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Why Your Web Site Makes Or Breaks You
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24-Dec-2008
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It is a non-disputed fact that every organization, profit and non-profit alike, requires a Web presence. What, astonishingly, a surprisingly large number of people still have not realized is that simply having a Web presence is not enough; it actually has to be good, up to date, and an accurate reflection of everything your organization does. That being said, even I fall behind from time to time, so a reminder as to the importance is good for all of us.
24/7 Salesman
Your Web presence is your 24/7 salesman. Anybody, anywhere in the world, any time of the day has the opportunity to read your Web site. They will use this to come up with questions your site doesn't answer, research for questions to throw at your competition, and send links to all your friends criticizing your dancing squirrel animation that has doubled as a corporate logo since 1994. And yes, that is a remarkably accurate description of all too familiar events. So, what to do?
Up To Date Information
The first and foremost priority has to be up to date information. If information regarding your organization and operations is not accurately reflected on your Web presence, it is not being accurately conveyed to your current and potential viewer base. This can be as minimal as slightly embarrassing, or as disastrous as damaging to your image and/or sales/membership/et cetera.
Many organizations that do not have an internal design department (and, in all honesty, it is not in a company's best interest to have an internal Web designer unless that is their core business) will budget perhaps a yearly sum that effectively results in one update. Although this seems to be of general business consensus, that does not mean it is good for your organization or wise. In all honesty, there should be a minimum of quarterly updates to your Web presence. It helps keep consistency with your site, as well as allowing smoother transitions into new, better, more appropriate designs as they arise without confusing and alienating your viewer base – and do not, I repeat, do not, underestimate this factor. It is very easy for your viewer base to become accustomed to operating your site as is, and all too upset when they have to learn a lot of new things. As well, it's always a good idea to incorporate legacy options.
Improved Interaction
Web sites have been beyond simply information resources for over a decade now. Nonetheless, even those sites that have adopted data driven applications and successfully incorporated them into their overall Web presence, tend to typically not go nearly far enough with providing viewer and user interaction. Again, this is your 24/7 salesman. How would you feel if you walked into a store, was greeted by a salesman, and then he just stood there staring at you as you fired off question after question? How long do you think it would take for you to become frustrated enough to go to the next store? Especially if it were only a click away...
I am not advocating full deployment of 'Terminator' style artificial intelligence (although some companies such as Amazon and Netflix do go to great lengths to do what they can in this department) as that technology simply doesn't exist yet, however, there are still many things you can do with appropriate consideration given to the overall task at hand. If you find that your site simply isn't generating the results you want, you most likely are leaving your viewer base out in the cold – and that is never a good idea.
There are many other things I could suggest here, but that really is what Web design consultants (and by all means contact me, I am fairly priced)... |
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