The Most Important Factor for a Successful Web Site

Your approach and attitude towards getting a web site will determine its success, and I cannot stress this enough. Business owners have traditionally viewed a web site as a commodity - something you just buy. And worse again, most forget about what they bought soon after the purchase.

Strategic business owners on the other hand see their web site as a strategic investment, something that they will use to do business better. Your attitude is important. Business owners that view a web site as a commodity will inevitably come to the conclusion that they wasted their money, most probably because they conclude they're web site 'never made me any money'. On the other hand, the strategic business owners will eventually turn their web site into an asset they cannot do with out.

Here are steps that successful web site owners take -

Step 1 - Know the Business Reason Why You Want a Web Site

If you're in business to make money, then obviously you want your web site to help achieve this goal. "How" your web site will make money is where many businesses come unstuck. If you have not thought about the "How", then stop right now! I guarantee that if you miss this step, you'll end up wasting your time and money, and eventually conclude that your web site 'never worked'.

If you are having problems formulating a business reason or the "how", speak to your business advisor, a competent web developer or myself for some ideas. I find most businesses benefit from professional advice when it comes to seeking opportunities on the Internet and how to best use their web site for business.

Step 2 - Understand What is Required From the Business Side. Just Appreciate the Technology

Building a successful web site that will meet your business goals is as much about business and what you can contribute as it about technology and what I (or any other web developer) can do.

Your business needs to drive what your web site will become - never leave it to technology. Your web site needs your ideas. You should definitely seek my advice or that of your business advisor, but never take that advice as an end. Always have your input. That way you'll get a more useful web site.

I understand that you might not understand in detail - nor want to learn about - all the technologies, tools and skills that go into making a web site work. That's fine, but at least develop a basic understanding by talking to myself or an IT expert. A basic understanding will help you drive your web site, communicate easier with technical people and make your web site successful.

Step 3 - Plan Your Web Site

When you know the business reason you want a web site, and you know what's involved with getting one, its time to start planning your web site. I (or your web developer) will sit down with you and plan what your web site will look like and what information it should contain. Some of this information will already have been discovered during the previous steps and general discussion, but there are going to be details that need to be fleshed out.

I often get asked how long planning will take. How much and how long it will take will depend on your type of business and what you want to achieve. A basic informational web site might take a few days. A fully featured eCommerce web site can take weeks, even months.

Step 4 - Your Web Site is Created

This step is where your web developer creates your web site. Many businesses start and stop at this step. If you do this, it probably means you don't know the business reason why you want a web site. If your web developer jumps straight to this step, most likely they know their technology, but lack business sense. I think the old saying "Fail to plan and you plan to fail" sums up why starting at this step is a bad idea.

During this step, I will bring your web site to life. From a technical stance, this is where I write 'programming code' and arrange the 'hosting' (and possibly your domain name if not done previously) to make your web site visible to the world.

During the creation stage, more ideas are often discovered and changes to the original plan might be made, so a couple of quick revisits back the the 'planning stage' will usually occur.

Step 5 - Advertise Your Web Site

Having a web site means nothing if you do not advertise the fact. You need to tell your current customers and potential customers that you have a web site, and why they should be excited. Give your customers a reason to visit your web site, and they will. I cannot express how important this step is. If you follow the previous steps but skip this one, you'll have a great web site that no one will know about.

You cannot rely on search engines to get clients as many people mistakenly believe. There are millions of web pages indexed in search engines. You are just one web site. Unless you are a mega corporation with millions to spend on your web site and search engine consultants, you will likely never achieve a top search engine listing for the products or services that you sell.

Step 6 - Monitor and Update Your Web Site

Now that your web site is up on the WWW and your customers are visiting it, you need to 'watch and learn' from what they do. Treat any comment you get from customers (or even your staff) as information that could be used to improve your web site. Small comments from customers that they could not find something on your web site or that they tried to do something that you or I never imagined could mean changes are needed, or better yet, that an improvement or new business opportunity has just been discovered.

Step 7 - Go Back to Step One

No, you don't have to start from scratch. I mean appreciate each step and understand the value it contributes towards a successful web site. Remember that a successful web site is 'living'. It need to grow and evolve, especially if other businesses are doing similar things to you. As your web site becomes successful, it becomes increasingly important to revisit all the previous steps. By doing this you help identify new business opportunities and better ways of doing business with the web. This way you and your web site can go from strength-to-strength.