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i-way
newsletter
February
2004
10 Tips for a Better Web Site in 2004
Now that you've got the business year
underway, see how you can improve your web site for 2004. There are two
important reasons for doing this now:
 | Can your customers find you?
Your web site is now competing for attention with those of hundreds of
thousands of other businesses. |
| Are you losing out to online
competitors? Most of your
competitors now have web sites. Will your customers desert you? |
Here are 10 Tips to help you to
improve visibility and customer loyalty. Score 5 or less? Give priority to
investing now in improvements!
- Well thought out, tight focus
Be
very clear of your web site's aims, and how it will achieve them.
- Good understanding of your customer
What do customers want from your web site? How will they use it?
- What outcomes would you like?
What
would you like from a customer visit? Awareness of your business? An order?
Build in a web strategy to achieve these, with targets too.
- Clear message,
easy to find content Communicate clearly! Write clear, short messages.
And make information easy to find.
- Ensure your ISP or web hosting
company is providing reliable 24/7 fast access to your web site
- Look at competitor web sites
Are they a threat? Are there some good ideas there? Borrow them!
- Invite a response
Provide an enquiry or order form, a newsletter sign up. And respond promptly!
- Value add
.
Reward online customers - give them special privileges: early notice of
specials, or discounts. Have free downloads of product sheets or catalogues.
- Promote, promote
Constantly
promote your web site and e-mail addresses. What are your search engine
rankings?. Improve them!
- Sensitive to customer needs for
privacy and security
These
days, everyone is cautious about providing personal and financial details.
Reassure them with privacy and security policies. Always use SSL security with
sensitive information.
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