Put Your Business on the Web NOW!

Having a Web site is a necessity for doing business in today's digital world. In Part 1 of this series of articles, we explain why it's important and what you need to consider to get your site up and running.
May 12, 2008

By Derek Griffin

If your business isn't on the Internet, you're missing sales and losing credibility every minute. Today, a Web site isn't a business luxury — it's a necessity. Just like a business card or brochure, your Web site provides the first impression many people will have of your business. Your goal is to make sure it's not the last.

While having a Web site is critical, the degree to which you invest in your site will depend on the size of your business and available budget. Additionally, the type of customers you serve and how they buy from you should guide your technology strategy.

But how do you get started? How do you register a domain name? How much can you do yourself? When does it make sense to work with a professional firm or invest in company stores? This series of articles will educate you on the varying levels of Web sites, what critical factors to keep in mind regardless of the size of the site, and how to plan for the future as your business grows.

Why Is Having a Web Site Important?
Why is the distant cousin of Who, What, When, Where and How — but understanding the justification and reasoning behind the Why of your Web site is important in helping you answer those other questions.

As previously mentioned, your Web site is your digital business card and often the first impression you'll make in today's business environment. With some attention to your online presence, it won't be the last chance you get to interact with that potential new customer either.

The benefits of a Web site presence can be subtle as well as significant. For small businesses, it allows a way for customers to find you, learn about your business and then contact you for more information. For larger businesses, a Web site can automate the sales process from order taking to full integration into fulfillment systems.

Just think for a second about the possibilities of having an order that made it all the way to the pick-pack-ship process before your staff started handling it, with product selections and credit card payment already taken care of. That may be far off for many of you, but as your business continues to grow, technology is a powerful ally in enabling that growth.

In addition, as the digital age evolves, having a Web site is critical to validating your business to other organizations that might be researching your services, recommending your company to a decision-maker they work with or comparing you to your competition.

A Web site is no longer just a nice addition to your operation — it is an absolute requirement to compete and grow your business.

What Are the Goals of Your Web site?
The primary goal of the site is to get your company's message across quickly and have it presented in a professional manner consistent with your brand identity. Getting that message across quickly is a key requirement because Web site visitors are fickle and need to be impressed enough in just a few seconds to dig deeper into your site.

This means balancing aesthetic appeal with functionality and making sure critical information is above the fold (the bottom of your computer screen). Studies of Web usage by the Nielsen Norman Group, an Internet design firm in Fremont, Calif., show that 50% of visitors will not scroll down the page to see what additional information you may be hiding on a long home page.

According to Jakob Nielsen, a principal and co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group and author of the book Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity (Indianapolis: New Riders Publishing, 2000), you only have about 30 seconds to grab the visitor's attention on that first page load; therefore, you must encapsulate your business offering quickly and effectively. (See Eric A. Taub, "How to Make Your Web Site Sing for You," The New York Times, Nov. 15, 2006.)

Also, short attention spans dictate quickly loading graphics. A "wait while this fancy presentation loads" message might be OK for a high-end graphics agency, but it will kill any potential a business-to-business Web site has for success.

Some further examples of Web usage statistics illustrate how important the design of your site is to the visitor's experience:

•    40% of visitors do not return to a site if their first visit results in a negative experience. Source: Forrester Research

•    83% of Web users have left sites in frustration due to poor usability. Unintuitive navigation and sluggish performance were reported as the main culprits. Source: NetSmart Research

•    Almost 70% of online consumers reported some Web sites take too long to download. Source: Boston Consulting Group

The key information is who you are, what you do and how to contact you. To recap, your primary goals should be to:
 
1.    Strengthen your business identity and by so doing bolster the confidence of prospective clients
2.    Generate new inquiries for your services or products
3.    Sell products (for e-commerce Web sites).

Derek Griffin is president and co-founder of SpearTek, an Atlanta-based firm that helps companies make their Web sites easier to manage and more profitable to operate. He speaks at the Imprinted Sportswear Shows on the topic of company stores. You can reach him at dgriffin@speartek.com.

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