Planning Your Web Site

by James Fowler
www.mywebsource1.com

Proper planning is the key to success for your web site. It may be difficult to overcome the first impression of disorganized information, a terrible user experience, or the drivel of poor content. Will your web site visitors return to you? By planning your web site out, you will have the right elements to keep people coming back to your web site again and again.

There are several things you must prepare if you want to have a successful and timely web site. The following can be used as a check list to help you be on your way.

DOMAIN NAME
This is the first thing you need to start your web site. A domain name is a unique name that identifies your site on the internet. For example, www.mywebsource1.com is a domain name. You typically buy a domain name for one year or more. It is suggested that you buy the domain for a minimum of 3 years, however, because search engine spiders look favorably on web sites that plan to be around longer than a couple of months. By buying ahead, you help yourself with the search engines.

HOSTING
Hosting is the next thing you will need. You have your web site name, now you need a place to “host” the web site. Hosting is basically keeping your web site on an external server that connects itself to the internet. Good hosting companies offer special services like a free blog, an email with your web site name, and enough space to hold all of your information.

THE WEB SITE
Finally! What you have been waiting for! Gathering everything you need to build your web site. It is time to come up with a web site strategy and some objectives. What is your web site going to accomplish? What will bring people to your web site? What will you gain from your web site?

Styles of Web Sites: What is your web site going to do? Is it an informational piece that is just an extension of your business card and literature? Do you want to sell something by using eCommerce? Maybe you want to interact with your customers and collect data so you can better assist them?

All of these are viable web sites. What is most important is to stay focused on what you are trying to do. People do not want to be confused. If you confuse them, they won’t come back to your web site. One thought. One page.

Think about the colors that you want to use on your web site. Does it look good with your logo? Do you have a logo? If not, you should really get one and use it on all of your marketing materials.

Information to Customers: This could be your contact information and store hours. It can be interactive in the way of a form. This way, you can collect information through a database so that you can market information to your customers. Keeping a close contact with your list is essential to ecommerce success.

Pictures and illustrations: A picture says a thousand words, right? This holds true on the internet, as well. People are visual beings and good, eye-pleasing graphics will attract people’s attention. You can take the pictures with a digital camera and upload them to your web designer. Pictures can also be found on the internet, need to be purchased. Just because they are out there, doesn’t mean you have carte blanche to use them. You can obtain them through a variety of web sites that sell images or if you see a picture you like, contact the web site owner and ask them to use the picture. This works particularly well if you are adding product to your web site to sell. Manufacturers want you to use their pictures to sell more product.

Web Site content: What are you going to say? The truth of the matter is that how you say your words are more important than anything else. Search engine spiders (those little programs that find your web site on the internet) love text. They’d love if you wrote a book on the page topic. However, most people don’t want to read volumes of text. Make sure you are concise about what you say and use plenty of keywords so that someone will read it.

Products to sell: Decide what you to sell and how you want to present the items. Typically, you will need a name, a picture, a price, and a unique ID number for the product. Think of things like shipping and handling costs. Know the policy you will follow for international orders (if you plan on shipping out of the country) and the costs associated with this. Think about what you want to use as a merchant account or do you want an online merchant account, such as Paypal?

Marketing your web site: This is the hardest part for most people, but the most vital aspect of your web site. A web site has to be kept up to date and the information has to get out to your potential and current customers. How do you do this? There are plenty of ways including writing a blog, trading links with other businesses, and writing articles. If writing isn’t your thing, try going onto bulletin boards or other places where you can comment something and make sure you add your web site address to your signature.

Another way to market is sending out an email to people who visited your web site. You can find out these names by requesting this information on your web site.

If you want to have a successful web site, you should follow these steps. They are a good basic starting point to complete your goal of a web site and it is something that you should have in place when you meet with your designer. It will make the entire project move along smoothly and you will be happier that you have more control over your web site.

Bow Wow Beach

Bow Wow Beach
By James Fowler

Today, my wife and I found a new dog park to take our faithful mutt, Porthos ( a Dalmatian/Boxer mix). It was called Bow Wow Beach in Stow, Ohio, and it consisted of 7.5 acres of park facility with a huge lake in the middle of it. This park just opened a few weeks ago and it is, by far, the best dog park we have ever visited. A dog park, you ask? What does a dog park have to do with internet marketing? I asked myself the same question, as I sat under a shade tree watching Porthos run in and out of the water with over 200 other pets. I sat there and watched hundreds of dog owners and their children and asked myself, what non-profit shelter or local pet store isn’t out at this park recruiting from the faithful animal lovers that have driven here to allow their dog a bit of fun in the sun on a beach?

As our dogs are running around, people had three options: to watch their pets, talk to others about dogs, or do nothing. There is a captive audience from dawn until dusk made up of a very determined group of individuals who love pets – dogs, in particular.

I would share a web site address with you of this doggie oasis, but there isn’t any, which is a shame for the park’s committee in Stow, Ohio. These are dollars they are missing out on. A quick search on Google reveals one blog on the park, a newspaper article, and an announcement from a local Akron, Ohio animal shelter.

The park, itself, was originally a children’s swimming hole. The Stow park’s committee put up a fence around the 7.5 acre area and is now working on separating large dogs from small dogs. There is even a facility to wash the sand off your dog before you leave. Stow has the right idea. They need to follow through with it.

Some ideas that I would offer the City of Stow and local area shelters and businesses:

1. Put up a big sign at the entrance. At least let people know it is there.


2. Invite the area animal shelters to have a “day at the park”. While they are there, the city should collect donations from the patrons. Believe me, they have a gold mine here, added contributions to the park will only add to the benefit of this wonderful place and dog owners are willing to support a facility that makes their dogs happy.


3. Let local businesses pass out flyers or advertise in a “Bow Wow Beach” newsletter. Make sure other communities can participate in this.


4. Get a web site and announce upcoming events.

To the city of Stow, Ohio, I applaud your park facility and your efforts to make dogs and their very enthusiastic owners happy. Keep up the good work!