Planning, Developing, and Promoting Successful Small Business Websites

Table of Contents

After the initial planning phase, the actual technical work begins. A website should be an accurate portrayal of the business that it is representing. According to a recent study done by Dr. B.J. Fogg at Stanford University, almost 50% of people determine the credibility of a website by its’ design (Fogg, 2002, consumerwebwatch.org) This statistic establishes the importance of quality design when creating a website. Gaining credibility is an essential part of any business model and neglecting to create a professional design for a business website is ludicrous. Properly developing a site means prioritizing the considerations of the planning phase, and working within the given guidelines.

The design and development phase of creating a successful website should focus on catering a site to the needs of the target audience. Some of the ways that a website is designed and developed to fulfill the needs of the target market are by writing the website code, balancing form and function, planning for the promotion phase, and testing for usability. The design and development phase is where theory meets action. The actual code writing of a website can be difficult, but the initial planning saves time by reducing mistakes and giving the site a much longer “shelf life”.

Appendices
(All in a single document) Appendix 1-1: Overture Search Term
Research Tool

Appendix 1-2: Wordtracker Search Query Research Tool

Appendix 1-3: Google Sets Website Theme Research Tool

Appendix 1-4: Reach/ Acquire/ Convert/ Retain

Chart Appendix 2-5: Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth Information Architecture Flowchart

Appendix 2-6: Search Engine Themes Pyramid Information Architecture Example

Appendix 2-7: Webpage Download Time by File Size Chart

Appendix 2-8: Expected Locations for Common E-commerce Elements

Appendix 2-9: Website Usability Checklist

Appendix 2-10: Text Vs.Code Ratio/ Content Near the Top of Souce Code Examples

Appendix 3-11: Overture Bid Price Tool

Appendix 3-12: Webalizer Website Visitor Tracking Tool

Appendix 3-13: AW STATS Website Visitor Tracking Tool Appendix

3-14: Clicktracks Website Statistics
Analysis Tool

References
Author Notes

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Planning, Developing, and Promoting Successful Small Business Websites Table of Contents

Planning, Developing, and Promoting a Successful Small Business Website

Website Design and Development Page 20

Design and Development Overview

Planning, Developing, and Promoting Successful Small Business Websites

Table of Contents