Getting Started —
8 Steps to a Better Website!
There are certain steps you will need to take to create a web presence. Here is a short plan to assist you:
- Choose a domain name and register it. This can be done at several sites on the web such as Register.com and Network Solutions. Try to choose a name that is easy to remember and describes what you do.
(For example, if you do marketing for lawyers under the company name LawSpeak you might choose the domain LawSpeak.com or Law-Marketing.com. Recent research shows hyphenated names such as Law-Marketing.com do better on search engines than non hyphenated names like LawMarketing.com as the words show individually for searches.)
- Go on the web and search for your competitors' sites. Make a list of what they have on their sites that you want on yours. This will start you thinking about what needs to be on your site and give you an idea of what size site (how many pages) you will need. You can print out the attached form to help you keep notes.
- Make a list of the different pages you want on your site and what should be on them. Keep it simple at this point, don't try to write the whole thing yet.
- Home Page
- Products/Services Pages - Service 1, 2, 3 or Product 1, 2, 3
- About Company Page - history of company, Bios of owners
- Contact Page - address, phone, e-mail and a form for prospects to ask questions.
- ...
- Make a list of sites you like and sites you don't. These do not have to be in similar fields as yours, but it will give the designer a better feel for what your site should look like. (You can use the form from step 2 for this, too.)
- Get all your current marketing materials together to show the designer. This would include your stationery, business cards, brochures, flyers, mailers, and copies of any ads you use. It is important to utilize your "corporate identity" when creating the website so that the prospect or customer is constantly reminded of who you are. When they sees the website they remembers the ad or brochure. When they get a flyer they remember the website, etc.
- Start collecting pictures of your product or of you performing your services. The web is a visual media and pictures are often more persuasive than words. You will also need a good copy of your logo. Your printer or graphics person can often supply this in digital format.
- Start writing the content (text) for the site. While some web designers can write the copy for you, they do not understand your business and clients the way you do. It is far better to give the designer text to adapt for the web than for them to guess what your industry is like.
- Contact CityCenter, to create your website!
A properly designed website should greatly enhance any business, whether it is promoting for new business, offering services, or servicing and maintaining client relations. Let CityCenter Co. help you to enhance your business now.
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