses end in COM, and
non-profit businesses end in ORG. Several other extensions are available like
NET, US, BIZ, INFO and several others. Since COM is the extension most people
will try, you should try to obtain a domain name with this extension for
for-profit businesses and ORG for non-profit organizations. We can help you
choose and register your domain name. If you need help in choosing a
domain name we can also help you brain-storm for ideas. Domain names need
to be registered each year for a small fee.
Static or Dynamic Information? Do you want the
information on your site to be updated regularly or will the information remain
fairly static? Do you plan to maintain the site after it is completed, or
would you rather pay a web designer to maintain your site? The answers to
these questions affect to some extent how the site is designed.
Logo. Do you have a logo for your business? If
not, talk to us about it. Your web site will look much more professional with a
logo.
Color. You want to have a little color on your
site but not overdo it. Bright and flashy colors may get you noticed, but
not in the right way! Do you have a favorite color or theme you would like
to use on your site?
Purpose. Who is your target audience for your web
site? For most people the main reason for having a web site is to
advertise and sell more products or services. A web site can be accessed
24-hours a day, 7-days a week.
Content. How would you like your web site organized and what
content would you like on each page? Most web sites have the following
pages:
- Home page - Identifies your company name
and the reason you are in business. This will normally be the first
page that people will see when they come to your web site. This page
should entice your visitors to continue looking at the other pages
in your site.
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- About page - This page goes into a little
more information about your company. You may want to include some of
the companies history, credentials, certifications, etc.
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- Products or Services page - This should
identify the products and services you sell. You may want to include
a few pictures or images of your product or service.
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- Contact page - This is the page that
tells visitors how to contact you. It should include your address,
phone number, e-mail address, and fax number if applicable. You may
also want to include directions or a map to your address (Mapquest.Com
allows free links to their maps). You may want to have multiple
e-mail addresses if you will have different people answering
e-mails. You may also want to have a comment as to how quickly you
respond to e-mail. Some sites also use forms which visitors can fill
out to find out more information or to be sent a catalog or other
information. These fields may contain Name, Address, Phone, Question
or Comment, E-Mail address, and any other fields important in your
situation.
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- Other Possible Pages are:
- Frequently Asked Questions page (also called FAQs) where you
provide common questions and answers. This is used mainly with
larger sites.
- Mission Statement or Values page which provides the mission,
beliefs, and values of the business.
- Testimonials or References page which provides testimonials
or references from people
who have used your product or service.
- Images page which show pictures or graphics of your product
or service.
- Employment page which identifies any positions that may be
available in your business.
- Calendar or schedule of events.
- Any others you feel would be appropriate with your business.
Be creative!
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Images. Images which include pictures,
or graphics are a good way to describe or show your product/service, or
even to add some variety to your web site. These should be used
sparingly however, since many people do not have fast internet
connections. The more images your pages have, the slower they will load.
The slower they load, visitors will be turned off to your web site.
Think about what images you would like to use.
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Hyperlinks. Hyperlinks are also used
commonly on web sites. There are basically two types of hyperlinks - web
page links which take you to another web site page (on your own site or
another web site) and links which open up or download a file (perhaps a
Word document or Adobe Acrobat file). Perhaps you would like an
interactive map identifying how to get to your business.
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E-Mail. Email with your company
domain name is included with web hosting. For example you may want
Sales@yourcompanyname.com or JohnDoe@yourcompanyname.com where
yourcompanyname.com is your domain name. These email accounts can be
used with Microsoft Outlook/Express and are referred to as POP3
accounts. You can also setup email auto-responders which tell others you
are on vacation or you are out of the office. You can also access these
email accounts through web mail. Think about who in your company needs
to have a separate email address.
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Search Engines and Search Engine Optimization. Search engines (MSN,
Google, Yahoo, Lycos, AOL, HotBot, Ask Jeeves, Teoma, etc.) are used
on the internet to help people find sites they are looking for. Sites
have what are called meta tags which help in searching and describing
their web site in the search engines. There are three main types of meta
tags. Each page in your site should have each of these tags - Title,
Description, and Keywords.
1. The Title should be between 50-80 characters long.
2. The Description meta tag should be three or four sentences which
describe your business. This should not exceed 250 characters.
3. The Keywords meta tag should be up to 25 words (less than 1024
characters) separated by commas that people on the internet may enter in
a search engine to find your business. If you have trouble figuring out
the meta tags to use for your site, we can help you with this.
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| All Finished? Remember that your site is
a work-in-progress. It can be updated or changed anytime
afterwards. Most cosmetic changes take little time at all to
change. We are available to make changes to your web site at our
hourly rate. If you have other web site needs that are not
addressed above, talk to us about it. We do want you to be
satisfied. |
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