"Your home page is the world's introduction to you and your company. Make it COUNT!" ? Heidi Richards
Think of your home page as the cover of your brochure. It features exciting information about your company, but like a brochure it must be opened to reveal the rest of the message. It is connected to other pages in a way that allows other visitors to your site to move from one page to another by clicking on the highlighted text or images.
Getting your home page up and running on the Internet requires design, operations, and the update of your information. Many Internet Service Providers offer home page construction for free, often with a standard format in their "host" package. This is an inexpensive way to get up and running more quickly on the Internet. In the beginning, it might be an option for your site.
The options of design, operations, and update depend entirely on how much maintenance your site would require and how much information you want the surfer/customer to have. It could be as simple as listing your location, hours of operation, and the types of products and services you provide. Or as elaborate as picture graphics, movement, and even sound.
Design It yourself. This no-frills approach is inexpensive. The many new and easy-to-use software applications available make it affordable to get started. Provided you feel comfortable with this do-it-yourself approach, and feel comfortable learning a new program you can create your own home page. There are, however, some disadvantages. There is no guarantee of quality for the finished product, and it requires a lot of time and energy.
Microsoft offers a free package that allows Word users to build a Web site from their word processing software package. Check out their web site for Internet Assistant for Word (http://www.mircrosoft.com). Adobe has a package called PageMill 2.0, using click-and-drag commands that create web pages. Less than $100, it has the basics needed to create a site. Just call 800-833-6687. Corel offers a Web Graphic Suite of products. More expensive, but you can get more features. Corel's number is 800-772-6735.
New packages become available frequently. Check out the computer software catalogs and local stores for what's out there.
Hiring a Designer. Companies specializing in Web site design are abundant. And new companies are springing up all the time. Of course, it can cost up to $500.00 to develop a modest site. And about $30.00 per hour for updating the site. You will still need the Internet Service Provider to host your site.
Updating your site. The more often your site is updated, the more successful it will tend to be. Active sites are updated weekly, maybe even more frequently. If you want your Web site to be more than a billboard, it could require several hours per week to keep the site current. It all depends on the types of products and services you provide.
Make sure your Web Site is "linked" to other similar industry sites, and professional associations.
Excerpted from The PMS Principles - Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business © 2005 - Heidi Richards
Heidi Richards is the author of The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business and 7 other books. She is the owner of Eden Florist & Gift Baskets ? http://www.edenflorist.com and the Founder & CEO of the Women's ECommerce Association, International http://www.WECAI.org (pronounced wee-kī) ? an Internet organization that "Helps Women Do Business on the WEB." Basic Membership is FREE. Ms. Richards can be reached at http://www.HeidiRichards.com or heidi@wecai.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|


There are so many metrics surrounding direct marketing. So many... Read More
Thanks to the ubiquity of the internet, online virtual businesses... Read More
Internet has opened a new era of business opportunities. Each... Read More
Businesses, which are still sitting on sidelines and not doing... Read More
In this surreal world of the internet, anyone, even you,... Read More
As e-commerce develops ambiguities in the current tax code in... Read More
Ecommerce use to be about spending thousands of dollars on... Read More
Have you ever had someone who owed your business money... Read More
Over the past several years, the Internet has emerged as... Read More
The concept of this is for you to offer a... Read More
The days of easy money are overIn these post-dot-com days... Read More
Knowledge Management for beginnersKnowledge Management (KM) can be defined simply... Read More
Pitfalls of E-business solutions installation processA large distribution company has... Read More
If you're thinking of jumping on the bandwagon and going... Read More
There are many ways to make money online and the... Read More
Paypal is one of the wonders of the web. Never... Read More
Are you a website owner or a web designer/developer? If... Read More
E-commerce offers customers the chance to eliminate many stages in... Read More
Because of this encouraging surge in activity, many individuals are... Read More
Online shopping is convenient, but many companies whose web sites... Read More
by Jamila White, "The E-Commerce Diva"In the rush to keep... Read More
Shopping Cart Installation And SetupShopping cart technology has evolved to... Read More
Knowledge Management for beginnersKnowledge Management (KM) can be defined simply... Read More
What is electronic commerce?"Electronic commerce is about doing business electronically.... Read More
Anyone using a slow, or an awkward payment processor had... Read More
If you learn how other people make money online, I... Read More
Being able to accept credit cards and other online payments... Read More
Do you sell something online? Do you have a business... Read More
Get out of the way and make it easy for... Read More
In spite of the increasing attention on how the Internet... Read More
In Part One we talked a little bit about what... Read More
Your stock is tempting, your prices right - your ecommerce... Read More
When it comes to e-commerce everything is a little bit... Read More


In this surreal world of the internet, anyone, even you,... Read More
Choosing a carefully pinpointed niche market should be one of... Read More
Nowadays, shopping online is a very common thing. Making your... Read More
Knowledge Management for beginnersKnowledge Management (KM) can be defined simply... Read More
E-commerce offers customers the chance to eliminate many stages in... Read More
If you are serious about selling on the world wide... Read More
We all know that accepting credit cards is the key... Read More
Choosing an online shopping cart is a big decision. Unlike... Read More
My Business is Afraid of the InternetBill Gates, CEO of... Read More
If you're a writer, researcher, subject matter expert, enthusiastic hobbyist,... Read More
Merchant Account BasicsA Merchant Account is a commercial bank account... Read More
SSL ("Secured Socket Layer") is a protocol used to... Read More
Some people do not understand the Internet idea of online... Read More
When considering opening an online merchant account to accept credit... Read More
In theory you could create a retail web site with... Read More
How four partners build and manage an exclusive art posters... Read More
The European market is a multi-billion $ sector which you... Read More
Anyone with an online business, whether for auctions, services, or... Read More
Let's face it, there's just way too much information out... Read More
Once you decide which products you are planning to sell... Read More
Drop Shippers, the manufacturers or distributors who are willing to... Read More
Too often we charge ahead and treat the web as... Read More
For a web site to get close to fulfilling its... Read More
E-gold is a digital currency, used extensively on the Internet... Read More
Have you ever gone to the store and thought you... Read More
Pakistan with highest growth rates in 1960s and bad politics... Read More
Three years ago I was doing some work for a... Read More
If you have been wrestling with the idea of applying... Read More
The concept of linking is that sites with common interests... Read More
My previous article I wrote called "One Point Two Billion"... Read More
Deciding when to get your own merchant account for internet... Read More
Online shopping can be a little frightening to people who... Read More
When I first got my web site built, I thought... Read More
E-commerce |