|
These pages are no longer updated but are maintained as a courtesy. Inclusion
on this page does not imply endorsement by Cairril.com.
INTERNET STATISTICS SITES
CyberAtlas
NUA
NetFactual
Internet Retailer
Jupiter Research
WHY YOU NEED A WEB SITE
Does Your Business Need a Web Site?
In most cases, the answer is “yes.” Here’s why.
Web Site Analysis
From Action Plan Marketing. Includes
a survey to determine effectiveness of your existing site.
MAKING A STICKY SITE
Need to get noticed?
Quick overview of options to increase stickiness
E-commerce
stickiness
MailWerkz focuses on customer needs
Top 10 ways to make
your site into a marketing hub
Scroll down to the center of the page for great tips on getting the most
out of your site. (Plug: "More
Clients" e-zine is highly recommended!)
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Nameboy.com
Domain name generator—great for exploring options
Web hosting
See "Your ISP" for links to local and national web hosting providers
Find the host with
the most
Things to look for when shopping for a web server host
EVALUATION
Top 10
signs your site needs an overhaul
Some humorous tips rooted in solid knowledge of what it takes to be taken
seriously on the web
Optimize your homepage
for first-time visitors
Is your homepage user-friendly for first-time visitors? This article helps
you evaluate it.
Jakob Nielson’s Usability Site
The best-known usability guru offers valuable reports and advice on usability
issues
TERMINOLOGY
Deciphering
Internet jargon
Hits, PPC, PPL, CPA—these and many more explained
E-COMMERCE
Myths and Realities
Written for large corporations in 1998, this article still makes many
relevant points
Four
myths of online retailing
From making your site sticky to ensuring your product is conducive to
web selling
Create a
site that makes people want to buy
E-commerce resource hub
About.com’s e-commerce section
HIRING & BUDGETING
Choosing a Web Designer
Our overview of how to hire a web designer, including questions to ask
in interviews
Web Price Index
Average fees for a variety of web services
DESIGN: GO WITH A PROFESSIONAL
[Excerpted with permission from "More Clients: Web Sites that Magnetize
Clients" by Robert Middleton,
Action Plan Marketing]
Good Design
There’s good news and bad news about this area. The good news is
that for a fairly reasonable fee you can get someone to design a very
attractive site for you. The bad news is that most Independent Professionals
aren’t willing to invest that modest amount. They hire their next
door neighbor’s teenage son, or worse, themselves to design their
sites.
The results are disastrous. It would be better not to have a website
at all than to have a poorly designed one. Tell me, would you go to a
high-level networking event poorly groomed and
dressed in sloppy clothing? Your prospects would write you off before
they even shook your hand. The same goes for a website. Your prospect
looks and then clicks off in a matter of seconds.
So where’s the economy in poor design? There isn’t any. A
poorly designed site is costing you money every single day.
How much should Independent Professionals pay for a good, attractive site?
The ballpark is between $1,500 to $3,000. You might be lucky and get a
good one for less, and you certainly could pay a lot more. But that price
range should work for most.
By the way, the most expensive site is the one you develop yourself. Usually
a colossal mistake. First, unless you’re already a designer, it
just isn’t going to have the impact of a professional design. Second,
if you do manage to learn design web development, your learning curve
will be very high. Several hundreds of hours is what it will take to get
a site that really does the job. Can you afford that time?
|
