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Web Site Starter Kit
Author: Shane McLaughlin (more by this author)
Source: inc.com, April 04, 2000

Here's a good companion to the e-commerce article. This piece rounds up of the best how-to and resource content at inc.com to help you get started with your small business web site. Shane McLaughlin, the author, is our producer for Sohodojo content on inc.com.

You've surfed so many sites that were hard to navigate, slow to load, and littered with typos once you finally arrived. Now you want to build a Web site for your business — and you want it to please, not frustrate, your customers.

First, you need a domain name and a vision of what you want your Web site to accomplish. Do you want to sell online? Or attract potential customers for your offline business? In either case, you need well-written, useful content, a talented designer who understands your business, and a technical expert who can test the performance of your site on different browsers and operating systems.

Here's a roundup of our favorite articles on the nuts and bolts of building your own Web site.

Learn from Winners -- and Losers
The Best of the Small Business Web
Inc. Technology honors 20 sites that look great, make money, offer dazzling service, and do their owners proud.

Seven Myths of the Web Economy
Inc. magazine looks at seven e-commerce myths and the entrepreneurs who bought into them. Web experts critique the seven case studies to help you learn from others' mistakes.

What's in a Name?
Naming Your Business in the Information Age
Before you go online, you should make sure to find an address on the Web that resonates with all your potential customers.

Choose Your Words Carefully
The Importance of Vertical Content
You may have the greatest information in cyberspace, but a user-hostile experience will send visitors away faster than an e-mail chain letter. Organizing content in vertical packages can help users navigate your site.

Consult with Users about Content
The best Web sites are always works in progress, but yours can turn into a virtual money pit if you're not careful. Prelaunch research can mean all the difference.

Proofread Your Content
Spelling and grammar mistakes on your Web site reflect poorly on your company — and may turn away potential customers.

Design for a Visual Medium and Busy Users
Online 101: Finding a Web Site Designer
What questions to ask and how to set a budget when you start looking for an outside Web designer. Excerpted from Growing Your Business Online: Small-Business Strategies for Working the World Wide Web, by Phaedra Hise (Henry Holt, 1996).

Design Your Web Pages for Fast Loading
Time is of the essence on the Web. Don't make your visitors wait.

Design Your Web Site for Users
Here's the process of site building in a nutshell: Assemble a good team; state the purpose of your site; organize your site for your users; make your site easy to navigate; document your work; reevaluate your site regularly.

Review the Look and Feel of Your Site
Check everything: your graphics, how your site looks in all browsers, and how it appears on different computer operating systems with various monitor resolutions.

Attracting Traffic, Conducting Market Research, and Bringing Users Back
Why Your Web Site's Rank Matters
A top 10 ranking on a hot search engine can lead more traffic to your site than an expensive online advertising campaign — while costing you nothing.

Pumping Your Visitors for Information
Finding out about who's coming to your site is crucial to being successful online. Barring new technology that turns PCs into two-way mirrors, here are the best ways to get the skinny on your visitors.

Create Your Own Value-Added Services
Give something away at your site. Whether it's free shipping or advice, your users will appreciate the extra effort.

Selected Resources
Web Development Matchmaker
Whether you need a banner ad, an animation, or an entire Web site, you can use this database to find providers of Web development and design services based on your own criteria.

Search for a Domain Name
Is your business name available? Look in this global database of all .com, .org, and .net addresses.

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