Your website will be part of a prospective customer's initial impression of you and your business, and therefore, it must represent you with quality and professionalism. As a component of your overall marketing strategy, your site should reflect your business and current marketing presentation. Like your brochures and other print materials, your website should attract favorable attention for its quality and professionalism.

If you stop to think about it, you wouldn’t have just anyone create your company’s marketing materials or prepare your tax statements. Why would you have an amateur create your website? As the Internet becomes increasingly important as a communications tool, it is vital that your web developer can successfully communicate your message and style, and create an effective experience for your site visitors.

What does it take to achieve success on the web? What are the most important steps to make that happen?

• If you want your website to have a unique domain name, you have to check to see if it is available. Go to www.internic.net to see if your preferred domain name is already registered.
• Create a budget for your website. In considering costs, remember that a website is a complex matrix of text and images and a professional execution is very important. Include costs for advertising and promotion. In general, a larger investment brings greater returns. You can also grow and expand your website gradually to spread your investment over time.
• Determine the purpose of your website. Does this purpose support the mission and vision for your company? Without a clear idea of the purpose for your website, you may sink resources into a project that doesn’t meet your needs. If you know the results you intend to achieve, you can create a website to achieve those results.
• Consider the layout and design of your website. Is it easy to use? Quick to download? Can visitors find information? Does it meet their needs and expectations? An effective website provides a reason for the visitor to return. This reason can take the form of unique and regularly updated information, useful resources, or ways to communicate with you or with other who have similar interests. If it suits your purpose, you can use your website to build relationships and communities with your Internet audience.
• Promote your site by posting it to search engines such as Lycos, Yahoo, and Excite. There are 20-30 main search engines, and hundreds of smaller or specialized ones. Include your website address on all your marketing materials, business cards, and advertising; paint your address on the side of a company vehicle. You may also consider hiring a publicist to help you get the word out.
• Although planning and preparation steps are necessary, do launch your website now. The sooner you get on the Internet, the sooner you can start leveraging its benefits. If you are in an industry which isn’t widely represented on the Internet, you’ll start off with a larger market share. Start your Internet presence today!