Chapter 1: What's Your Plan?
Need a website? Here's where to start.

Now that you've decided to take another look at your site, you have to determine exactly what you want your site to do and what kind of experience you want your online customers to have. Is it informational only? Will you use it to promote and create awareness of your service business? Or do you want to drive customers to your brick-and-mortar shop? Do you want to start selling products online, either from your own site or from an online marketplace like eBay or Amazon.com? That's what a web plan is for. Preparing one will help you better understand your market and set goals for your site. Start your plan by asking yourself some crucial questions: Who are your target customers? What do they want and/or need? What do you want to accomplish? What are your competitors doing? Do you have a time frame, and is it flexible? Think about your promotional strategy. Your site is a great vehicle to distribute information about your company, gather customer feedback and even sell products or services. How are you going to take advantage of that? Remember, your website reflects you, your business and the services you are providing. That's why it is imperative you do it right. Don't worry, though,creating a strong and successful website is not as difficult as you might think. Essentially, there are four simple steps you should follow.

HOW TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL WEBSITE

STEP 1: Start by creating a basic road map. This will set the tone for what you're doing. Keep in mind that this is an evolutionary process. In the beginning, don't try to be Amazon.com. (It took them years to become a web powerhouse.) Grandiose visions are fine, but you need to build up to realizing them. Start small and grow big.

STEP 2: Determine what tools you need to help drive the right traffic to your site. The web is a very competitive space,today there are over 11 billion web pages, so you need to be strategic in deciding what works best for you. Some of these tools include search engine marketing, e-mail marketing and search engine optimization. Also, now's the time to decide how and where you're going to spend your (limited) marketing budget.

STEP 3: How will you determine what's working on your site and what isn't? Some industry best practices will work for you; others may need some tinkering. Deciding how to measure your ROI (return on investment) and other crucial metrics is key to the success of your business. The best way to find this out is through website traffic reports, but you should listen to your customers as well. They will let you know what market tactics are working for you, what ones aren't, and how to improve your results. You'll need to go further than that, but don't worry, there's a lot of help out there to make these tasks easier.

STEP 4: Apply what you learn from your metrics. These include page views, length of visits, site traffic volume and trends, and you should study them to improve your site's content, navigation and performance. This enables you to offer a better experience to your visitors.

It's a 360-degree process. Once you get to step 4, cycle back to step 1, refine your vision, and go through the whole process again. Following the cycle enables you to continually learn, grow and evolve your business more intelligently. Now that you've done some important preliminary work, you're ready for the big challenge, retooling and improving your company's website. Throughout this book, you'll find more in depth information on the key elements of a good website: structure, design, navigation, content and credibility. Learn how to get to know your customers and start an ongoing relationship with them. We'll also tell you about securing your site, the keys to smart web marketing, and how to use content to your advantage. After reading this, you'll not only be more informed about your web strategy, but you'll be eager to get going. So let's get started.