Determine Your Website's Chief Purpose Before Design

[Morris Keith]

When you begin a website, you must have your main purpose clearly in
mind. I say this because it's easy to have conflicting purposes.
? If you're a Website Design Dubai firm, you may want to show off your
high tech goodies with your client's site as the showpiece.
? If you're an employee stuck with this task, you may want to look
good for your bosses and not do anything for which you can be blamed
-- you've got to protect your backside.
? If you're a volunteer, you may just want an excuse to tinker and be
praised for it.
? If you're a business owner, you probably care about the bottom line.
You're wondering, How much this will cost? and Will it be worth it in
the long run?
Dear friends, recognize your own needs -- they're legitimate. But to
build an effective website, you've got to look at the businesses or
organization's needs and make those primaries. From the organization's
perspective, what must this website do in order to be successful?
Let's look at some common website purposes. Put an X next to all that
apply.
o Build your brand. Create an online brochure that will help potential
clients, customers, and partners learn about your company and look at
it in a favorable light. You're trying to enhance your brand or
organization image. I've heard people disparage this kind of website
as "brochure-ware." But this is very legitimate for some kinds of
companies, especially local businesses or organizations that aren't
trying to conduct national or international commerce. You want people
to know who you are, what you do, where to find you, and how to
contact you.
o Provide product information to drive local sales of your products
and services at dealer locations. Auto sites are a good example. Many
manufacturers don't sell on their sites, but point people to retailers
who carry their products.
o Sell advertising. A few sites are designed to sell advertising --
Yahoo!, Google, and other portal sites are examples. But these days,
there's far too much advertising space and not nearly enough money to
fill it all. Internet advertising is improving, but is still under-
priced. You may be able to sell a little advertising if you're a
portal site for an industry, or perhaps put some Google AdSense ads on
your site. But these aren't big money-makers. Look at advertising
sales as a hopeful bonus, not as a sure thing.
o Sell products or services directly over the Internet. You want to
conduct e-commerce and sell to a national or international market.
You'll have some kind of ordering system for one or more products, or
perhaps an extensive online catalog. You may offer an online service
that can be delivered over the Internet or that can be initiated
online.
o Earn affiliate commissions for sales and leads generated through
links on your website. Savvy marketers are building microsites
designed to generate search engine traffic for a particular hot
product or service. When a visitor clicks on one of their links, he is
referred to an e-commerce site, and, if a sale results, the affiliate
gets a commission. Perhaps a form on your site generates leads or
subscriptions for another company.
o Provide customer service and support. Websites are a great place for
troubleshooting guides, FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), technical
information, etc. You can generate Return Merchandise Authorization
(RMA) labels. You can provide multiple ways for your customers to
contact you (see under Point #9 below).
o Save money by means of online efficiencies. Companies have used the
Internet to save billions of dollars. Taking orders online with real-
time credit card authorization saves paying call center operators and
cuts entry errors. Online catalogs save lots in paper, printing, and
distribution costs. Online FAQs and knowledge bases cut the number of
customer service personnel you need. And I'm just scratching the
surface here.
What's the design decision here? To be clear and focused about your
site's objectives and purposes.