Launching a Web site

These days, every business needs a web site. By going online, you can put your products and services in front of customers around the world, 24 hours a day. Via your web site, you can interact with customers and potential customers in dozens of ways--doing test marketing, sending them email newsletters, gathering information from them and getting their opinions on every aspect of your business.

Writing a plan for your web site is as crucial as writing your business plan. Begin by determining what you want your web site to be, today and in the future. What type of customers do you want to visit the site? What are they looking for? Will you have an ecommerce site, where users can make purchases, or an informational site, where users can come to learn more about your business and find content?

If you are selling products or services online, figure out how you will deal with operational issues such as shipping, product returns, customer service, accepting payment and more.

Finally, you need to plan for how you’ll market your web site. With millions of sites on the internet, a well-thought-out marketing strategy is crucial to making yours stand out from the competition.

When you’ve answered these questions, you’re ready to consider possible names you’re your site. If you already have a business name, you need to see if that name or a variation is available as a URL or “domain.” Search “domain registration” online and you’ll find various companies, such as godaddy.com, networksolutions.com and register.com, that allow you to register a domain. This can cost as little as $10 a year.

Once you know what you want your site to accomplish, it’s time to design the actual site. Do this by creating a “site outline.” Your outline needs to cover the following areas:

Site content: Content, or the information on your site, is essential to attracting users. This can include enewsletters, articles or blogs by you, your staff or outside experts, user reviews and more. You need to provide reasons for people to keep coming back again and again. This means continually updating your content.

Site structure: The structure includes how many pages the site will have and how they will link to each other. Your home page is the first page users see when they visit your site. Create a “script,” using numbered pages to outline how your site’s pages logically flow from one to another. Your site structure should be logical and easy to understand so visitors don’t get frustrated and leave the site.

Site navigation: Navigation refers to how users get around the site. It needs to be simple and clear. Use graphics, color and design to guide users through your site.

You don’t need to create the site on your own, of course—and most entrepreneurs outsource at least some part of creating a web site to outside consultants. However, you and only you can decide what you want your site to accomplish and the experience you want the user to have.

Your web site needs to inspire confidence that there is a real company behind the site. Make sure it has a professional appearance and includes your business’s physical address, phone number and fax number, so customers have more options than just email for contacting you. Doing so builds customers’ trust.

Once your site is ready to launch, do everything you can to let people know about it. Put your URL on all your company’s marketing materials, and include it at the end of your email signature. Spread the word, and you’ll soon find your web site becoming an essential weapon in your business arsenal.