Note from Editor:

I was so surprised when even just the other day someone approached us wanting a website and specifically requested to have the words 'Under Construction' proudly displayed on it. I almost fell over! For a moment, I pictured myself as Bill Gates having just mistakenly walked into a seniors' workshop on "Surfing the Web for Beginners" one door down from the International MIX06 Conference that I was supposed to be speaking at.

Well, I couldn't believe that anyone would still believe that this short-sighted method of getting on the web ever really worked. Anyway, as many of you know, Globi would never have endorsed such methodology and not just for the professional reputation we must uphold but to protect the interests of our clients for what could be one of the most colossal mistakes they could ever make on the web.

Top 5 Points for Planning your Website

It should never be considered that a well designed site, with zero content is ever going to appeal to a potential customer. Worse yet, seeing 'Under Construction' is the #1 quickest way to loose a visitor PERMANENTLY! Additionally, if the same visitor does happen to come across the site again and it is STILL 'Under Construction,' it will give a bad representation of your whole organization and how it is managed.

If in the end, it is absolutely required to put something up on your website, then at the very least have a more professional paragraph that outlines some of the company's exciting developments along with a definite deadline date to invite visitors to come back. And then, by golly, it better be so when they get there because remember, our word is the only thing we have to show people that we live by integrity and can be trusted with their business.

Points to consider in preparing to launch a new website:

1. Plan: Decide what the initial goals of your website are, what you wish to gain from having it, and how you wish to budget your site development and growth over the next two years. Doing your research and planning what your website content will consist of is key to receiving the final outcome you expect from your website.

One of the best ways to do this is to create a storyboard. Although this process can be lengthy it is of great benefit to you in the long run. It will aid you in the creation of a solid Request for Proposal (RFP). If your RFP is not solid, then you will receive a variety of quotes from vendors, which will be based on their interpretation of the RFP and their perceived risk. A well thought out RFP, on the other, hand will show exactly what your expected outcome is. If you gave it to multiple developers or web companies every one would give you a quote based on exactly the same end product. With a solid RFP, you will also receive the end-product that you expected.

2. Target Audience: Be aware of who your visitors will be and how you will appeal to them. Before finalizing any design and content for your website, take the time to get to know your audience.

Who will be visiting your site? What are these people looking for? What are their needs? Their interests? Perhaps you may even want to consider if these people are educated or uneducated or their geographic locale and if that matters to you, or what is their socio-economic status? Will this have any bearing on how you design your site? How can you appeal to this demographic? You must adapt your website content and graphics as specifically as possible to the visitors that you wish to attract to your website. You will need more than a superficial knowledge of your target audience.

3. Content: Gather the information you need to share with your target audience and have it ready for your web designer. Trust me! Waiting for client content is where the biggest development delays occur.

There needs to be a balance between content and clicks. This means that if the website is full of too much content, your audience may lose interest very quickly due to too many clicks to find the information they need and because of information overload. Having to read through heaps of content can disinterest even the most avid web searcher. So, make your point, convey your information, and be precise.

4. Pages: How will your information be managed and broken out over the site? Don't rely on your designer to interpret your content and guess. He WILL get it wrong.

Once again, this comes back to planning and research. Make sure to create a sitemap. Sure, you may not know what information will fit best on each page, or what the best design layout is but at least provide your designer with an outline of how you would like all of your information laid out, what the information groupings will be, and where information should be placed. Your designer can decide what is best graphically for your site but only you are the expert of your own business and its information. If you rely solely on your designer to group information and lay it out for you, you will not necessarily be pleased with the end result. Do your homework and take the guesswork out of the process.

5. Action: What do you want visitors to your website to do? All websites have a persuasive purpose whether it be to get someone to subscribe, to sign up for something, to inquire on a topic, or to buy something. It is imperative to focus on what your call to action is for your website. Try to do this by categorizing what the three most important things that your website allows people to do? Focusing on the task, on the action that you want people to take, is a great way of achieving clarity. It allows you to cut through the filler content and get a greater focus on the most pertinent content.

The web as a whole is continuously under construction. Just like each of our businesses, we are growing and expanding continuously and therefore it is understood that we are forever changing and developing it. Don't you think it would be a wise choice to research and plan for that development now?

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Globi Web Solutions
1023 - 12th Ave SW
Calgary, Alberta, T2R 0J5
Phone: (403) 229-3800
E-mail: admin@globi.ca
Web Site: http://www.globi.ca

Copyright © 2010 Globi Web Solutions. All Rights Reserved. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced in whole or in part without the inclusion of Globi Web Solutions' Reprint Permission below.

Reprint Permission

Although this material is subject to copyright, please feel free to reprint this publication, in whole or in part, in your company publication, in training, presentations, or wherever you feel this would be of benefit. This also holds true for members of the media. All we ask (actually, we insist) is that you use the following credit line:

Reprinted with permission from Globi Web Solutions, a leading Website Design and Development Company based in Calgary. For further resources and information, go to globi.ca. Copyright © 2010 Globi Web Solutions.