Ask
The Small Business Professor?
Dear Professor Bruce:
I own a small
business. I know how important it is to have an attractive
web site so that customers visit and hopefully purchase.
However, I cannot afford the "bells and whistles" that
larger companies can. I want to maximize my small web design
budget so that I can look as professional (and large) as
possible. Any suggestions?
Answer:
Before you even talk to a
Web developer or designer, get to know your clients and
customers. Ask them what they consider most important
regarding your goods and services on the Web.
Dr. William Sanders, Professor
of Interactive Information Technology at the University of
Hartford (CT), provides some excellent tips to small
business owners who need to develop a “champagne” website on
a “beer” budget.
Whatever your clients deem most important should be the
first thing that they see on your Web site.
Second, make what your
customers want 1) easy to find, 2) easy to order, and 3)
easy to pay for. As a corollary, make it easy to un-order
(put back on the shelf) and easy to exit. People who feel at
all trapped in a Web site will not return.
Third, give something away
free that a user can download immediately. People love free
stuff, especially if they can get it right away. If you're a
small Real Estate company, give away an online Mortgage
Calculator. Fourth,
take a look at a big business site to see what makes it look
big. A good example are the Halliburton and IBM sites.
They're clean, simple and clear. Halliburton has photos of
offshore oil rigs, and your two-partner law firm does not.
However, you can use great stock photos to make your company
look big. Fifth,
avoid "dancing baloney." Dancing baloney refers to
unnecessary graphic animation and movement that catches the
eye. It also infuriates the client and motivates hitting the
back button. Sixth, a
search engine is helpful. If you have a small number of
services and products, don't use one. If you have a large
number of products or services, it will help your customer
find what she wants.
Another consideration is a short video explaining your
product. Finally, if
you want to save money on a Web developer or designer, a
good place to start is your local college or university.
More and more institutions of higher education are offering
courses of study in Web design and development. Very often,
students need projects for their course work.
For further information,
contact Dr. Sanders at
http://iit.hartford.edu or
http://www.sandlight.com.
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