Now
you need to get started creating your web site. Do you want
to design your web site yourself? Do you want someone else
to design it for you? If this is all new to you, the idea
of designing your own web site may seem very daunting. The
truth is, it sounds much more difficult than it really is.
There are many user-friendly web site building software
tools available for all levels of computer literacy.
Many
of our customers elect to design their web sites on their
own. There are many web design software packages available
to use, like Microsoft FrontPage, Macromedia DreamWeaver
and Adobe GoLive, which are all both popular and user-friendly.
You can build your website using virtually any program as
long as you can save it as an html file.
Two
general elements of a web site are content and presentation.
High quality in both is essential to having a winning web
site. Through a high quality presentation and content, your
web site can impart the sense of reliability, trustworthiness
and professionalism with your visitors. Quality content
will keep people interested in your product or service,
and excellent presentation of the information will assure
that your prospective customers will stick around long enough
to become customers.
In
the same way that an author must have an outline of his
book prior to actually writing it, you will need to have
a good outline of your site before you or your web master
builds it. Keep in mind what you appreciate about good web
sites that you visit.
You
know your business, and you know your customers. Through
your web site, you can show them that you know what they
want from your company. You can easily convert existing
off line brochures into a web format. But you will also
need to keep some other things in mind when you develop
the content of your web site. Your business' home page must
grab your audience and pull them into the rest of your site.
You should present easy access through your front page to
everything your web business has to offer - promotions,
new product releases or news about your business. Make the
front page appear clean and simple - don't clutter it with
excess information - make it a portal to the rest of your
site.
Products
and services will end up being the meat of most business
sites. This area will include all the available details
about each product or service you offer. Make sure this
area of the site is easy to navigate. Potential customers
will be scared away if your business appears disorganized.
Large media files and graphics take longer to download,
so keep your site simple. Also, keep in mind that you will
need to update this area frequently. If your site is selling
products, make sure your customer can access ALL information
about what you are selling. No one will buy an item if they
have unanswered questions about it. Make sure the person
who writes the text on your web site has a good command
of language and will proof the site well. There is nothing
that will dissuade the customers more than a poorly written
site.
It's
a great idea to create a 'about us' section to tell visitors
everything you want them to know about your business. This
should include the history of your company, your mission
or goals and customer testimonials. Also, offer a way to
contact someone at your company. Make sure to respond to
any emails you receive - customer service is as important,
if not more important for an online business.
Many
companies have found that getting customers to stop by their
site isn't always the hard part. Instead, the difficulty
lies in having customers visit, stay and return again in
the future. Web 'stickiness' defines the strategy to a web
site to keep visitors on the site for longer, and also keep
them coming back. In order for your web site to be successfully
'sticky,' it must be engaging to your viewers, relevant
to their lives and their businesses and offer extensive
information.
A
web site is engaging and relevant when it presents exciting,
new information. Have your site provide company or product
updates, free information relevant to your business, and
offer a forum where customers can 'chat' about your products.
This will encourage a belief that your company is trustworthy
and reliable.
Once
your web site is ready to go, it's time to upload. If you
have built your site using Front Page, or any other web
design programs, you can use the "publish command" to upload
your site. If you designed your site without one of these
programs, you can use FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to upload
your site.
However,
if you:
1. feel the above things are difficult
to understand
2. prefer to create your web site faster and easily
3. want to have a professional outlook of your web site
you
may choose the professional and cutting-edge web design services
provided by HostingHK. We will present your idea into reality
shortly. Simply click here
to contact our customer services representative.
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