Building a website is easy as P.I.E.

Website Design Tips

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Information Super Highway - Information, Information, Information

The three things that all compelling web sites do are entertain, inform, and provide contact information. If any one of these items is missing, the web site will not be effective.

Ever consider why the World Wide Web is also known as "The Information Superhighway?" Information, information, information. Every web site should provide information to customers in an efficient and easy to understand manner. However, providing information is not everything. Consider an encyclopedia. How many of you sit down every day and read the encyclopedia just because it contains a lot of information? Information is important, but it should also be presented in an entertaining manner. You also need to get your information right out where people can see it. You only have 5 seconds to grab attention or potential customers will click back and never return.

Each site should engage the viewer and be updated frequently enough to keep the viewers coming back again and again. We all know the 80/20 rule. Generally, 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients. Having a site that continues providing new information that the viewer is seeking in an entertaining manner will keep the 20% very happy.

However, once someone has spent the time to find your site, read your information, and liked what they have read, how are you going to keep them from going to your competition to find additional information that they are seeking but cannot find on your site? You must provide a way for people that are searching for information to easily request more information by contacting you. I hate web sites that hide their contact information. Put your contact information out where everyone that comes to the site can find it. You need to make the interaction between this new client and you as easy as possible.

Remembering the three goals of a web site is as easy as P.I.E. (Provide Contact Information, Inform, Entertain).

p.s. There is one other goal to many sites, selling. This isn't a characteristic of every web site so it is added to the end, P.I.E.S. Much of the selling of a product will come from informing the consumer of the benefits of the product. (Notice that you inform them of benefits not features. Focus on how the product will benefit the customer rather than just listing the features of the product.)For any business to succeed, the business must understand their customers to be able to know just what information they need, how they can be entertained, and what benefits they are looking for in your product.