Planning, Developing, and Promoting Successful Small Business Websites

Table of Contents

One of the areas that many websites have faltered in the past is applying business knowledge to this new medium. Since websites are a relatively new tool, business owners have been somewhat hesitant to embrace the technology and the benefits it offers. This has left many sites at a competitive disadvantage by leaving the “techies” in charge of trying to create business goals for the website. This sort of thinking has been a major factor in the amount of “cool sites” that have no functionality. A “techy’s” business goal is most likely going to be getting a “flying widget” flying on the site by Friday. It is more likely that the “techy” person is going to focus on elements that are “cool”, instead of elements that are going to improve return on investment, or increase sales. This type of person may also place less emphasis on the visual design of a website if they do not possess the necessary artistic skills.

The same traditional business concepts apply to the new medium, and the need for these concepts is becoming more evident after the “dot-com bust”. A website is a tool to facilitate business. Companies are realizing that they need to communicate business goals to the people in charge of managing their new tool. Websites are proving to be a cost-effective way to disseminate information compared to traditional methods. A website is an interactive way to answer the questions of consumers without the traditional expenses of payroll and training for human resources. Websites can help reduce payroll and other overhead costs for many businesses. A very important element of planning a website is cost justifying the expenses in a measurable way. New technology is never embraced until a new system is demonstrably better than an old one, and cost and savings is one of the best ways to demonstrate the value of new technology.

Appendices
(All in a single document) Appendix 1-1: Overture Search Term
Research Tool

Appendix 1-2: Wordtracker Search Query Research Tool

Appendix 1-3: Google Sets Website Theme Research Tool

Appendix 1-4: Reach/ Acquire/ Convert/ Retain

Chart Appendix 2-5: Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth Information Architecture Flowchart

Appendix 2-6: Search Engine Themes Pyramid Information Architecture Example

Appendix 2-7: Webpage Download Time by File Size Chart

Appendix 2-8: Expected Locations for Common E-commerce Elements

Appendix 2-9: Website Usability Checklist

Appendix 2-10: Text Vs.Code Ratio/ Content Near the Top of Souce Code Examples

Appendix 3-11: Overture Bid Price Tool

Appendix 3-12: Webalizer Website Visitor Tracking Tool

Appendix 3-13: AW STATS Website Visitor Tracking Tool Appendix

3-14: Clicktracks Website Statistics
Analysis Tool

References
Author Notes

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Planning, Developing, and Promoting Successful Small Business Websites Table of Contents

Planning, Developing, and Promoting a Successful Small Business Website

Website Technical Strategic Planning - Page 5

Strategic Planning for the Website

Planning, Developing, and Promoting Successful Small Business Websites

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