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The most important step in building a internet presence is planning. You must know who you want to attract to your site and what will keep them there and coming back.
Architecture:
Having an intuitive site is very important and that is accomplished with the navigation of your site. The information you provide must be classified and grouped in such a way that your visitors understand. The navigation is a map of your site and much like a road map, everything must be identified clearly else they will get lost and frustrated and simply go elsewhere.
Content:
Without content you don't have a website. That content must provide the information your visitors seek. It is not just about reproducing your printed brochure. The internet allows you to go into details and entice these visitors further. Where once upon a time people went from store to store to compare, now they do it from the comfort of their homes. Your site must appeal to them so that they will contact or visit you for products and/or services. The content must be kept up to date as an outdated site appears to be abandoned. The content should also be kept fresh to ensure visitors have something new see every so often.
Design:
Every Website should be designed to reflect the uniqueness of your business. It must also keep in mind its audience. An internet presence for a modest home-based marmalade company cannot be built the same way as one for an up and coming rock and roll band. It must be given its own personality and that cannot be accomplished by the cut and paste method of pre-made templates.
A site must be aesthetically pleasing, no doubt. It adds to the experience of visiting your site. Accomplishing this can be done many ways, but the best way is the one that suits who you are and pleases your target audience. There are many "cool" effects that can enhance your site and each should be evaluated individually. Your website budget must be spent wisely and that is done by providing the information your clients seek first. The dancing teddy bear will be money wasted as once its novelty wears off, the client will have no incentive to return to your site if you haven't addressed their questions.
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