It's time to be brutally honest. The answers to the
questions on this page will help you determine the
direction your site will take. Don't answer quickly -
pour a cup of coffee and think about it.
Why do you want a website? Are you selling or telling or
both? Do you want a site that presents information that
rarely changes (show information, a line of products),
or a dynamic site with information that changes
regularly? Who do you want to attract to your site? Will
people be buying products from you? This includes
selling yourself. Perhaps you are a teacher who wants to
publicize her classes nationally, or a designer
interested in establishing an Internet presence. Who are
your main competitors?
If you could describe yourself and what you do in a
sentence, what would it be? Where to you see yourself in
five years? In ten years? What benefits do you expect
your website will provide you?
Do you have an idea you would like to market? Perhaps
it's a new technique or a self published book. What can
you offer your visitor? Why will your site be a better
choice to visit than another one? Why should they
revisit your site? Will you be encouraging E-mail,
perhaps by creating an informational newsletter? Are you
comfortable sharing your knowledge and abilities with
others?
This is what your website can do for you:
Establish your presence on the web
Provide information
Build familiarity of your product
Reach an International market
Test new products and/or markets
Provide customer service and build customer
loyalty by:
This questionnaire will help you define your needs and
those of your customers. When you are done, you will
have the tools you need to create an effective website.
Now all you need to do is design it in such a way that
is both efficient for your customer and friendly to the
search engines. Continue this tutorial with Effectively
marketing your website through proper search engine
optimization.