Note: This article was originally published in The Greeley Tribune, Sunday Business Section, February 8, 2004

Web Wise

Building a Web site? First, take this quiz

By Lori Gama-White
If you were planning a vacation, the first thing you’d decide on would be your destination. Without knowing where you’re going, how can you possibly expect to get there?

The same is true when planning your Web site. Without knowing what your goal is, how can you expect your Web site to be of any help to its users?

Ask yourself these questions before you begin investing in a Web site for your business:

1. Why do I want a Web site? Besides providing company information, why else?

2. What is the goal of my Web site? Is it to sell “X” number of products every month? To attract buyers of my product or service? To pre-qualify customers, clients or job candidates? To provide updated content for a specific audience? To get “X” number of people to subscribe to my newsletter? Or, do I have some other goal?

3. Who will use my Web site? Describe three to five different users and what each person’s needs are. How can I immediately give my Web site users what they came for? By giving them what they want right away, I can increase my chances of getting them to stay, explore my site and convert them into paying customers.

4. How should my content be written? Which content items should be more prominent than others? User-centered design decisions should always be made based upon who your users are.

5. What is the best and most cost-effective way to get people to visit my Web site?

6. How will I get people to return to my site and/or spread word about it?

7. How will I know I have accomplished my goals?

The most important piece of this puzzle is knowing your users. Knowing who they are — and what they need — will define the content, design, interactive features and many other details of your site.

For instance, you may discover that you need a Spanish version of your Web site or that you need to tailor your content to attract a higher number of women to your site. Did you know that 51 percent of U.S. Internet users are women?

By keeping up with the latest Internet demographics, you can gain an edge over your competitor.

Many more questions need to be asked and answered before beginning the process of building a Web site.

Failing to properly plan can result in a poorly designed Web site, one that can hurt your business more than it can help it.

As with accomplishing any goal, the more focused you are, the better your chances are of succeeding.