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		<title>5 Criteria for Using Third Party Apps and Plugins &#8230; for Business</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/best-practices-using-third-party-apps-and-plugins/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/best-practices-using-third-party-apps-and-plugins/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:41:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Software Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[application]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[best practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[third party]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[web application]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.websmithgroup.com/?p=1904</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There are many third party tools, applications, and plugins available that will allow you to enhance your web application or improve your website usability. It is tempting to select the most popular free tool available because of the number of existing users and largely due to the fact that it&#8217;s free. However, you should take [...]]]></description>
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			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmithgroup.com%2Fblog%2Fweb-development-tips%2Fbest-practices-using-third-party-apps-and-plugins%2F"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmithgroup.com%2Fblog%2Fweb-development-tips%2Fbest-practices-using-third-party-apps-and-plugins%2F&amp;source=websmithgroup&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly" height="61" width="50" /><br />
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<div id="attachment_1905" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-1905" href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/best-practices-using-third-party-apps-and-plugins/attachment/istock_000008206743small/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1905" title="iStock_000008206743Small" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/iStock_000008206743Small-300x198.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="198" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Take Caution When Selecting 3rd Party Tools</p></div>
<p>There are many third party tools, applications, and plugins available that will allow you to enhance your web application or improve your website usability.  It is tempting to select the most popular free tool available because of the number of existing users and largely due to the fact that it&#8217;s free.  However, you should take caution when selecting third party tools, particularly tools that your website or application are dependent on to function properly.   The following  set of criteria should be considered when selecting a third party application to integrate with your business web site or web application.</p>
<h3>1.  The Vendor</h3>
<p>Be sure to research the vendor or person that developed the tool.   Is this a well established vendor?   What is their area of expertise?  If the tool was created by a freelancer or single developer, learn more about their development background.   This is important in determining if you are using a product created by a professional development firm or person vs. using a product created by a hobbyist.  While there are some really awesome third party tools created by &#8220;hobbyist&#8221;, there&#8217;s a greater chance that the tool can/will be abandoned when the developer becomes overwhelmed with requests or loses interest in supporting the product.</p>
<h3>2.  The Pricing Model</h3>
<p>If the tool is provided for free, determine how the vendor or developer will make money on the product.  If tons of individuals are using the product, for free, how does the vendor pay for development and technical support?  If there&#8217;s not a clear business model, there&#8217;s a greater chance that support of the product will be abandoned when the vendor becomes overwhelmed with requests and/or realizes that they can not earn money supporting the tool.   Also, the cliche&#8217; &#8220;you get what you pay for&#8221; applies; if no one is paying for the tool either directly or indirectly, then it&#8217;s safe to assume that the vendor is donating their &#8220;limited&#8221; time and resources.</p>
<h3>3.  The Technical Support</h3>
<p>How does the vendor provide technical support for the tool?  Is there a user guide, training video or knowledge base available?  Are the technical support tools up to date?  Does the vendor provide a phone number or email address for technical support issues?  What is the expected response time for service tickets?  These are important issues to consider because as a business, you don&#8217;t want to have a site or application dependent on a product that has no reliable technical support model in place.  What happens if the product breaks?  Can someone in your organization provide a solution?  Or are you dependent on the vendor for technical support?  You should avoid using third party tools that have no clear technical support model in place; otherwise you will need to determine if someone else can effectively maintain the third party application if the vendor is not available.</p>
<h3>4.  The Level of Security</h3>
<p>Before selecting a third party tool, determine what security measurements the vendor has in place to protect your company’s &#8220;environment&#8221;, in respect to your information and data?  You will want to ensure that the third party tool does not display vulnerabilities that would provide hackers and malware to access your environment.</p>
<h3>5.  The Risk</h3>
<p>Determine the business processes that would be impacted by this third party product.  What business processes are impacted if the product is inoperative or unavailable?  Also consider if sensitive data is impacted.   You will want to access the real risk of using the tool; the higher the risk to your business, the higher the standard you will use to evaluate the vendor(s) and their product.</p>
<div class="shortcode alert"><div class="icon">Was this helpful? If so, remember to “Like” and/or Retweet this article. Also, remember to <a href="http://eepurl.com/6zFU" target="_blank">Subscribe to Websmith Group via Email</a> or Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/WebsmithGroup" target="_blank">RSS</a>!</div></div>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Your Web Project:  8 Ideas to Generate Buzz BEFORE Your Launch Date</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/your-web-project-ideas-to-generate-buzz-before-your-launch-date/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/your-web-project-ideas-to-generate-buzz-before-your-launch-date/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:40:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Software Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[application development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[buzz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[launch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[promotion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[web application]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.websmithgroup.com/?p=1864</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Your web project development is completed!   You are visualizing the thousands upon thousands of new customers and clients that will sign up upon realizing that your launch date has arrived.   However, you may realize quickly that marketing your new web application or website is an entirely different animal from implementing it.  If you [...]]]></description>
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			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmithgroup.com%2Fblog%2Fweb-development-tips%2Fyour-web-project-ideas-to-generate-buzz-before-your-launch-date%2F"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmithgroup.com%2Fblog%2Fweb-development-tips%2Fyour-web-project-ideas-to-generate-buzz-before-your-launch-date%2F&amp;source=websmithgroup&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly" height="61" width="50" /><br />
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<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-1865" href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/your-web-project-ideas-to-generate-buzz-before-your-launch-date/attachment/istock_000010316568xsmall/"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1865" title="iStock_000010316568XSmall" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/iStock_000010316568XSmall-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a>Your web project development is completed!   You are visualizing the thousands upon thousands of new customers and clients that will sign up upon realizing that your launch date has arrived.   However, you may realize quickly that marketing your new web application or website is an entirely different animal from implementing it.  If you haven&#8217;t a marketing strategy in place already, you may experience some anxiety shortly following your launch, as you listen to the crickets chirping in your area of the internet.   Hopefully, you will have allocated some of your resources (time/money) toward developing a long-term marketing plan for your project.  However, here are a few ideas to generate some initial buzz and interest in your project:</p>
<h2>Pre-Launch:  Activities for Generating Buzz</h2>
<p>If you&#8217;re approaching your implementation deadline, don&#8217;t wait until the deadline date arrives before announcing your project.  You will want to generate some initial interest in your project before your launch date (but not too far in advance).  As you make your announcement, you will want to focus on how your project will benefit your target audience.  You need your target audience to look forward to the launch date because they&#8217;ve determined that your new project will provide some value to them.  There are many methods for generating interest prior to your initial launch:</p>
<h3>1.    Social Media</h3>
<p>Select the social media tools used most by your target audience and create a profile for your project.  It&#8217;s not enough to simply create a profile; you will want to connect (friend/fan/follow/fav) with the individuals and organizations that meet your target profile.  Then, use your account to provide more preliminary information about your project and to announce the launch date.</p>
<h3>2.   Press Release</h3>
<p>It may be necessary to also submit a press release, which provides more information about your project and announces the launch date.  You will want to ensure that the press release is distributed in a publication that your target audience will generally read.</p>
<h3>3.   Leverage Your Existing Mailing List</h3>
<p>If you have an existing mailing list, you will definitely want to inform subscribers of your new project.  These individuals have already expressed some interest in your organization.  You may want to designate one mailing to announcing the project and ask that your subscribers &#8216;forward&#8217; the message to any organizations or individuals that they feel would be interested in learning more.</p>
<h3>4.  Coming Soon &#8230; </h3>
<p>Create a web site with a descriptive and professional coming soon page.  The coming soon page need only be one page, but it should be professional in design; you don&#8217;t want to turn people off before you get started.  Also, the page should provide a compelling description of the final product and should be setup to collect contact information (email) from individuals that would like to be notified when the project has launched.</p>
<h3>5.   Blog About It</h3>
<p>If you don&#8217;t already have a blog for your project, create one or identify an area on your existing blog to promote the project.  You can use this as an opportunity to provide information on the progress of the project and to remind your visitors of the launch date.  Also, you can use your blog to gather contact information from individuals that would like to be notified via email once your project has launched.</p>
<h3>6.   Your Email Signature</h3>
<p>Your email signature is a great way to constantly remind your existing network of your launch date.   You can designate a line in your email signature for a &#8216;Coming Soon&#8217; message.  You should describe the project briefly, but in enough detail that entices your contacts to click for more details.</p>
<h3>7.  Have a (Virtual) Pre-Launch Party</h3>
<p>Identify a date and time prior to your public launch to allow a select group of visitors to login and check out the finished project in advance.  You may want to provide free snacks (gifts) for individuals that attend the pre-launch party and provide their feedback.  You can use this as an opportunity to gain some real world feedback; there may be issues you can address prior to the real public launch.  However, you will now have identified an audience of individuals that were interested enough in your project to attend your pre-launch.</p>
<h3>8.   Local Organizations</h3>
<p>With so much activity around the internet, it is easy to forget tried and true offline methods.  Contact your local networking groups regarding opportunities to promote your project at their events or in their communications with members.  Pay close attention to the characteristics of members in the organization; you will want to ensure that you&#8217;re reaching your targeted audience.</p>
<div class="shortcode notice"><div class="icon">Was this helpful?  Do you have any ideas to add?  Provide your feedback in the comments area.  Also, remember to <a href="http://eepurl.com/6zFU" target="_blank">Subscribe to Websmith Group via Email</a> or Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Twitter</a>or <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/WebsmithGroup" target="_blank">RSS</a>!</div></div>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Building on shaky ground: Top 8 Web Structural Issues</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/building-on-shaky-ground-top-8-website-structural-issues/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/building-on-shaky-ground-top-8-website-structural-issues/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:28:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[best practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mistakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[structural]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.websmithgroup.com/?p=929</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Everyone has big dreams and goals for their businesses. And in today’s economy many organizations depend on their websites to grow their business. Before you invest a lot of your hard earned money on a new website or on fancy website enhancements, ensure that your website is built on a firm foundation. Covering the basics [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-right: 10px;">
			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmithgroup.com%2Fblog%2Fweb-development-tips%2Fbuilding-on-shaky-ground-top-8-website-structural-issues%2F"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.websmithgroup.com%2Fblog%2Fweb-development-tips%2Fbuilding-on-shaky-ground-top-8-website-structural-issues%2F&amp;source=websmithgroup&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly" height="61" width="50" /><br />
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<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-931" title="iStock_000010669702XSmall" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/iStock_000010669702XSmall-300x199.jpg" alt="iStock_000010669702XSmall" width="200" />Everyone has big dreams and goals for their businesses.  And in today’s economy many organizations depend on their websites to grow their business.  Before you invest a lot of your hard earned money on a new website or on fancy website enhancements, ensure that your website is built on a firm foundation.  Covering the basics will ensure long term success.  Here are the top 8 website &#8220;structural issues&#8221; to avoid.</p>
<p> </p>
<h4>1.  A poorly defined business model</h4>
<p>This is the #1 structural issue that I’ve encountered regarding poorly performing small business websites and it has absolutely nothing to do with technology.  If you have not taken the time to research your industry, learn about current industry trends, know your competitors, and document your vision, you are setting yourself up for failure.  It is near impossible to build a website with an engaging customer interface if you can not clearly describe your ideal customers and indicate their wants, needs and expectations.  In this scenario, you may spend a lot of money on a visually stunning website that is out of touch with your target audience and existing industry trends.</p>
<p> </p>
<h4>2.  Goals that are not specific and/or can not be measured</h4>
<p>Your goals must be specific.  “I’d need to make money on this” is not a goal.  “I’d like to increase my monthly revenue by 20% within 3 months” is a goal.  “I need to obtain more leads” is not a goal.  “I need to obtain at least 100 qualified leads per month” is a goal.   Having specific and measurable goals is important in developing your website content and call to action areas.  If your goal is to increase your prospects, you know that in your design requirements you need to outline pages &amp; areas that are designed to support this goal.</p>
<p> </p>
<h4>3.  No method for measuring outcomes</h4>
<p>If you’re in business you must have a way to determine if you’re receiving a return on your investment.  If you have implemented a website enhancement that is intended to increase your monthly revenue by 20%, how do you know if it’s working?  You absolutely must use website analytic applications to measure your site performance.  A good web analytic package will indicate the number of website visitors, the number of visits per page, the average number of pages visited, shopping cart abandonment, where visitors are referred from and several other data points that are instrumental in determining if you’re spending your website budget wisely.</p>
<p> </p>
<h4>4.  Being cheap about the wrong things</h4>
<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-933" title="iStock_000010486436XSmall" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/iStock_000010486436XSmall-200x300.jpg" alt="iStock_000010486436XSmall" width="200" height="300" />There’s nothing wrong with being cheap.  I know many highly successful business owners that are “careful” with every dime they spend (and by dime, I mean penny).  Let’s face it, you can’t make money if you’re spending it all.  However, there are some things that you need to be willing to pay for.  For example, if your website requires secure payment or data transactions, you absolutely must spend the money necessary to ensure that your visitors data and financial information is protected.  This may require purchasing SSL certificates or housing data on a dedicated server.  It may seem like a great decision to be cheap about this initially, but it can come back to haunt you long-term (and by haunt, I mean destroy your business).</p>
<p> </p>
<h4>5.  Being lavish about the wrong things</h4>
<p>If you’re just implementing your website, you want to be careful to not spend a lot of resources on bells &amp; whistles.  Bells &amp; whistles are fun … and cool.  However, proceed with caution on spending too much of your budget on flair, unless you’ve done the necessary research and have a good sense of how this feature contributes to your bottom line.  This is particularly good advice for new websites.  If your site has been up &amp; running and you’re ready for your next enhancement, you should have enough data to support implementing new features.   Spend your money where it counts and not on ineffective and expensive gadgets.</p>
<p> </p>
<h4>6.  Lack of useful content</h4>
<p>The keyword here is “useful”.   You may have pages upon pages of words &amp; sentences, but are they useful to your audience?  Before you launch your website, you must ensure that the content is compelling and provides enough information for your visitors to make a decision on doing business with you.  Remember that you have about 10 seconds to convince a new visitor to stay on your site.   Your website copy is equally as important as the site design.</p>
<p> </p>
<h4>7.  Amateurish site design</h4>
<p>If you’re serious about your business, your website should reflect that.  Your visitors will judge your business on the site appearance.  It IS the first impression.  You may have a wonderful product or service and loads of great information that will never be found because new visitors left the site assuming that your business is not serious.</p>
<p> </p>
<h4>8.  Thinking that any hosting package or server will do</h4>
<p>Selecting an appropriate website hosting package is important for a number reasons.  The primary reason is that if your web server is offline, your site will be offline.  Therefore, this is one of the most important decisions you will make regarding your website.  You want to evaluate website hosting companies for reliability, support, server configurations &amp; available hardware, hosting features and backup services provided.  I realize that you may have an extra web server laying around the office, but if you do not have the personnel to maintain the server, you could spend tons more money than you would by outsourcing this service.  Also, web hosting companies SPECIALIZE in the business of hosting websites, therefore you may be best served by enlisting the services of the folks that do this for a living.  Also, I realize that there are free (or near) free hosting packages available, however those packages are not for everyone and you should ensure that your hosting package is the best package for YOUR business website.</p>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Podcast: Tips for Analyzing Competing Websites</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/resources/wsgpodcast/podcast-episode-1-tips-for-analyzing-competing-websites/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/resources/wsgpodcast/podcast-episode-1-tips-for-analyzing-competing-websites/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:01:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Podcast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[competitive analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/?p=375</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the causes of an unsuccessful business website is lack of planning and research.   In this show I will be identifying tips for researching your competitors.  This is an activity that you should perform prior to implementing a new website or new website enhancement.  This will ensure that your website remains competitive and among the top in your industry.]]></description>
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<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Gautami;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Gautami, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold;">EPISODE SUMMARY</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Gautami;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Gautami;">One of the causes of an unsuccessful business website is lack of planning and research.   In this show I will be identifying tips for researching your competitors.  This is an activity that you should perform prior to implementing a new website or new website enhancement.  This will ensure that your website remains competitive and among the top in your industry. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Gautami;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Gautami;"><a title="Download the Show Notes" href="/files/PodcastingNotesEp1.pdf" target="_blank">View/Download Show Notes</a> <img class="alignnone" title="Adobe PDF Document" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/images/ico-pdf.gif" alt="" width="20" height="20" /> </span></p>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Creating a Successful Small Business Website: The Final Signoff (Part 8 of 9)</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-8-of-9/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-8-of-9/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:11:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SMB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[success]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[testing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website advice]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/?p=282</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Signoff – When is Done Done NOTE: This the eighth segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small business website. If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success. Step 8 involves approving the [...]]]></description>
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<h2>The Signoff – When is Done Done</h2>
<div id="attachment_286" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-medium wp-image-286" title="The Final Signoff - Completing Your Project" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/istock_000004405846xsmall-300x225.jpg" alt="It is Done!" width="300" height="225" /><p class="wp-caption-text">It is Done!</p></div>
<p><em><br />
NOTE: This the eighth segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small business website.  If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success. Step 8 involves approving the final product for implementation.</em></p>
<p>During the testing phase, you should have accomplished the following:</p>
<ol>
<li>Resolved all glitches and technical issues that prevent your visitors from using the site as ‘intended’.</li>
<li>Updated the website to resolve any user interface (layout, functionality) issues that are critical to your site’s success.  For example, if during the testing phase, you learn that the most of your test users had a difficult time finding or using your website navigation area, you should definitely resolve this issue before ‘going live.’  These are the issues that cause your visitors to leave the site (due to confusion, error or annoyance).</li>
<li>Developed a listing of potential future enhancements.  You are certain to receive feedback on features that are not included in this initial implementation.  Create a “wish list” containing these items and plan to revisit them when you begin to plan for your next website enhancement.</li>
</ol>
<p>Now that you’ve completed the testing phase and received valuable feedback from your test group, it is time to signoff on the project and schedule the launch date.   The signoff process will vary depending on your website team or developer.  However, you should always state in writing that you approve of the final product and schedule the actual date that you would like to “go live”.</p>
<blockquote><p>NOTE:  “Go live” is basically a phrase to state that you’re ready to launch the website and make it available for public viewing.</p></blockquote>
<p>Resist the urge to launch the site if there are “loose ends” or other items to be completed.  “Loose ends” should either be completed during the development and testing phases or considered for the next phase.</p>
<p>It is done.  And it is not perfect.   Sounds weird, but it’s true.  If you’re having trouble checking the completion box because of the pesky wish list of cool &amp; suggested features, you will be happy to learn that most successful ventures are works in progress.   And if you’ve performed the following tasks, you’re ahead of the curve and on the path to success:</p>
<ul>
<li>Documented realistic goals &amp; objectives for this phase of the project.  This will help you target your marketing efforts more effectively.</li>
<li>Resolved any technical glitches or issues that prevent an effective user experience.   You want to maintain a high level of quality.</li>
<li>If you have stayed within or close to the original scope of your project, you should be within your budget and near your expected deadline.  This is important to ensuring that you’re not borrowing resources that could be used during the next enhancement phase.</li>
</ul>
<p>Once you’ve issued the final signoff, you have stated that the project is complete.    The next step is measuring the outcome of your project.    Congratulations!  It is done.<br />
<div class="shortcode notice"><div class="icon">ANNOUNCEMENT:  Subscribers will receive a FREE eBook containing extended versions of Steps 1 – 9, as well as accompanying worksheets for managing your project.  If you would like to receive the FREE ebook, join the <a title="Websmith Group Facebook Page" href="http://www.facebook.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Websmith Group Facebook Page</a> or <a title="Subscribe to the Websmith Group eNewsletter" href="http://websmithgroup.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=293938c06a599f655e0687785&#038;id=92d17c15b0" target="_blank">subscribe to our eNewsletter</a>.</div></div></p>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Creating a Successful Small Business Website: Testing the Final Product (Part 7 of 9)</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-7-of-9/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-7-of-9/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:02:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SMB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[success]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[testing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website advice]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/?p=168</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[TESTING &#38; CUSTOMER FEEDBACK NOTE: This the seventh segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small business website. If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success. Step 7 involves testing your final product. Testing [...]]]></description>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><strong></strong></p>
<div id="attachment_169" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-169" title="Your Web Project:  Testing &amp; Customer Feedback" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/istock_000006874525xsmall-300x225.jpg" alt="Your Web Project:  Testing &amp; Customer Feedback" width="300" height="225" /></strong><p class="wp-caption-text">Your Web Project:  Testing &amp; Customer Feedback</p></div>
<p><strong>TESTING &amp; CUSTOMER FEEDBACK</strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong></strong><em><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;">NOTE: This the seventh segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small business website.<span> </span></span></em><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;">If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success. Step 7 involves testing your final product.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;">Testing is an important phase for technology projects.<span> </span>The testing phase ensures that everything is working “as expected” and as identified in your project requirements.<span> </span>The technical team responsible for developing (coding) your website will test their code and interfaces for glitches and other issues.<span> </span>However, you should also perform some testing of your own.<span> </span>Be sure to carve out enough time to review the work completely.<span> Revisit your requirements document to ensure that all requirements were met.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;">Since the visitor experience is the most important, you should also enlist a small group of people to review the site.<span> </span>Ideally you would include a few current &amp; past customers.<span> </span>During <a title="Step 1:  Do Your Homework" href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/25/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-1-of-9/">Step 1</a><a title="Step 1:  Do Your Homework" href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/25/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-1-of-9/"> (Do Your Homework)</a>, it was recommended that you “survey your current and past customers regarding the features that they feel are most important to include on your future website or similar websites in your industry”.<span> </span>If you performed this step, you should enlist the same group to review the final product.<span> </span>Be sure to provide your test group with a brief document describing the site, as well as descriptions of any features and enhancements.<span> </span>This will give them some perspective regarding your intended final product.<span> </span>You will want to ask questions regarding:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;"><br />
</span></p>
<ol style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;">Their overall      experience using the site (layout, look &amp; feel, functionality).</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;">If they      experienced any technical issues or glitches while accessing the site.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;">Their feedback      on each new feature/enhancement.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;">Their      recommendations for future enhancements.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;">If they feel      that the new site or new site enhancement is an improvement and if it      increases their ability to do business with you.</span></li>
</ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;">Compile your feedback and the feedback of your test group and submit it to your website team/developer.<span> </span>For this phase of your project, you will want your technical team to focus on feedback received on user experience (question #1) and technical glitches experienced while testing (question #2).<span> </span>Issues related to questions #4 – 5 are for your records. <span> </span>You should use this information to plan the next phase of your project.<span> </span>If your test group requests future enhancements, don’t make the mistake in trying to implement the enhancements at this time unless you’re willing to utilize additional resources and time to implement the new features.<span> </span>If you decide that new features identified during your testing phase are important and should be implemented before you “go live”, meet with your website team to develop a new budget and timeline for implementing the new items (See <a title="Strategies for Reducing Website Costs &amp; Headaches" href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/03/21/8-strategies-for-reducing-your-website-development-costs-and-headaches-2/" target="_blank">Preventing Website Project Headaches &amp; Frustrations</a>).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="shortcode notice"><div class="icon">ANNOUNCEMENT:  Subscribers will receive a FREE eBook containing extended versions of Steps 1 – 9, as well as accompanying worksheets for managing your project.  If you would like to receive the FREE ebook, join the <a title="Websmith Group Facebook Page" href="http://www.facebook.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Websmith Group Facebook Page</a> or <a title="Subscribe to the Websmith Group eNewsletter" href="http://websmithgroup.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=293938c06a599f655e0687785&#038;id=92d17c15b0" target="_blank">subscribe to our eNewsletter</a>.</div></div></p>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Creating a Successful Small Business Website: Managing Your Progress (Part 6 of 9)</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-6-of-9/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-6-of-9/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:56:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SMB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[success]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website planning]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/?p=147</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NOTE: This the sixth segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small business website. If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success. Step 6 involves managing your progress. MANAGING YOUR PROGRESS Once you have [...]]]></description>
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<div id="attachment_148" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-medium wp-image-148" title="Managing Your Progress" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/istock_000007619327xsmall-300x214.jpg" alt="Managing Your Progress" width="300" height="214" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Managing Your Progress</p></div>
<p><em>NOTE:  This the sixth segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small  business website. </em>If you’re planning  to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this  series will help you improve your chances for success. Step 6 involves managing  your progress.</p>
<p><strong>MANAGING YOUR  PROGRESS</strong></p>
<p>Once  you have documented your website development goals, established the resources  needed to perform the work and decided on a deadline, you are ready to start  your project.  Here are a few tips for  ensuring that your project is progressing smoothly:</p>
<ol type="1">
<li><strong>Identify       milestones for your project</strong>.  Your       project milestones should represent the completion of a task, event or set       of activities.  You should work with       your project team to determine the most appropriate milestones for your       web development project.<br />
<blockquote><p>Here is an example of potential project  milestones using the sample project from Step 5:</p>
<p>Project Goals:  Create a new company website to provide  information about the company and classes available.  Allow customers to contact the company via  email, web form, etc.  Advertise  promotional products/special sessions.   Allow customers to subscribe to company newsletter</p>
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="78" valign="top">Milestone</td>
<td width="451" valign="top">Description</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="78" valign="top">1</td>
<td width="451" valign="top">Finalize    Website Content.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="78" valign="top">2</td>
<td width="451" valign="top">Requirements    Gathering &#8211; Gather/Identify design and user interface preferences.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="78" valign="top">3</td>
<td width="451" valign="top">Approve/Finalize    website design/layout</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="78" valign="top">4</td>
<td width="451" valign="top">Discuss    and approve the eNewsletter provider/vendor and signup for the appropriate    package(s).</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="78" valign="top">5</td>
<td width="451" valign="top">Development/Design    Phase – Complete programming all web files and scripts.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="78" valign="top">6</td>
<td width="451" valign="top">Review    and Testing – Complete the review &amp; testing of the final product.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="78" valign="top">7</td>
<td width="451" valign="top">Website    Implementation – Go live!     Implement/Copy the new/updated website files to the appropriate web    servers.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li><strong>Define       Projected Completion Dates for each Milestone</strong> &#8211; For each milestone, work with your website       team to identify a projected completion date.  It is important that the individuals       involved with each phase of the project have input in determining the       projected completion dates.  If you       determine the dates without consulting your team, you may find that you       have over or underestimated the level of effort required to complete the       tasks.  Also, if you are outsourcing       the work, you want to find out if your team is dedicated to your project       or juggling other projects as well.        Your team members should be able to articulate the level of effort       and project completion dates.  Be       sure to articulate your overall deadline for completing the project.  You will want to ensure that your       timeline allows you to complete the project AHEAD of schedule.</li>
<li><strong>Milestone Kick       Off Meeting</strong> &#8211; Schedule a meeting with the appropriate members of your team       to kick off each phase.  During this       meeting, you want to ensure that the team members have the information       that they need to start that phase of the project.  For example, if you’re approaching the       development phase, you want to ensure that you’ve approved the design and provided       all of the necessary content before that work begins.  There are certainly instances where       project phases can run in parallel, but in general you want to ensure that       you’ve completed all of the preliminary work prior to moving on to the       next phase.  You can build       inefficiencies into your project by skipping steps.  If you step the website finalization       phase and move on to the development phase, you may find that you’ve added       items to your content that requires that the design be modified or       revisited entirely.  This adds to       your timeline and could potentially increase your final website cost. (See       <a title="Reducing Web Development Costs and Headaches" href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/03/21/8-strategies-for-reducing-your-website-development-costs-and-headaches-2/" target="_blank">Reducing Your Website Project Costs and Headaches</a>)</li>
<li><strong>Milestone Check       In</strong> &#8211; Schedule a quick follow-up with the appropriate members of your team       shortly before each milestone’s projected completed date.   This       follow-up can be made via email or a quick phone call.  The purpose of the follow-up is to       determine if the milestone was completed on schedule.  If the activity is behind schedule, you       will want to modify your timeline for each of the subsequent tasks.  You could certainly attempt to keep the       subsequent phases scheduled as planned, but this tactic is generally a       failed effort … that is unless you enlist additional resources (people,       time) to ensure that you can stick to the original schedule.</li>
</ol>
<div class="shortcode notice"><div class="icon">ANNOUNCEMENT:  Subscribers will receive a FREE eBook containing extended versions of Steps 1 – 9, as well as accompanying worksheets for managing your project.  If you would like to receive the FREE ebook, join the <a title="Websmith Group Facebook Page" href="http://www.facebook.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Websmith Group Facebook Page</a> or <a title="Subscribe to the Websmith Group eNewsletter" href="http://websmithgroup.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=293938c06a599f655e0687785&#038;id=92d17c15b0" target="_blank">subscribe to our eNewsletter</a>.</div></div>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>10 Basic Components that Every Small Business Website Needs</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/10-basic-components-that-every-small-business-website-needs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/10-basic-components-that-every-small-business-website-needs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:20:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[foundation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SMB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/12/08/10-basic-components-that-every-small-business-website-needs/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; Be sure that you have the basics covered prior to launching a new web site or implementing new features to your website. Below are 10 basic components that every business website should have. This will ensure that your website has a solid foundation to build upon. 1. Page Titles Every page on your website [...]]]></description>
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<p style="float: right;">&nbsp;</p>
<div id="attachment_48" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-full wp-image-48" title="building300" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/building300.jpg" alt="10 Required Website Components" width="300" height="219" /><p class="wp-caption-text">10 Required Website Components</p></div>
<p>Be sure that you have the basics covered prior to launching a new web site or implementing new features to your website.    Below are 10 basic components that every business website should have.  This will ensure that your website has a solid foundation to build upon.</p>
<p><strong>1. Page Titles </strong></p>
<p>Every page on your website should include a title that  describes the content on that page.  This  is important for search engine optimization, as one of the items that search  engines considers when ranking your page is the page title.  Also, having descriptive page titles will  increase usability.  Your visitors may  have more than one web page open or decide to bookmark your page, therefore you  want to ensure that your page title accurately reflects the content of the  page.</p>
<p><strong>2. Meta Keywords</strong></p>
<p>Your web pages should include a “meta keyword” area that  provides a listing of keywords that accurately describe of the content on the  page. TIP: Select the keywords that you want the web  page to rank for in search engine results.   Although several of the top search engines are increasingly placing less  importance on this area, there are still some secondary search engines that  will consider your keyword listing when determining your search engine  placement.  The meta keywords statement  is placed in the header area of your website.   If you are working with a designer or webmaster, speak with them about  updating this area.</p>
<p><strong>3. Meta Description</strong></p>
<p>Your web pages should include a “meta description” area that  provides search engines with an accurate description of the content on the  page. Ensure that the meta description tags are descriptive, brief and contain  your relative keywords.  Some search  engines will use the meta description tag to describe your site when it appears  in search engine results.</p>
<p><strong>4. Professional Designed Web Pages</strong></p>
<p>Reputable small business websites have attractive, well  designed and well functioning user interfaces.   Compare your website to the top websites of competing companies in your  industry.  If you do not feel that your  website is professional or portrays an accurate representation of your brand,  you should consider a redesign.   Businesses with poorly designed or ineffective websites are often judged  as unprofessional or untrustworthy.  A  small business website does not need to be overly designed or display all of  the latest, hot new technologies, but you should ensure that your website does  not convey an unprofessional image.  Also,  remember that professional designed pages should be properly coded (validated)  and not include errors or other issues that will prevent the page from  displaying properly and functioning as intended.</p>
<p><strong>5. Contact Form </strong></p>
<p>A contact link should be on every page of your website.  You want to ensure that your visitors can  contact you easily with their questions or comments.  Keep the form simple.   You will want to allow space for the visitor  to input their feedback or question and you will also need a method for  responding to them (their email address).   If you include too many fields on the contact form, you may discourage  the visitor from connecting with you.   Only gather the information that you need to effectively answer their  question or respond to their feedback.</p>
<p><strong>6. Navigation </strong></p>
<p>Is your website navigation effective?  Your visitors should be able to quickly find  the information they need without effort.   When reviewing your navigation, ensure that the link titles are obvious.  Try not to be too creative with the website  navigation.  The link titles used should  reflect the terms that your customers use when describing your product or  service.</p>
<p>RESOURCE:  <a href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/03/15/revisiting-your-website-navigation/">Revisiting  your Website Navigation</a></p>
<p><strong>7. Website Analytics </strong></p>
<p>You should have access to your website statistics.  I recommend that every small business website  owner install Google Analytics on their website pages.  The Google Analytics application provides  detailed statistics on your website traffic.   You will need this information as you monitor your website marketing  efforts.  Also, website analytics can  reveal very helpful information about what’s working and (most importantly)  what’s not working for people that visit your site.</p>
<p>RESOURCE:  Sign-up for  Google Analytics <a href="http://www.google.com/analytics/sign_up.html">www.google.com</a></p>
<p><strong>8. Call to Action </strong></p>
<p>The average new website visitor remains on a site for less  than 10 seconds.  If you main objective  is to gain new subscribers, sell more widgets or register more event attendees,  allocate a prominent area on your website to display your “call to  action”.  This is the area where you are  asking your visitors to “do something”.   Be sure to indicate the benefit of taking this action; don’t simply  demand that they “buy now”, “subscribe now” or “attend this event”.   Indicate a few brief benefits to taking the  action and also provide a link to provide more detail about the product,  service or event.</p>
<p><strong>9. Customer Focused Content </strong></p>
<p>Ensure that you are providing the information that your  customers want and need in a clear and concise manner.  The average new website visitor remains on a  site for less than 10 seconds.  You don’t  have much time to convince visitors to buy a product or service, subscribe to a  newsletter or attend an event.  Visitors  that are new to your site should be able to determine who you are and what’s  service/product or information you’re providing in less than 10 seconds.  If the navigation area is effective, they  should be able to access all of the supporting information that they will need  to make a decision on whether to continue a business relationship with you and  your company.</p>
<p>RESOURCE:   Read <a href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/03/11/5-critical-questions-your-website-should-answer-in-10-seconds-or-less/">5  Critical Questions Your Website Should Answer in 5 seconds or less</a></p>
<p><strong>10. A method for staying connected </strong></p>
<p>If you have a business website, you will need a method for  staying connected to people that want to be notified of product/service  specials, new company news, upcoming events and other changes relevant to your  business.  There are many methods for  building a listing of people that want to stay informed about your business.  Two popular options are RSS feeds and email newsletters.  You can use either tool to build a listing of  customers and potential customers that want to learn more about your  service.  This strategy also increases  your repeat visitor rate, as you will have an opportunity to call previous  visitors back to your website.  Be sure  to inform your visitors regarding how often they can expect to hear from you  (ex: monthly, daily, weekly, or as new information comes in).  Also be sure to explicitly indicate if you  have any plans to redistribute their email addresses for other purposes or to  other companies (NOT recommended).</p>
<p>RESOURCES:  Learn more  about RSS and eNewsletters</p>
<ol>
<li>Read <a href="http://www.whatisrss.com/">What is RSS</a>?</li>
<li>Popular  eNewsletter Providers:  <a href="http://www.constantcontact.com/">Constant Contact</a>, <a href="http://www.icontact.com/">iContact</a>, <a href="http://www.aweber.com/">aWeber</a></li>
</ol>
<p><strong>NEXT:</strong></p>
<p>There will be a follow-up resource(s)  provided to assist you in evaluating your website for each of the 10 basic  components.  Please subscribe if you wish  to receive an automated notification when new resources are posted (See below for subscription options).</p>
<p><strong>Take Your  Pick!</strong></p>
<p><strong><img src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/images/rss_icon.jpg" alt="RSS" /> </strong>RSS:  You will be notified immediately when new  articles/resources are posted.  <a href="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=1137402&amp;loc=en_US">Click  to Subscribe to the RSS Feed</a>.</p>
<p><strong><img src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/images/newsletter_icon.jpg" alt="RSS" /> </strong>eNewsletter:  You will receive a monthly newsletter  summarizing all of the new items posted.   The eNewsletter also contains company news.  <a href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/signupb.html">Click to Subscribe to the  eNewsletter</a></p>
<p><em>NOTE:  Be sure to setup your email to allow emails  from <a href="mailto:info@websmithgroup.com">info@websmithgroup.com</a> as you  will receive a verification message to complete your subscription.</em></p>
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<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Creating a Successful Small Business Website: Identifying Your Resources (Part 5 of 9)</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-5-of-9/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-5-of-9/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:33:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SMB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[success]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website planning]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[NOTE: This the fifth segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small business website. If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success. In step 1, we covered the research and discovery phase. Step 2 [...]]]></description>
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<p style="float: right">
<div id="attachment_54" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-full wp-image-54" title="Identifying Your Website Resources" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/resources300.jpg" alt="Identifying Your Website Resources" width="300" height="300" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Identifying Your Website Resources</p></div>
<p><em>NOTE:  This the fifth segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small  business website. </em>If you’re planning  to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this  series will help you improve your chances for success. In step 1, we covered  the <a href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/25/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-1-of-9/">research  and discovery phase</a>.  Step 2 involved <a href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/27/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-2-of-9/">focusing  and prioritizing</a> your website development tasks.  Step 3 involves <a href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/28/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-3-of-9/">identifying  your goals</a> for your website.  Step 4  involves <a href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/12/03/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-4-of-9/">identifying  your barriers</a>.  Step 5 covers  identifying the resources that you will need to complete your project.</p>
<p><strong>IDENTIFY YOUR  RESOURCES </strong></p>
<p>Once  you’ve defined and prioritized the goals for your website project (step 2), you  will need to decide if your project should be covered in phases.</p>
<p><strong>1.  What is your budget?</strong></p>
<p>Once  you’ve stated your project focus, identified your goals and strategies for  overcoming your barriers, you will need to identify the resources that will  help you complete your project.  You will  first need to determine your project budget.   Unless money is no object, all website projects need a budget.   The project budget is the TOTAL amount that  you’re willing (and able) to spend to complete the work within your desired  timeframe.</p>
<p><strong>2.  Who‘s on your web  development team?</strong></p>
<p>You  should determine if you have the resources in-house or if you will need to  outsource some of all of the project work.    Draft a listing of people and organizations that can assist with your  project.  You may start by asking for  recommendations from other people in your network.</p>
<p><strong>3.  What’s your  deadline?</strong></p>
<p>As  a small business owner, tackling a large website development project with  limited time and resources will often create much frustration as you wait for  ‘everything to be finished’.   As you  define your deadline, be sure to determine why you’ve chosen your selected  deadline.  Is your deadline based on a  trade show or industry event (i.e.: you’d like to have a website enhancement  completed before the event)?  Is your  deadline based on an upcoming hosting contract expiration?  Avoid picking deadlines for “kicks and  giggles.”  Make sure that you have a  deadline that is realistic and allows for an appropriate development timeline.  The team that will assist with your project  will provide feedback if the deadline can not be met (based on your budget,  people resources and project scope).</p>
<p><strong>4.  Define your project.</strong></p>
<p>Depending  on your budget and available resources, you may decide to only focus on the  high priority items first, while covering the lower priority items in  subsequent phases.</p>
<p><strong>EXAMPLE </strong><em>- Here  is an example web development project plan for a technical/IT training company.</em></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Primary  Objective</span>:  Create a website for a technical/IT training  business.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Website  Goals</span>:  TIP:   The website goals should be those that are most important to creating an  effective user experience for your customers and potential customers visiting  your website.</p>
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<td width="66" valign="top"><span style="color: white;">Priority</span></td>
<td width="511" valign="top"><span style="color: white;">Goal</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="66" valign="top">1</td>
<td width="511" valign="top">Create    a new company website to provide information about the company and classes    available</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="66" valign="top">1</td>
<td width="511" valign="top">Allow    customers to contact the company via email, web form, etc.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="66" valign="top">1</td>
<td width="511" valign="top">Advertise    promotional products/special sessions</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="66" valign="top">1</td>
<td width="511" valign="top">Allow    customers to subscribe to company newsletter</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="66" valign="top">2</td>
<td width="511" valign="top">Allow    customers to register for courses online</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="66" valign="top">2</td>
<td width="511" valign="top">Allow    customers to view training videos online</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="66" valign="top">2</td>
<td width="511" valign="top">Allow    customers to pay for courses and purchase other products online</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="66" valign="top">2</td>
<td width="511" valign="top">Automated    notifications of assignments and other related course notifications</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="66" valign="top">3</td>
<td width="511" valign="top">Monetize    website by selling ad/banner space</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="66" valign="top">3</td>
<td width="511" valign="top">Create    a company blog to discuss the latest topics in the industry and build    additional website traffic</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="66" valign="top">3</td>
<td width="511" valign="top">Allow    training instructors to create their own subsites and training areas.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>In  this example, the organization is creating a new corporate website.  If the necessary resources are available  (time, money, people); the organization may decide to implement all of the  desired website goals before the initial rollout.   However, if time, money or resources are  limited, a phased approach may be necessary.   Since the desired features are already prioritized, the organization can  use this listing to determine what features are most important to be completed  during phase I.   Ideally, during phase I  development, the organization will identify additional resources, so that the  remaining phases can be scheduled shortly after the initial phase.</p>
<p>Use  your website goals and objectives listing to:   a) Decide if you will tackle your project in smaller phases and b)  Define the first phase and potential subsequent phases.  Using the example above, the training company  may decide to tackle their project in four phases:</p>
<ol type="1">
<li>Phase I:  All priority 1 items will be completed –       these items are related to ensuring that the company has a web presence       (since it’s a new site) and that the basic information needed for their       customers is provided on the new site.</li>
<li>Phase II:       Enhance the user experience.        Perhaps the company will decide to complete 2 of the 3 priority 2       items.  One of the items is related       to ecommerce (pay for courses and purchase other products online).  The company may decide to create a       separate project for implementing the ecommerce component.</li>
<li>Phase III:  Enhance the user experience with an       ecommerce implementation.   This is       the remaining priority 2 item “allow customers to pay for courses and       purchase other products online.”</li>
</ol>
<p>This  is a simple example of how you can evaluate and prioritize your website  goals.  Once you’ve made a decision on  what items will be completed during phase I, you should document your budget,  your desired time line and your project goals.    This is the document that you will provide to the team of people that  may assist with the implementation and development.</p>
<p>Using  a phased approached to your website projects is very helpful in determining if  you have the necessary resources for completing the project.   This also helps to define very clear and focused  goals for your project; which will help combat “scope creep”.  A phased website approach and well defined  project resources and goals will ensure that your website continues to evolve  as your business evolves.  You will be  aware of your progress as you move forward in implementing your ultimate vision  for your website.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
<blockquote><div class="shortcode notice"><div class="icon">ANNOUNCEMENT:  Subscribers will receive a FREE eBook containing extended versions of Steps 1 – 9, as well as accompanying worksheets for managing your project.  If you would like to receive the FREE ebook, join the <a title="Websmith Group Facebook Page" href="http://www.facebook.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Websmith Group Facebook Page</a> or <a title="Subscribe to the Websmith Group eNewsletter" href="http://websmithgroup.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=293938c06a599f655e0687785&#038;id=92d17c15b0" target="_blank">subscribe to our eNewsletter</a>.</div></div>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Creating a Successful Small Business Website: Recognizing Barriers (Part 4 of 9)</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-4-of-9/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-4-of-9/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:55:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SMB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[success]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website planning]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/12/03/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-4-of-9/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NOTE: This the fourth segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small business website.If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success. In step 1, we covered the research and discovery phase (See Step 1: [...]]]></description>
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<div id="attachment_57" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 260px"><img class="size-full wp-image-57 " title="Identify Your Website Barriers" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/barriers.jpg" alt="Barriers to success" width="250" height="249" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Barriers to success</p></div>
<p><em>NOTE: This the fourth segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small business website.</em>If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success. In step 1, we covered the research and discovery phase (<a title="Creating a Successful Small Business Website Part 1" href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/25/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-1-of-9/">See Step 1: Do your homework</a>). Step 2 involved focusing and prioritizing your website development tasks (<a title="Creating a Successful Small Business Website Part 2" href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/27/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-2-of-9/">See Step 2: Identifying your focus</a>).Step 3 involves identifying your goals for your website (<a href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/28/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-3-of-9/">See Step 3:  Identifying your goals</a>).  Step 4 involves identifying your barriers.<strong> </strong><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>IDENTIFY YOUR BARRIERS</strong></p>
<p>Once you’ve identified your specific goals, identify HOW you will reach those goals.  It’s not enough to build a new website and declare that you will increase website traffic by 30% within 90 days.  How exactly do you plan to do that?   You can start by identifying your current barriers to meeting your goals (ex: not enough website traffic).  Once you’ve identified your existing barriers, you can begin to identifying the resources (products, people, services) that you will utilize to help you overcome those barriers.<strong> </strong><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Goal</strong>:   Increase my website traffic by 30% within the first 90 days of this implementation.<strong><br />
Barrier</strong>:  The website currently receives 2 hits per day<strong><br />
Strategy</strong>:</p>
<ol>
<li>Use Google Ad-words to increase my paid/sponsored search engine visibility.</li>
<li>Hire a consultant to ensure that my web pages are optimized for organic search engine visibility (this could take some time)</li>
<li>Ask existing customers and relevant partners to link to my website and/or provide referrals.</li>
<li>Place links to my website on brochures, business cards, email signature line etc.</li>
</ol>
<p>You will notice that in order to complete this step, you will need to have a baseline for measuring your progress.  For example, if your goal is to increase website traffic, you should already know your website traffic statistics.  If you are not monitoring and are unaware of your website statistics, then you should go back to step 1 and refocus your project.   In this example, we would recommend that one of your high priority items is to implement a process for tracking your website statistics.   This will require that you revisit your stated goals as well.  In the example used above, the goal indicated is to “increase website traffic by 30% within 90 days”.   That goal is no longer realistic given the new high priority item of implementing a website statistics monitoring process.  You will first need some time to determine your existing traffic rates before moving forward.  You may learn that you actually get more traffic than you think, but perhaps your bounce rates are high (this is the % of visitors that arrive on your site and leave without clicking on any other pages).   This discovery could change the entire direction of your original plan.</p>
<div class="shortcode notice"><div class="icon">ANNOUNCEMENT:  Subscribers will receive a FREE eBook containing extended versions of Steps 1 – 9, as well as accompanying worksheets for managing your project.  If you would like to receive the FREE ebook, join the <a title="Websmith Group Facebook Page" href="http://www.facebook.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Websmith Group Facebook Page</a> or <a title="Subscribe to the Websmith Group eNewsletter" href="http://websmithgroup.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=293938c06a599f655e0687785&#038;id=92d17c15b0" target="_blank">subscribe to our eNewsletter</a>.</div></div>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Creating a Successful Small Business Website:  Identifying Goals (Part 3 of 9)</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-3-of-9/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-3-of-9/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:25:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SMB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[success]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website planning]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/28/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-3-of-9/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NOTE: This the third segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small business website.If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success. In step 1, we covered the research and discovery phase (See Step 1: [...]]]></description>
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<div id="attachment_61" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 260px"><img class="size-full wp-image-61 " title="Identify your Website Goals" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/manwstar_250.jpg" alt="Identifying your goals" width="250" height="249" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Identifying your goals</p></div>
<p><em>NOTE: This the third segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small business website.</em>If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success. In step 1, we covered the research and discovery phase (<a title="Creating a Successful Small Business Website Part 1" href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/25/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-1-of-9/">See Step 1: Do your homework</a>). Step 2 involved focusing and prioritizing your website development tasks (<a title="Creating a Successful Small Business Website Part 2" href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/27/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-2-of-9/">See Step 2: Identifying your focus</a>).Step 3 involves identifying your goals for your website. This is a “broad” purpose for building or enhancing the website, such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>Increase sales (or donations)</li>
<li>Reach more prospects and leads</li>
<li>Increase awareness about the company, the entrepreneur, the organization etc.</li>
</ul>
<p>Once you’ve identified your goals, you will need to define measurable objectives for your website. This is how you will measure the success of your new website or website enhancement.In <a title="Successful Small Business Website:  Identify your focus" href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/27/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-2-of-9/">step 2</a>, you ranked your project tasks into high, medium, low and no priority categories. You will need to select the tasks that are most important (i.e. the high priority tasks), then begin to document your measurable objectives. For each of the ‘to do’ items selected, identify a measurable outcome. Once the project is completed and implemented on your live website, what is your desired outcome or return on investment? Be specific. Examples of specific, measurable objectives are:</p>
<table class="MsoTableGrid" style="margin: auto auto auto 5.4pt; border-collapse: collapse; border: medium none;" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 243pt; background-color: transparent;" width="324" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Website Feature or Enhancement</p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2.7in; background-color: transparent;" width="259" valign="top">Measurable Outcome</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 243pt; background-color: transparent;" width="324" valign="top">Addition of a Frequently Asked Questions area.</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2.7in; background-color: transparent;" width="259" valign="top">Within 6 months of completing the website, reduce the amount of time spent responding to calls and emails from existing customers on basic business questions such as item return policy, membership cancellation fees, office hours etc.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 243pt; background-color: transparent;" width="324" valign="top">Addition of an online membership application and renewal process.</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2.7in; background-color: transparent;" width="259" valign="top">Reduce the amount of time and resources required to process membership applications, membership renewals and payment information.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 243pt; background-color: transparent;" width="324" valign="top">New shopping cart for accepting credit card payments online.</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2.7in; background-color: transparent;" width="259" valign="top">Increase business revenue and expand customer base by selling products/services online.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 243pt; background-color: transparent;" width="324" valign="top">Addition of a DONATE NOW button</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2.7in; background-color: transparent;" width="259" valign="top">Enhanced fundraising opportunities by accepting online donations.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 243pt; background-color: transparent;" width="324" valign="top">Distribute company/organization information, mission, team bio and products/service offerings</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2.7in; background-color: transparent;" width="259" valign="top">Increase the number of new site visitors to build awareness of the company/organization.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>If you can not think of a measurable goal or objective for the enhancement or feature listed, perhaps you should rethink the priority of this item. This step is important because this is how you will define and measure the success of your website enhancement and website marketing efforts. Also, identifying specific goals and measurable objectives reduces the opportunity, during the development/design phase, for the project to grow and expand beyond the intended purpose.</p>
<div class="shortcode notice"><div class="icon">ANNOUNCEMENT:  Subscribers will receive a FREE eBook containing extended versions of Steps 1 – 9, as well as accompanying worksheets for managing your project.  If you would like to receive the FREE ebook, join the <a title="Websmith Group Facebook Page" href="http://www.facebook.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Websmith Group Facebook Page</a> or <a title="Subscribe to the Websmith Group eNewsletter" href="http://websmithgroup.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=293938c06a599f655e0687785&amp;id=92d17c15b0" target="_blank">subscribe to our eNewsletter</a>.</div></div>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Creating a Successful Small Business Website: Establishing Priorities (Part 2 of 9)</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-2-of-9/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-2-of-9/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:42:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SMB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[success]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website planning]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[&#160; NOTE: This the second segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small business website. If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success. In step 1, we briefly covered the research and discovery phase [...]]]></description>
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<p style="float: right;">&nbsp;</p>
<div id="attachment_63" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 357px"><img class="size-full wp-image-63 " title="Identifying your Primary Focus" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/decisions.jpg" alt="What's your Primary Focus?" width="347" height="346" /><p class="wp-caption-text">What&#39;s your Primary Focus?</p></div>
<p><em>NOTE:  This the second segment of a 9-part series on how to create a successful small business website. </em></p>
<p><em> </em></p>
<p>If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success. In step 1, we briefly covered the research and discovery phase (<a title="creating a successful small business website (part 1 of 9)" href="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/25/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-1-of-9/" target="_blank">See Step 1: Do your homework</a>). Step 2 involves focusing and prioritizing your website development tasks.<br />
<strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>STEP 2: IDENTIFY YOUR PRIMARY FOCUS</strong></p>
<p>Websites evolve and change rapidly. Even the most successful business websites maintain a revolving “to do” list of new features and content for enhancing their web presence. You should always identify a focus or scope for your website project. The project scope details the projects deliverables and major objectives. The most successful website projects have a well focused scope. Less successful projects have a poorly defined or nonexistent scope. A nonexistent and poorly controlled scope is the root cause of “scope creep”, also referred to as “feature creep”. Scope creep occurs when a projects’ focus and requirements grow and expand without making the necessary adjustments to the project budget, resources and schedule. This is a recipe for failure and frustration for all involved participants.</p>
<p>When you decided to create a new website or start a new website enhancement project, you probably created a listing of desired content and features to include.  Also, in step 1 of this series, we covered researching website trends on competitor and industry related websites, and obtaining customer feedback.  Compile your initial listing of desired content/features with the information that you’ve gathered through customer feedback and research.  This will create your laundry listing of potential website features and content.</p>
<p>Review the listing carefully. What were the items that most of your customers listed as important? You should have a “customer focused” approach to your website, therefore you will want to weight the importance of these items heavily. Your website should provide your existing and potential customers the information that THEY need WHEN and WHERE they are looking for it.  Are there differences in what YOU and YOUR CUSTOMERS indicate as important?   For example, many small business websites will designate a great percentage of the home page for information about the company, the business owner and/or staff.  This information is certainly very valuable to build credibility and trust with your customers.  However, depending on the nature of your business and your target audience, this information may not be needed on the front page of your website.  For example, if your business is Widgets R Us, your primary objectives is to sell widgets, therefore home page would highlight information about your products and you would place the website elements that promote products sales in the high priority category.</p>
<p>Also, remember to consider your findings from reviewing your top competitors and other industry related websites. Are there obvious trends in content and functionality that you should consider for your website?   Your website is likely one of millions in your industry, therefore you want to make sure that your website is within the standards of your top  competitor websites.</p>
<p>Next to each item on your website to do list, prioritize the items using the following scale:</p>
<p>1. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">High priority</span> – these are items that are critical to your success (ex: a secure shopping cart process, an online contact form etc.).</p>
<p>2. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Medium priority</span> – these are items that must be completed in the near future, but are less critical than the high priority items. These items add value to your website, but are not critical or do not require immediate implementation.</p>
<p>3. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Low priority</span> – these are items that you’d like to incorporate into your website eventually, but they are not critical to your business success, aren’t necessary to complete in the near future and shouldn’t be implemented until all High Priority and Medium Priority items are completed. You would start implementing these items, once there aren’t any high or medium priority items on your list and you have the resources available to implement them.</p>
<p>4. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Wish List</span> – these are items that you’d like to consider at a later date. You wouldn’t assign a priority level to these items until you have performed further research, have discussed (and debated) the proposed items with your team and have made a decision to move forward.</p>
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<div class="shortcode notice"><div class="icon">ANNOUNCEMENT:  Subscribers will receive a FREE eBook containing extended versions of Steps 1 – 9, as well as accompanying worksheets for managing your project.  If you would like to receive the FREE ebook, join the <a title="Websmith Group Facebook Page" href="http://www.facebook.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Websmith Group Facebook Page</a> or <a title="Subscribe to the Websmith Group eNewsletter" href="http://websmithgroup.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=293938c06a599f655e0687785&#038;id=92d17c15b0" target="_blank">subscribe to our eNewsletter</a>.</div></div>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Creating a Successful Small Business Website: Do Your Homework (Part 1 of 9)</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-1-of-9/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-1-of-9/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:44:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SMB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[success]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website planning]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/25/creating-a-successful-small-business-website-part-1-of-9/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success. STEP 1: DO YOUR HOMEWORK Before you start a new website project, always allow time for research. Who are your competitors? What are the features available on the websites of [...]]]></description>
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<div id="attachment_65" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 260px"><img class="size-full wp-image-65 " title="Creating a Successful Small Business Website" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/trophy250.jpg" alt="Creating a Successful Small Business Website" width="250" height="304" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Creating a Successful Small Business Website</p></div>
<p>If you’re planning to create a new small business website or enhance an existing website, this series will help you improve your chances for success.</p>
<p><strong>STEP 1: DO YOUR HOMEWORK</strong></p>
<p>Before you start a new website project, always allow time for research. Who are your competitors? What are the features available on the websites of your top competitors? Who will benefit the most from this website or new website feature: your target audience, your existing audience, your staff etc?</p>
<p>Effective websites are planned with a target audience in mind. The most successful website projects involve the target audience in the planning process. If you are unfamiliar with the opinions of your target audience, now is the time to survey your current and past customers regarding their experience while using your website. Don’t be afraid to ask your customers for feedback. You may find that the new and cool flash animation that you ‘had to have’ is an irritant to many of your best customers.</p>
<p>If you don’t have an existing website, survey your current and past customers regarding the features that they feel are most important to include on your future website or similar websites in your industry. This will provide valuable insight on how your website could enhance your level of service to your customers. You may also learn the content, features and functions that are attractive to new customers that are not familiar with your company.</p>
<p>When you survey your customers, be sure to keep the questions short and include both open and closed-ended questions. Also, gather some demographic data about the customer such as age, technical/internet experience and their past/current involvement with your company (i.e. services used/products purchased). Compile your results into a single document or spreadsheet. This data can help you begin to build a “profile” of your target website visitors. This information will serve to be very valuable once you begin to focus and prioritize your website development tasks.</p>
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</span></p>
<div class="shortcode notice"><div class="icon">ANNOUNCEMENT:  Subscribers will receive a FREE eBook containing extended versions of Steps 1 – 9, as well as accompanying worksheets for managing your project.  If you would like to receive the FREE ebook, join the <a title="Websmith Group Facebook Page" href="http://www.facebook.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Websmith Group Facebook Page</a> or <a title="Subscribe to the Websmith Group eNewsletter" href="http://websmithgroup.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=293938c06a599f655e0687785&#038;id=92d17c15b0" target="_blank">subscribe to our eNewsletter</a>.</div></div>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<title>HOMEWORK: Revisiting your website navigation</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/revisiting-your-website-navigation/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/revisiting-your-website-navigation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 Mar 2008 21:47:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Homework]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[navigation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SMB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/?p=27</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[What is the first link on your website … actually, what is first link following the ‘Home’ link? On many small business websites, it’s the ‘Company information’ or the ‘About us’ link. Rethink your navigational structure by considering your target customers needs first. Perhaps most of your website visitors are potential new customers that after [...]]]></description>
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<div id="attachment_98" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-medium wp-image-98" title="Homework:  Your Website Navigation" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/homework-300x199.jpg" alt="Review Your Website Navigation" width="300" height="199" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Review Your Website Navigation</p></div>
<p align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana">What is the first link on your website … actually, what is first link following the ‘Home’ link?<span> </span><span> </span>On many small business websites, it’s the ‘Company information’ or the ‘About us’ link.<span> </span>Rethink your navigational structure by considering your target customers needs first.<span> </span>Perhaps most of your website visitors are potential new customers that after reading the home page, they’re most likely to want to know more ‘About’ your company.<span> </span>Or perhaps your customers prefer to quickly buy a widget, download an article or make an appointment.<span> </span>Prioritize your navigational links based on the needs of your customers first.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana">HOMEWORK</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana">Select a few well-known and successful companies.<span> </span>Visit their websites to review their navigational structure.<span> What is the first link on their home pages (don&#8217;t include the Home link). </span>I selected Disney, IBM and Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door Spa.<span> </span>The first link on the IBM website is ‘SOLUTIONS’ (customer-focused).<span> </span>The first link on the Disney website is ‘Movies’.<span> </span><span> </span>The first link on the Red Door spa site is services.<span> </span>All three companies have a link to their company information pages in the footer of the site.</span></p>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Small Business Website Project:  Mistake #1 &#8230; Poor planning</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/small-business-website-mistake-1-poor-planning/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/small-business-website-mistake-1-poor-planning/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:09:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[best practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mistakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[project]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SMB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tips]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/?p=12</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A critical barrier to the success of website design or enhancement project is poor planning. Great websites are the product of effective planning … or blind luck. Unless you&#8217;re a gambler, you should answer the following questions before you approach a website designer or developer: 1. What is the primary purpose of your website? Do [...]]]></description>
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<div id="attachment_85" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 270px"><img class="size-full wp-image-85" title="Website Strategy for Small Businesses" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/strategy.gif" alt="Website Strategy for Small Businesses" width="260" height="150" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Website Strategy for Small Businesses</p></div>
<p>A critical barrier to the success of website design or enhancement project is poor planning. Great websites are the product of effective planning … or blind luck. Unless you&#8217;re a gambler, you should answer the following questions before you approach a website designer or developer:</p>
<p><strong>1. What is the primary purpose of your website? </strong></p>
<p>Do you want to distribute information or provide training? Sell more products and services? Increase your newsletter subscription rate? Encourage potential customers to visit your physical business location? Provide enhanced customer service to your existing clients?<br />
You should be able to clearly define your website’s purpose before initiating a web design or web development project.</p>
<p><strong>2. Can you provide well written, completed content? </strong><br />
Website content is the heart of a website. Many website professionals will not start a project without completed content. It is important that you can either provide the content or identify the person(s) responsible for providing the content. Also, you want to ensure that your content is &#8220;web ready&#8221; and is focused on the needs of your visitors. A great website design can be rendered useless by 14 pages of scrolling text &#8230; or with a whopping two sentences per page.<br />
If your website content is not ready, what is your timeframe for providing completed content? Who is responsible for writing the content? Do you require writing services, such as the services of a copywriter or journalist?</p>
<p><strong>3. How will potential customers find your website?</strong><br />
How do you plan to market your website? Will you place the site address on your business cards and print marketing materials? Will you advertise your website to your newsletter subscribers? Will you advertise your website on a commercial or in the local yellow pages? Will you rely on search engine placement?</p>
<p>If search engine placement is important (it should be), you will want to identify your desired keywords. Do you want customers to find you when they Google &#8220;ugly green t-shirts&#8221;? The sooner you can identify this information, the better for your long term SEO strategy. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an ongoing and often separate process; however it is important that your website changes don&#8217;t contradict effective SEO strategies. Your desired keywords should be effectively used throughout your web copy and in your web page meta tags.</p>
<p><strong>4. How often do you plan to update your website?</strong><br />
Do you plan to update your website regularly? What does regularly mean: daily, monthly, quarterly, or infrequently as information changes? Are there dynamic areas of your website that require ongoing maintenance such as a newsletter archive area?</p>
<p><strong>5. Who is responsible for ongoing website maintenance?</strong><br />
Will you or your staff maintain the website? Do you have the necessary skills to update the website? If you will rely on the services of a webmaster, how often will you communicate the website changes? What are your turnaround time requirements? What is the scope of your maintenance activities: textual changes, newsletter distribution, blog management, shopping cart maintenance, site design enhancements, search engine optimization etc.? Identifying the scope of your ongoing maintenance activities will be important in selecting the appropriate webmaster or perhaps a &#8216;web team&#8217; is needed to support your ongoing website needs.</p>
<p><strong>6. Do you know where you will host your website files? Or do you have an existing relationship with a web hosting provider?</strong><br />
Selecting an appropriate hosting package is of critical importance to the successful launch of your website. If you have an existing hosting provider, be sure to document and provide the features of your hosting plan to your website developer. You want to ensure that any technologies selected for your design or enhancement project are compatible with your existing hosting plan. If you do not have an existing hosting provider, be sure to ask your website design/developer for a listing of server requirements that are compatible with the technologies selected. Use this listing to research and select an appropriate hosting provider and package.</p>
<p><strong>7. What is your ultimate vision for the website?</strong><br />
Do you already have an idea for future enhancements, such as video and audio streaming, online training, forums, blog etc? It is helpful to document and convey this information to your website developer. This will enable your web service provider to recommend or implement a scalable website that can grow with your vision.</p>
<p><strong>8. What is your budget?</strong><br />
You should establish a realistic budget for your website, as you would for other areas of your business. Submit your documented, detailed project requirements to at least 3 website development firms/professionals. To assist the firm in providing an accurate quote, it is very important that you document your project requirements completely.</p>
<p><strong>9. What are the milestones for successful project completion?</strong><br />
What are the measurable outcomes for determining the success of your project? You should define the milestone for project completion by identifying measurable goals.</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<ul>
<li>Build 5 web pages: Business contact information, company info, product descriptions, testimonials and frequently asked questions.</li>
<li>Website color palette should include all colors in the existing business logo.</li>
<li>Website should provide the functionality for clients to comment on articles.</li>
<li>Allow customers to save their credit card information for future purchases.</li>
</ul>
<p>Was this helpful? If so, remember to “Like” and/or Retweet this article. Also, remember to <a href="http://eepurl.com/6zFU" target="_blank">Subscribe to Websmith Group via Email</a> or Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/websmithgroup" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/WebsmithGroup" target="_blank">RSS</a>!</p>
<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>5 Critical Questions Your Website Should Answer in 10 seconds or Less</title>
		<link>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/5-critical-questions-your-website-should-answer-in-10-seconds-or-less/</link>
		<comments>http://www.websmithgroup.com/blog/web-development-tips/5-critical-questions-your-website-should-answer-in-10-seconds-or-less/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:17:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kishau Rogers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SMB]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Research studies have revealed that the average website visitor spends 5-10 seconds on a website. That gives you less than 10 seconds to grab their attention. There are 5 critical questions that your visitors will ask and that you should answer within 10 seconds or less. 1. Where am I? Your company name, logo, and [...]]]></description>
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<div id="attachment_112" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-medium wp-image-112" title="Website Success" src="http://www.websmithgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/istock_000004877664xsmall-300x225.jpg" alt="5 Questions Your Website Should Answer in 10 Seconds or Less" width="300" height="225" /><p class="wp-caption-text">5 Questions Your Website Should Answer in 10 Seconds or Less</p></div>
<p>Research studies have revealed that the average website visitor spends 5-10 seconds on a website. That gives you less than 10 seconds to grab their attention. There are 5 critical questions that your visitors will ask and that you should answer within 10 seconds or less.</p>
<h3 style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1. Where am I?</span></h3>
<p>Your company name, logo, and tagline should be displayed in the header of the site on every page. This is particularly useful for visitors that find your site through indirect channels, such as search engine results or referrals from external websites. This is also effective for a business with a web address that doesn’t match their company name. For example, if your website address is <a href="http://www.abc.com/">www.ABC.com</a>, your website visitors should realize within seconds of connecting to your website that your company name is Acme Building Contractors.</p>
<h3 style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2. Can you help me?<span> </span></span></h3>
<p>What products or services do you provide? Your business website should include a brief description of your company and your products and services in a prominent location on your home page. Most importantly, you should indicate how this product or service will benefit your potential customers. Remember, your visitors are interested in finding solutions to their problems. You should convey this information as briefly as possible; remember you have 5-10 seconds. To encourage your visitors to learn more, provide a link to interior pages to distribute further detail about your products or services.</p>
<h3 style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">3. How can I do business with you?</span></h3>
<p>Once a visitor has determined that your product or service matches their need, what should they do next? Your website should encourage your desired customers to perform an action? What action would you desire your visitors to take:<span> </span>subscribe to a newsletter, schedule a phone meeting, buy a product, download a free e-book, join a forum, ask a question etc.? The danger in not including an explicit call to action is that your visitors will read the information, leave and never return. You want to initiate a relationship with your desired customers.</p>
<h3 style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">4. How can I reach you?<span> </span></span></h3>
<p>Allow your visitors to see or access your contact information from every page. Most businesses should include the following minimal contact information: business phone number, physical address, and email address. Also, for visitors that are referred to your site from another website or search engine, your website address should be prominently displayed on every page.</p>
<h3 style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">5. What will (and won&#8217;t) you do with my information?</span></h3>
<p>A privacy notice is particularly important for websites that request or accept information from visitors. This includes everything from the acceptance of email addresses to ecommerce transactions. Generally visitors are less likely to provide their information if the data could potentially be sold or shared with anyone outside of your company.</p>
<p>Answering these 5 questions quickly, may encourage your desired customers to stick around longer than 10 seconds.</p>
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<div class="wp-about-author-containter-top" style="background-color:#feecb9;"><div class="wp-about-author-pic"><img alt='' src='http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f6bdba8f50c66ba05bd8562e9d4217c5?s=100&amp;d=http%3A%2F%2F1.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D100&amp;r=G' class='avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-about-author-text"><h3><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='Kishau Rogers'>Kishau Rogers</a></h3><p>Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company.  Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY.  Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.</p><p><a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com' title='Kishau Rogers'>Website</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/kishau' title='Kishau Rogerson Twitter'>Twitter</a> - <a href='http://www.websmithgroup.com/author/admin/' title='More posts by Kishau Rogers'>More Posts</a> </p></div></div>]]></content:encoded>
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