Web sites are a great way to showcase your business for potential and
existing customers. They are also a great way to present important
information that just won't fit in a phone
book listing or newspaper ad. Microsoft Office Live Small Business
gives you the tools you need to create an outstanding Web site.
Before you start designing your site, there are several things to
think about. A little bit of planning before you create your pages will
make your site easier to use and easier to expand in the future.
This
article will help you answer the key questions you should ask yourself
when planning a Web site for your small business.
In this article:
An easy way to answer this question is to look at other business Web
sites — both in your specific industry and in your business category,
such as retail sales, manufacturing, or services.
As you view these sites, ask yourself:
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You must decide how much information you want to present to your Web
site visitors before determining the number of pages that you need.
Make a list of the information you want to
present. Be general and be specific. Listing broad categories in
addition to specific information helps you determine how to organize
your site. Such organization also helps you name your pages and think
about how visitors find those pages.
Present one idea per page. Statistics show
that site visitors spend less than 10 seconds looking for
specific information before they go somewhere else.
The idea can be a
large category of information, with links to more specific information,
or one specific set of information.
For example, a manufacturing company has a Products page on their Web
site, which gives a general overview of all the types of products that
they manufacture. Descriptions of each product type are located on
subsequent pages. Users reach these pages by clicking links on the
Products page.
The main purpose of these pages is to give a more detailed
description of the individual products.
Make your page names easily identifiable. When
you create new pages, you give them both a page title and a name. The
page title appears in the browser's title bar, and the page name is
appended to your Web address. The page title can be changed at any time,
but the page name cannot. It is recommended that you use a page name
that reflects the content of the page.
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The Web design tool included with Office Live Small Business makes
designing your overall Web site easy. Using Site Designer, you choose
the theme, style, and color so that all of your Web pages will have the
same look. Your header and footer are used on every page of your site.
You can, of course, individualize each page.
Create a meaningful header. The content
that you put in your header appears throughout your entire site, not
just on your home page. Think about all of the pages you are creating,
and ask yourself, “does my header make sense for each page?” The header
can include just your company name, or it can include your company
slogan or a description of your business. You can also add a logo.
Less is more. Too many colors, too many
font changes, or too much content will confuse visitors to your Web
site. If there are too many design elements competing for attention,
nothing stands out.
Be consistent. Stick with one heading
style, font, and layout, if possible. If you change the look on every
page, your visitors may not associate what they see on the site with
your business.
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Unless your Web site has only one page, you need to decide how
visitors will navigate to other pages to find the information that they
need. When you make a list of all the information that you want on your
site, try to group the larger categories of information with the related
categories underneath each category.
You may find that some information
fits under more than one category.
There are several ways to direct your Web site visitors to other
pages on your Web site. You can use links in the navigation bar, inline
links, and links in the footer.
Create a useful navigation bar. The same
navigation bar appears on every page on your Web site. The links on this
bar are always available to your visitors. A good rule of thumb is to
have no more than six main links in your top-level (or parent)
navigation, and then a similar number of subcategory (or child) links
under any parent link.
Include all of the pertinent pages under the
main category. As noted earlier, you may find that one page really
belongs in several different categories. Go ahead and include that link
under each link for the category to which it applies. For example, for a
site that advertises apparel, a page that contains a sizing chart may
be pertinent to the Men, Women, and Children main categories, and also
to each product subcategory. You can include the page link for the
sizing chart in each of those categories.
Use links in your content. Inline links can
be some of the most effective ways to drive traffic to other pages on
your Web site. These links are used in context, so users know exactly
what they will find. You can use both text links (links that are
embedded in the written portion of your page) or picture links (pictures
that, when clicked, open a new page).
Use your footer to link to other pages. Because
the footer is used on every page on your Web site, it is a great way to
send your visitors to useful content. Typically, footer links go to
pages that visitors use frequently but may be buried in the page
navigation. You can, for example, link to a careers page, the site map
page, a business hours and location information page, and a Contact Us
page.
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Most people do not read every word on a Web page; instead, they scan
it. With only a few seconds to grab the attention of your visitor, you
have to decide what information your visitors are looking for, and make
that information prominent.
Make each page “scannable.” Using large,
unbroken blocks of text is a sure way to lose your visitors' interest.
Break up your information into smaller chunks by writing short
paragraphs using only one or two sentences, creating bulleted lists, or
bolding important information within a block of text.
Use pictures. A photo or other graphic can
communicate lots of information quickly. The picture should be
immediately recognizable and convey your message at the same time. And
don't hesitate to use the picture as a link to more information. For
information about adding pictures to your Web site, see the following
demo.
Watch the demo (3:29)
Speak the language of your customers. Don't
let industry jargon or highly technical terms that your visitors may
not understand appear in your content.
Answer your visitors' questions. Make sure
that the content on each page addresses the information your Web site
visitors
expect to see discussed. For example, a Contact Us page should have
all of the ways a person can find you: phone numbers, e-mail addresses,
street address, driving directions, and when you are available.
Redundant links are okay. If content is
pertinent to several areas of your Web site, be sure that visitors can
access it. Include links to the information, either on the navigation
bar or through an inline link. Your goal is to make sure visitors can
find what they need, when they need it. That could mean, for example,
having multiple links to the same page from different areas on a single
page
(a navigation bar link and an inline link).
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Now that you have the structure of your Web site, you can start
working on the visual aspects.
For more information about creating
visually attractive Web sites, see the following articles:
Getting started with your Web site
First steps to a more attractive Web site
Lay out a better Web page
Using pictures on your Web site
Increase visual interest with a slide show
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