The Tutorial: Build It Correctly ? They Will Come

If you had a Web site in the early days of the Internet, you could be assured that viewers would find it. Today, however, finding your site might be as difficult as finding your business card in a room filled to the ceiling with other business cards. A successful Web presence depends on the design, content and promotion of the site.

Start by listing all the items you want potential clients to know about. Make a flow chart to illustrate how you want the viewer to go from one item to another. Give thought to how the viewer who knows nothing about you can learn the most in the quickest manner. Remember that Web users are not a patient lot by nature; they want their information quickly and accurately. Bulleted lists work better than long, wordy descriptions.

There are two approaches to creating a Web site ù hire it out or do it yourself. Multitudes of companies offer design services, and there are also many Web site authoring programs (such as MicrosoftÆs FrontPage, Corel WebMaster Suite and Lotus FastSite). These programs take normal text and graphics and put it into the HTML code of the Internet. HTML stands for hypertext markup language and is the programming code that allows the Internet to be what it is. Many of todayÆs programs such as MS Word, PowerPoint and WordPerfect convert normal text into HTML.

Site Content
In organizing the site, subjects of similar content should be grouped together. For example, your current home designs should be in one section and the developments in which you are building in another. These sections should be independent but linked to each other. Using the same example ù if you are building only certain models in certain developments, then you can link to those models from the development section and conversely show a link to the developments from the models. This is the beauty of the Web ù you can cross-link all your information so it is easy to find.

Information can be organized in a linear (like chapters in a book) or nonlinear manner. The nonlinear way would reflect the multiple ways your clients would want to access the information you provide. However, excess linking can be confusing to the viewer and can lead to getting lost in a site. Try to keep all your information within three clicks, or links, of your home page.

Navigation is especially important considering that your viewers will be jumping around your site depending on where their interests take them. For this reason it is important to provide key navigation links. These include an omnipresent link to the home page for those viewers who get hopelessly lost in your site. It is also a good idea to provide a link back to the head of each section. This can be as simple as a button stating Back to the Top that could be found at the end of each section along with the button Back to Home Page.

Try to fit the information to one viewed page (what is displayed on your monitor without scrolling) at one time. It is hard to follow a long text that necessitates scrolling down the page. Remember ù keep it simple.

Avoid a lot of graphics. Although one of the Web's benefits is its ability to support graphics, they load slowly and turn off viewers. One trick to having quick-loading photos is to provide a ôthumbnailö photo first. If viewers want to see the larger version, they can click on the thumbnail, and the enlarged version will load to their browsers.

The Web is great for promoting interactivity, so involve the viewer. Ask questions such as size of home desired, price range and desired features, and use the answers to channel viewers to the appropriate models and information. This type of information should also be stored so it can be retrieved when planning the next model or a new design.

Plan for frequently changing content. Again, changing content will promote interest and viewers will return more often, both of which will build brand identity or loyalty. A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section is a quick way to get repetitive information to your viewers.

Provide reciprocal links to other sites that will make your site more valuable. These might be a mortgage institution, Realtor, lumber or kitchen supplier, or the local chamber of commerce. These links to outside sites should be mutually important. When creating the link, make the link to the appropriate page (not necessarily the home page) so the viewer is not left searching for what you thought was appropriate.

Make your site fun but not frivolous. Many gimmicks are available for use on the Web, but they can turn off the serious visitor. An animated graphic might seem appropriate, but keep in mind that you are serious about your business and the message you want to convey. That graphic might load very slowly and thus detract from your message.

Always, always, always provide an e-mail link. If your viewers cannot communicate with you, what good is your site? Following that, make sure you respond promptly to e-mail inquiries ù you will defeat the purpose of having a Web site if you donÆt. Most IPPs provide autoresponders to e-mail, but donÆt depend on them for all your responses; make sure you follow through.

Designing your own Web site demands time. Put the design and layout on paper first. Start by listing all the information you want to convey and then draw lines among the different parts. The lines represent the links and show how you want the information to be viewed by visitors. Whether you hire the job out or do it yourself, you want to thoroughly understand your target audience, the design of your site and how to promote it.

Barrows was president of J. Barrows Inc., which provided construction services, general contracting, construction management and consultation services. He has also served as president of Integrated Network Development Group Inc., a company dedicated to bringing computer and communication technologies into the builderÆs business.

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