What will my website look like?
This activity is very important. Without a storyboard it is likely unnecessary labor and resources will be consumed to make the website!
- Create a rough outline of what your website will look like.
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A simple approach is that you can draw squares and arrows linking the squares on a piece of paper, like an old flowchart. Put some notes in the squares. The squares could be the topics. Some squares might be: Introduction, How to Contact Us, Products, Services, Frequently Asked Questions, and About Us. Another way is to use index cards. Or you could use a presentation application to show the concepts (like PowerPoint).
Think about what topics will go on what pages
Think about how you would have the pages link to each other
Think about the Introduction or first page and what it needs to provide to the viewer (some readers judge whether to read the rest of the site by the first page).
Review the goals and objectives of the website. Go back to the storyboard and have the storyboard reflect the goals and objectives of the website.
How will I promote the website?
Just because you build a "field of dreams" does not mean that people will buy (or even visit) it. They have to know that you built the "field". Helping people locate the website, promoting, takes labor and resources. A lot of marketing books now have sections devoted to Internet marketing. Consider the following:
- Traditional Advertising – Put the address of the website, URL, on all your publications, business cards, advertising, billboards, radio, letterhead, and send letters and faxes to customers letting them know about it, and so on.
- Search Engines – Get listed on search engines. Getting a good listing take effort and time. We can offer suggestions and offer services to do this.
- Internet Advertising – You may want to consider getting special interest websites to advertise and hyperlink your site.
Caution: Be careful about the temptation of advertising with unsolicited e-mail ("SPAM") because it is unwanted and will void almost all contracts with Internet Service providers (including us). We will not do business with any business that uses unethical, immoral, or illegal practices.
