Setting Up Your Web Site Pages
What To Put On Your Web site and On Each Web Page
People creating their first web site for their business almost always ask; What do I put on it? That actually is a very good question. Here are some guidelines to follow.
Pick a Designer Who Understands Business
Look for someone who knows how a business basically operates. The more they know about what makes a business tick, the better they are able to design it to your needs and expectations. Having had a business for 14 years, I know a little bit about what it takes to make it "tick".
Make sure the designer asks you questions. If they don't know what you do, how you do it, and why you do it differently than others, they will have trouble meeting your expectations and delivering a site that brings you repeated traffic. While there are basics that all businesses share, each one is unique in many ways. So make sure they ask you questions.
Start off with a basic site
Make sure it is functional. You can always change it in the future. All web sites change from time to time, depending on the type of business it is and what they are offering or selling. Every business goes through changes. Web site are no different. Whether it's a phone number or address change, adding additional pages that might include animation and video to selling products, adding more content that you want the visitor to know, to adding online use of a credit card.
Guide Lines For What You Should Have on Your Web Pages
1. Business information. It would include your business name, phone number email address(s), your physical location and hours of operations (if you have a store front you want people to come to) located on each page.
2. A products and/or services page explaining what you do and maybe who you service. On this page you can have product information, pictures, and even video that they can view by just clicking on a link.
3. A frequently asked questions page. You can answer many of the questions visitors have about what you do.
4. A Philosophy page. This should explain why you are different and what advantages you can offer them that makes you different than your competitors. Basically, why are you better than the rest?
5. A MSDS Page. Some companies post their MSDS sheets on the web for many reasons.
6. A History page. Many companies today have a rich or interesting history they want their potential clients to know.
7. A Contact Us page. This is where the visitor can contact you by email. You can separate email addresses for sales and services. A contact us email address so they can let you know their are problems with your site.
Visitors Using Pocket PC's, Blackberry's, etc.
Make sure your site is basically compatible with the PDA, iphones, etc. With the advent of these small tools business people use, they can get their email and surf the web for information they need without using a laptop or desktop computer.
See also the "Page Philosophy" page for more information.
