For Your Small Business (NAPSA)—Experts say the Weh has greatly leveled the economic playing field between big and small businesses. That may be because well conceived Websites let companies qualify sales leads, efficiently page of a site should provide consistent navigation anda link back to the home page. & Submit the site to search engines and Web directories to drive traffic. Listing a site is one of the simplest and most effective sent polished, professional images to the outside world—regardless to a home page. 7. Give customers a reason to come back. The most suc- share information with prospects, customers and partners and pre- ways to drive traffic (customers) of their size. Unlike a brochure, Websites caneasily be updatedto promote a company’s latest product, sale or program. The good news is that Web professionals say an effective Web site can be a virtual breeze to build. Just follow ten steps: 1. Take control of the pracess. Those who know a business best should take the most active roles in designing its site. Recently, do-it-yourself Web building services such as Homestead Professional have helped make a complex process more simple. Such services have made it possible for business owners with limited technical knowledge to build professional looking sites—-without hiring a costly Web designer or learning complicated sofiware-—-in a matter of hours. Tip: Business owners who choose to design their sites using service provided templates should be sure the template reflects what makes their businesses special Omany tenyplates do not}. 2. Understand the costs before starting. There are three main components of getting a Web site started: design, hosting and Web site address registration. Business owners ray be able to cessful business sites on the Web Clear, well-designed Web pages can help smail businesses compete with larger companies. make their sites more economical if they use services that can consolidate these components for them. 3. Get a customized Web address. Customized Web addresses can help show customers that a company is serious ahout doing business. Most online Web building services let businesses buy addresses or domain narnes for their sites. Tip: Services that include Web site addresses with their monthlyfees can save businesses time and money. 4, Make Web sites a twaway communication tool. It’s a good idea for business owners to use Web services that let them interact with customers through polls or e-mail newsletter lists. This can make customers feel more connected to a company. . Create consistent, casy to download home pages. Companies can give visitors faster access to their sites if large bmages and sharp photos are kept off their home pages. In addition, each frequently update their home pages (about once a week). Tip: Some small businesses makethe mistake of building a site that is hard to change. Companies should consider online services that let them easily update their sites. 8 Know where traffic comes from. Some onlineservices offer built-in tracking features that give information about how manyusers visit a site and howthey find it. This information can help business owners drive more traffic to their sites. $. Keep site copies short and to the point. Main pages should be written with short, sen- tences and paragraphs. More detailed information should be available as well, but not on the main page. 10, Share a company’s Web address. Coxnpanies with their Web address incorporated into their corporate and promotional materials are often more easily accessible online for customers, partners and prospects. For roore information on Web pages, visit www. professional. homestead.com.
