So you think a web presence might be helpful to your business?

Several considerations are in order before beginning your web endeavor.

The following are a few topics that I feel are important to maintaining an effective and productive site

How much do you want to spend?
The cost of setting up your web site can vary from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars or more. The amount of money you spend depends on exactly what you want and need. Besides the initial design of your web page there is also the price of server space to consider. It is also possible to buy your own domain name. The price for this is $50 per year, two years up front. You will also need to find a server to host your domain. I have found the average price for that to be around 150 a month. If you want to have secure space for credit card transactions this can range from 17 per month, plus transaction fees. The prices go up from there. Please remember the savvy Internet consumer will NOT purchase from a server that is not secured.

What do you expect from your site?
If you expect instant fame and fortune you are wasting your money. A web page can be another form of advertisement or another place to sell your services or products. A well-constructed web page will draw people to your site to see what you are about.

Who should you turn to for professional design of your site?
There are many firms, which can be contacted on the World Wide web which can provide design, maintenance and hosting for your site. It is also possible to find web design and hosting with your local internet providers. You can find listings in your local yellow pages for internet service providers, also known as ISP's. It is also possible to use any one of several WYSIWYG(What You See Is What You Get)HTML editors. These are okay but most of them miss some of the subtleties which are possible with the current HTML version. Or it is also possible to see that one of your staff is trained. This takes time and money. HTML is easy to learn and easy to use but time consuming. Who is going to see to your staffers duties as she takes care of your web page?

What can you do with your site?
There are many things you can do with your site, of course if your are a business you want to make money with it. There are two possible ways to do this. You can put your catalog on the web and create a form to sell your merchandise. You can also sell advertising space on your page. This only pays off is you have a high traffic site however.

How do you advertise your site for optimum results?
It is possible to buy advertising space on other high traffic site, this is usually a banner link some where on the site. This takes time, a lot of time. Or you can pay one of the many services to do it for you. Remember you get what you pay for.

What should your site contain?
A well-constructed web page will draw people to your site to see what you are about. There are several ways to draw people to your site, prize drawings, advertising on other web sites. One of the most cost-effective ways is to list your page with search engines and to put otherwise unavailable information on the web. An in depth description of your company and your products is a good way to start. Personal information is also a nice touch, list of certifications and awards are another nice touch.

Design basics. Remember before you spend your hard earned capital you should decide who you want to attract and how you will go about it. Another important point, I feel, is to let the surfer know immediately the point of your page. A good reference for information of this type may be found here. This page goes into more detail than I care to at this point. My paying customers do come first.

In closing a web presence can be an exciting and money making venture for your business, just remember to keep your expectations in line with reality.

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last updated Saturday May 31St. 1997