A smart guy recently said:

"Launching a Web site is just the first step. To succeed you must update it regularly and provide a responsive presence."
-- Scott Finnie, "Windows Sources"

In order to end with the "responsive presence" part, which IS where this newsletter will end, I'll briefly touch on some background and general topics.

We've discussed before the process that you need to go through before you decided on an Internet site. The most important question for you is: "What do I want to accomplish?"

Your answer may be doing public relations for your business, getting your name in people's faces, answering questions or giving tech support on-line so you don't have to do it on the telephone, improving customer service, finding new customers, selling stuff, or giving information (free or for a charge), just to name a few.

Once you have figured out the "why" (with our assistance, if you wish), you will most likely need help with the design and programming. A few things you will need to consider:

THE DESIGN

A good design for a web site is not necessarily the same as a good design for print or TV. First of all, the format is different (sideways as opposed to up-and-down). This makes the placement and size of the items on the "page" different.

A web designer that knows his or her stuff will build into your site an image that's in keeping with your business. If you own an audio recording studio that specializes in Heavy Metal artists, obviously that site should be different than one for a corporate attorney.

An important element of any design is the ease with which your visitors can browse through what you have to say. If a page takes forever to download, you are going to lose people - Web surfers tend to move fast and want immediate gratification.
There are a number of tricks you can use to make sure this doesn't happen. For instance, if you need to display several pictures, give visitors a postage-size version - if they click on the small picture, they download a larger size. This way, THEY are making the choice to wait, it isn't being forced on them.

For the same reason, you're better off breaking up huge documents into smaller pieces. This gives the user the illusion that he or she has some control.

For me, if I have to wait longer that about twenty seconds for something to download, I'm gone.

SOME OF THE EXTRAS

In addition to eye-catching colors and a terrific, usable lay-out, there are a few other elements that don't cost a lot and can give a site a little pizzazz:

ANIMATION - one of my favorites. You can add "movement" to your site with simple GIF animation or with full-blown Flash animation (in the end, it depends on your budget). We just did a site for a company who wanted to sell a pet screen door - it's a gizmo that installs into an already existing screen door. Obviously, this site should be fun and inform people about the product. But, the material is very straight-forward. To give it some snap, we included some (admittedly cute) animated graphics of cats that we are changing periodically - tails wag, fish swim in bowl being spied on by a crouching cat, etc. It has given personality to static graphics.

AUDIO - with the spread of Cable and DSL connections, the use of stereo music - or even simple sound effects - is on the increase. But make it relevant - visitors will resent waiting for the download of a sound effect that's more intrusive than helpful ...

INTERACTIVITY - since you don't know who is visiting your site, if you can get the visitor to send you an E-mail message, you can construct a database of new customers. Again, free information works - offer to answer questions or give advice. Most people love getting E-mail concerning topics they care about.
The idea is to keep people in your site for as long as you can, and to give them a reason to return.

WAYS TO KEEP THEM COMING BACK

GIVE SOMETHING FOR NOTHING - newsletters, free information and ways to find it easily are popular. After all, the Internet began so that Universities could freely exchange information. In a lot of ways, the expectations are still the same.

GIVE SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE CAN'T GET ANYWHERE ELSE - make your site THE place to visit for a particular need.

GIVE SOMETHING THAT IS FUN, INTERESTING AND GETS VISITORS INVOLVED

Unfortunately, many of the decisions about how to get visitors to make return visits need to be made during discussions between the client and the designer - neither can work in a void.

ABOVE ALL -- the most important element: don't let your site get stale. This is a fluid medium - the best use is to evolve with the new technology and keep coming up with new ideas.

Big sites change daily, some, like Pepsi, may make changes HOURLY. But Pepsi has a full time staff working on their site which includes games designed just for the Internet.

Medium sized sites should be updated every two to four weeks. I'm not saying you need to re-invent the wheel, but do something new, something to keep your site alive and vibrant - keep it interesting, attractive and current. Give new information, make new offers, give discount or credit, maybe run a contest.

"...(successful people) treat the Internet as a new medium and exploit its unique interactive qualities, rather than just using it as a new means for doing business the old way."
-- Los Angeles Times

If you don't believe this, visit "Virtual Vineyards" where visitors can check on wines and ask questions of the Cork Dork, or "Amazon.com" where you can buy zillions of books on-line and chat with other readers on almost any topic. Both sites are timely and pull people together in a "virtual community."

Perhaps I have been able to give you some ideas on how to make the best use of a Web site, some decisions you will need to make and how we can help you with creative ideas to get you a "responsive presence."

... and if I can be of any further assistance, please drop me a note.

bianca@iNetWebInc.com
President, Even Days
(323) 851-6400

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