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Issue 5iAugust 2004 |
ESA Marketing & Graphic Matter, Inc. sharing insights and methods. |
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in this issue
Marketing Matters:
Design Matters:
recommended reading
Peter Kent
Web Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites. Patrick J. Lynch
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Marketing Matters: Web Site Design Fundamentals
Guerrilla marketers know “that cyberspace’s essence is action, its promise is speed, and its most fertile opportunities are in its interactivity.” Nothing else offers you the comprehensiveness of the web. You can use your web site to educate and inform, connect resources, take orders, ask and answer questions.
Dynamic, interactive, ecommerce websites are no longer just for big business with big budgets. They have become affordable. But like your other marketing strategies, this one too needs to be planned, designed, produced, promoted and measured.
Elements of effective web site design Planning: What do you want the site to do? What do you want the viewer to do? Take advantage of the interactivity of the internet. Domain name: This is your web address; your place on the internet. Make it easy to say and spell. Web hosting service: Select a provider to hold all your web site pages and make them available on the internet. Number one priority is reliability. If they go down, you have no access to your web site. Web site Design: Design and page layout - make it familiar, build on your prior branding efforts. The look often influences the decision to stay or leave the site. Web site Content: The website is a place for details. All the information a prospect needs to learn before deciding to buy can be provided on line.
Keywords and meta-tags – what search engines use to find you and assign you to relevant categories. Search engine submission – They can’t find you if you are not registered with them. Optimization refers to the methods to improve your placement at the top of what may be a list of thousands Production: Going live. Installation of the site and testing of it is essential to make sure all the elements work on whatever kind/age of computer the viewer is using. Maintenance and Monitoring: Unlike other marketing, a website requires maintenance such as updating and renewing to keep people interested in returning, and monitoring to make sure everything keeps working. Follow up: When viewers request information, they expect a quick response. It only takes a click for them to go elsewhere. Track Results: Like all of your marketing, it is important to track and measure results. Your site host can and should provide that information. Tracking programs show how many people are looking, where they are coming from, which pages are getting the most activity, and what keywords they are using for search criteria, etc. That too has become affordable. Ownership: Before you hire a web site designer, check the agreement and make sure you will own the site and have rights to move, edit and change the content and look if/when you desire. If you decide to change providers, you don’t want to risk losing your site. There are horror stories out there.
The world is learning to buy things in a new way. Are you ready to reap the profits?
Design Matters: The NUTS and BOLTS of Web Site Design.
In the world of business today, two questions commonly asked are “Do you have a website?” and “What’s your web address?” It has become expected of business from the sole proprietor to the large corporation. Consequently, it is important to become familiar with the language of the web and the technical issues involved in designing, building, and managing the website.
When you have a web site you are typically contracting services from several different service providers – the designer, the writer, the web host to name but a few. In some cases you are contracting with one supplier who is then subcontracting with other suppliers.
Ask! Do you know who you are doing business with and what services they provide and what ones are being outsourced? Many times when we deal with technical difficulties we are actually in a position in which we are negotiating between multiple providers. Knowing the difference between them can be very helpful in troubleshooting technical problems and negotiating the best possible service levels from these providers. Additionally you want to avoid paying for redundant or unnecessary systems and services.
Learning the Language of the Web Can you tell the difference between these items?
ISP Internet Service Provider: How do you connect to the web? Is your ISP provided through dial up connection, cable modem, DSL, or a T1 line? Domain Name: Your address on the web. Example: www.yourdomainname.com. Your domain name is also used for your email address. Email Address: Example: me@yourdomainname.com. Then even if you change ISP’s your domain name and email address remains the same. Web Host: This is actually the physical hard drive space that stores your web site pages and your email server. This server is available to the internet 24/7/365. Web hosts typically offer a variety of additional features, i.e. shopping cart functionality, domain name forwarding, list management, statistics/traffic reports, extended memory/space, and unlimited email addresses. Email Server: Typically for business your email server resides on your web host’s server and it uses your domain name. Optionally your mail server may reside with your ISP if you do not use your domain name. Example: me@aol.com, me@yahoo.com FTP - File Transfer Protocol: This is actually a means of transferring files over the internet without using email. This is how most web site pages are uploaded to the web host. Additionally this is a process that many companies use to send large files to clients, suppliers and other offices/locations. An FTP site is the destination for these files. It is typically represented as an IP address or URL. Example: 66.118.157.10 or ftp.graphicmatter.com
To select the best provider(s) of these services, the web has its version of Consumer Affairs or Better Business Bureau. There are companies that specialize in reviewing service providers. One technical review site that I rely on frequently is www.cnet.com
TIP: Keep a file or document that records all your information in one place. Include your account numbers, user name and passwords, the supplier URL, and all other contact information for your website.
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