As we've discussed in the last two issues, developing a corporate
website can be a stressful process; therefore, setting up parameters
from the onset is critical to success. Today we'll review the final
steps of company website development.
Finalize Site
Once you've gotten the necessary approvals, look and feel finalized, and
all copy edited, you must do three things: review,
review, and review
again. Proof a minimum of three times, and have others proof the site as
well. It's very embarrassing to go live with errors or typos. And you'll
hear about them if you do - be advised.
Once you have proofed and signed off on your site, all files then go to
your HTML programmer for implementation. It is again critical to proof all
navigation once you have a beta site ready to review. Tip: Make sure
that when you click the 'back' and 'forward' buttons from each page that
you go to the page you expect. And, more importantly, make sure that the
page looks exactly as it did when you left it, as well. Try every button.
And depending on what type of business you are in and what type of hits
you expect, make sure that your website is compatible with both
PCs and MACs. While these platforms are now supposed to be seamless, you'd be
surprised at how many bugs can arise when programming for both
environments.
Be
sure to secure a web traffic solution that can give you insights into your
web traffic patterns. Implement it as you go live so you can have
historical data from day one.
And finally, before launching the site to the world, ask friends and
family from different regions and areas of expertise to view your site.
Ask them basic questions regarding the site: Is it user friendly?
Intuitive? Do they know what your company does now that they've been
exposed to your site? Does it offend them in any way? Sound like obvious
questions, but I am consistently amazed at how many sites don't meet these
basic criteria.
Monitor Daily
Do
celebrate the fact that your site has gone live, but in many ways consider
it your office plant. It needs to be cared for every day, nurtured,
pruned, and then and only then, will it reach its potential. And, keep in
mind that this process will take a long, long time.
Also, start getting reports on web traffic as soon as they become
available. It's important to figure out where on the site people are
spending time, and if there are patterns to their behavior. This will help
you when you revise your site down the road, as well as provide you with
short-term advantages. This is obviously more critical if you are a
commercial site, but it's just as important if your site is designed for
brand awareness and credibility.
And make sure that you develop a plan for updating the site on a regular
basis. For example, if you have a news section on your home page, map out
a PR program for the next twelve months and stick to it. Commit to putting
up 4-5 press releases a quarter. Monitor developments and post them on a
timely schedule. You'll soon realize that you'll drive web traffic to your
site based on when news is anticipated.
Search Engine
Marketing
Always keep in mind search engine impact when designing your site,
especially when writing copy and navigational/link naming. In the ideal
world, you should optimize first, then finalize copy.
To
secure first page or top positioning in search engine findings is a
science as much as an art. It requires placing descriptors in meta tags on
your website's pages so that a match can be made between the search engine
and your site. These key words also need to appear in the
body text of
your pages, and in links to your site.
Work with your programmer to develop your meta tags only after
you've secured a list of key words you want used on your site. These must
speak to your company's products and/or differentiators, and should be
phrases people actually search for. It takes a while for the search
engines to update the searches. In some cases, it may make sense to submit
your pages to certain search engines. And remember, the more hits you get
on your site, the higher your ranking on the engines - so think long and
hard about the key words you want to use.
Good luck with your
website development! If you want additional information, the MarCom Acumen
Guidebook and Toolkit includes a website project plan as well as an
Executive Interview with renowned web designer Daniel Tiburcio whose
websites include The White House and Weber Grill, to name a few.
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When the contract is over with a rental property, you have no monetary
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