Ten Ideas For Creating Effective Web Content

Below is a short list of ideas, questions and comments to help you in the task of choosing and deciding upon what content to put on your Web site. While the technology is what makes things happen it is relatively academic compared to the creative human ideas of valuable quality content.

1. What information will visitors be looking for when visiting your site? What do they ask for when they call on the phone? What information have you traditionally mailed and/or faxed to them? The same information should be included in your content.

2. What kind of plan and procedures have you implemented to deal with the feedback from people coming to your site? Who will be responsible for answering email on a daily basis? Email should be handled in the same way and have the same priority as phone calls.

3. What incentives, such as a discounts, complimentary samples or publications can you use to encourage participants to provide you with information? This information will often give you the opportunity to serve your customers with products or services that your competitors are not providing for which the client would be willing to pay more.

4. Is it helpful to have case studies or "success stories" on your site to provide a better understanding of how you do business? Your web site is an excellent place to further explain what you do and how you do it that sets you apart from your competition.

5. What can you think of that would facilitate your actual business process and save yourself time, work and money? (i.e. forms, surveys, FAQs, automated scoring, analysis, documentation and interpretation procedures.) When your information is online you are empowered with the flexibility to make it available to anyone, anywhere and at anytime. This also reduces your printing and mailing costs.

6. How many of your clients or potential clients have Internet access? You can password protect any information so that you have control over who has access to confidential or proprietary information. You can customize and target a specific presentation, product and pricing to one particular audience or to many and are able to track the progress and success of your efforts.

7. A monthly or quarterly newsletter can benefit your customers and organization by providing a vehicle in which to "stay in touch" with each other. This can eventually get you invited to be a guest speaker to share your ideas and philosophy that will have people considering you to be an expert in your industry.

8. Will you have a need for a human resources section to announce future job openings and/or professional recruiting purposes that may be on a project basis? Your Web site is an excellent medium and location for providing, decimating and receiving this kind of information.

9. Are there, or will there be, "news" events that will benefit your organization by including them on your site? (i.e. new clients, new projects, new ideas, new methods, new offices, awards etc.)

10. Avoid gratuitous uses of technology. While animations are 'cool' and 'hip' to have on your site, it is best to have a reason for using a certain technology or utility. As an example, you might weigh the value of adding six extra articles for the same price of an animated logo. Of course it would be great to have the animated logo but as long as you have a limited budget you are better served by more content than style. Remember that on the Internet, Content Is King!

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	1. What information will visitors be looking for when visiting your site? What do they ask for when they call on the phone? What information have you traditionally mailed and/or faxed to them? The same information should be included in your content.
	2. What kind of plan and procedures have you implemented to deal with the feedback from people coming to your site? Who will be responsible for answering email on a daily basis? Email should be handled in the same way and have the same priority as phone calls.
	3. What incentives, such as a discounts, complimentary samples or publications can you use to encourage participants to provide you with information? This information will often give you the opportunity to serve your customers with products or services that your competitors are not providing for which the client would be willing to pay more.
	4. Is it helpful to have case studies or "success stories" on your site to provide a better understanding of how you do business? Your web site is an excellent place to further explain what you do and how you do it that sets you apart from your competition.
	5. What can you think of that would facilitate your actual business process and save yourself time, work and money? (i.e. forms, surveys, FAQs, automated scoring, analysis, documentation and interpretation procedures.) When your information is online you are empowered with the flexibility to make it available to anyone, anywhere and at anytime. This also reduces your printing and mailing costs.
	6. How many of your clients or potential clients have Internet access? You can password protect any information so that you have control over who has access to confidential or proprietary information. You can customize and target a specific presentation, product and pricing to one particular audience or to many and are able to track the progress and success of your efforts.
	7. A monthly or quarterly newsletter can benefit your customers and organization by providing a vehicle in which to "stay in touch" with each other. This can eventually get you invited to be a guest speaker to share your ideas and philosophy that will have people considering you to be an expert in your industry.
	8. Will you have a need for a human resources section to announce future job openings and/or professional recruiting purposes that may be on a project basis? Your Web site is an excellent medium and location for providing, decimating and receiving this kind of information.
	9. Are there, or will there be, "news" events that will benefit your organization by including them on your site? (i.e. new clients, new projects, new ideas, new methods, new offices, awards etc.)
	10. Avoid gratuitous uses of technology. While animations are 'cool' and 'hip' to have on your site, it is best to have a reason for using a certain technology or utility. As an example, you might weigh the value of adding six extra articles for the same price of an animated logo. Of course it would be great to have the animated logo but as long as you have a limited budget you are better served by more content than style. Remember that on the Internet, Content Is King!