Small Business Blog

1. Open your home page. How does your site tell your visitors that they can find the information/service/product they need?

a. An immediately visible, powerful but short statement in big, bold text
b. An image of your logo
c. A picture of your product
d. A paragraph describing your business
e. A link to an “About Us” page

2. How many courses of action can your user take to engage with your site?

a. Unlimited, e.g., she can search, research, buy, leave her email, live chat, meet up with friends, leave a comment, check her pulse, do her laundry (wouldn’t that be nice?)b. Two or three, e.g., she can buy, subscribe or leave her email

3. How does your site lead your users to the desired action?

a. Compelling offer or short call to action
b. Paragraph explaining the supreme quality of your products/services
c. Main navigational bar giving the user quick access to all the options
d. Fancy flash intro that your user must watch or “skip”
e. Contact us button in the footer

4. What color are the links on your page?

a. Black
b. Yellow
c. Red
d. Old-fashioned royal blue

5. How long does your site take to load?

a. I don’t know, seems pretty fast
b. I don’t know, kinda slow
c. I don’t know, does it matter?

Answer Key

Before we get to the specific questions, I have a short disclaimer. The “ideals” for any Web site are dependent on the purpose of the site. This quiz is slanted towards sites that sell product. Although these concepts can be used to improve the user experience on any site, some may be hard to implement on a brochure-type site or a content site.

Question 1: Why am I here? (continue reading…)

This week, WebProNews published an article that poses this startling question: does your business really need a website? If you’ve recently put money into your online presence or even thought about putting money into your online presence (and who hasn’t??), this question might catch you off guard. You might find yourself thinking, wait, do I? What am I really getting from my site anyway?

Don’t start second-guessing every web decision you’ve ever made. Because yes, you do need an online presence.

Phew. Glad we resolved that. The real question is, what kind of web presence will best support your business growth? You may not need the conventional brochure site that was the first choice just five years ago. You may find it easier to meet your online objectives with a simple blog, message board or a Facebook page.

The key, of course, is to know what your objectives are. What do you want your Web presence to do for you, specifically? The generic answer is that you want it to make you more money, but how? Do you want the opportunity to engage new and existing customers when they’re not in your store? Do you want to widen the breadth of your reach? Do you want your site to brand you as an expert in your field? Only after you can identify specific objectives are you ready to develop and implement an effective web strategy.

The aforementioned article discusses different strategies available to small businesses and also why it still pays to have a site. Get the full article here.

Interested in making money online? The website business plan sounds easy enough: create a website, get some traffic, sell some product or compel your visitors to click on ads, and bammo…you’re in business. The costs are low, the margin is high. So what’s the problem?

The problem is, making money with a website isn’t quite that simple. You have some serious competition to tackle. And I’m not just talking about competing websites, although there are many of those. (An article by Digital Inspiration cites two sources that peg the total number of websites on the Internet at more than 100 million.) Your site will also be competing with cable television, magazines and books. On top of that, the individuals in your targeted visitor group will face tough, daily choices about how to use their time: visit your website, work, take the kids to soccer, go to the bar, and on and on. If your website doesn’t fall high enough on that list of priorities, then it won’t gain traction. (continue reading…)