A Painless Guide to Building an Effective Company Web Site

INTEROPERABILITY
INSIGHTS
BY GIDEON MARKEN
A Painless Guide to
Building an Effective
Company Web Site
T
An effective company
Web site can attract new
customers, cut costs,
or improve the
corporate/professional
image of your company.
he Internet represents the single, most Democratic means of
achieving a truly global economy. To compete effectively in this
new arena, organizations must become accessible to a somewhat
unnerving degree. Customers, prospects, employees, suppliers,
stockholders and many others have reason to look inside your company. They
want to know about your products and services, your current projects, and
even your corporate philosophy.
If your company doesn't have a piece of
cyber real estate yet, chances are someone in the
organization is, no doubt, trying to figure out
how they can reach new customers, cut costs,
or improve the corporate/professional image.
Web envy is everywhere. However, with
such bewildering terms surrounding Web site
development and so many options available,
most managers are confused about how to
stake a claim in the realm of the new media.
music software company, utilizes many of
these capabilities in its site. Figure 1 shows
a screen shot of their initial page for their
Web site (called the index page). From here,
you can click on the buttons they have created
which link to the main areas of its site. In
addition to providing information on its products, Opcode has included demo versions of
its software, education on the technology,
product support and news releases.
FIRST PRIORITIES
THREE APPROACHES
Before launching the development of your
Web site:
There are three approaches to Web site
development. You can use (or develop) your
own in-house resources. This means buying
the necessary hardware and software, hiring
someone who is proficient in the creative
process (or becoming proficient), making the
Internet connection and devoting the time
needed to develop and maintain your Web
site. You can also outsource the work to a Web
design or Internet marketing firm which then
becomes responsible for developing and
updating the content, managing the equipment,
and monitoring the security of the Web server.
Or, you can share the work.
Because the Web is a new medium, complete
with its own technical jargon and tools, many
firms don't have a technical and creative team
already on-board. They generally find that it's
more cost-effective to use a Web design or
Internet marketing firm to help them get the ball
rolling. The firm then takes over the week-toweek maintenance of the Web site, bringing in
the designers periodically to update the "look
and feel" of the Web site just as they would
with their other promotional materials.
■ determine your company's goals;
■ take an inventory of your company's
resources;
■ research and explore the possibilities; and
■ establish a realistic budget.
Because every company has different goals,
the content of its Web site — and the work
involved — varies. You may want to reduce
paper and printing costs, reach new customers, lower your service/support costs,
launch a new set of products or services, or
you may simply want to make more people
aware of your business.
For your Web site to be effective, it should
include more than a set of data sheets or capability brochures. It should be a sales tool, an
interactive communications mechanism, and a
fresh way for you to build one-on-one relationships with customers, prospects, suppliers and
people interested in your industry and your
firm. Opcode (http://-www.opcode.com), a
2 TECHNICAL SUPPORT SEPTEMBER 1996
INTEROPERABILITY INSIGHTS
Figure 1: Opcode’s Web Site
Thanks to a new breed of Internet application packages that are now
available, the do-it-yourself approach to creating effective Web sites is
getting easier. There are Web authoring add-ons for PC word processors,
standalone HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) editors, graphic
converters and other specialized applications readily available.
AUTHORING TOOLS
Web authoring add-ons for PC word processors simplify the task of
working with HTML — the document standard for publishing on the
Internet's World-Wide Web (WWW); however, most add-ons lack the
control that standalone HTML editors provide. The power of an HTML
document is that it can be linked to any other document on the Web,
creating a powerful hypertext application. Web authoring programs
allow you to easily design Web pages that contain complex objects
such as HTML forms, clickable image maps and HTML ta bles.
The add-ons, many of which are either shareware or freeware,
make HTML authoring as transparent as possible. For example,
most of the products automatically translate text styles into HTML
tags. They can be easily downloaded from the Internet by searching
at Yahoo (http://yahoo.com) for "HTML editors." However, if you
want a supported product that combines advanced features such as
HTML table and forms layout, you can use any one of the growing
array of commercial Web authoring tools that are being released.
These products include HotMetal, from Softquad; NaviPress, from
NaviSoft; PageMill, from Adobe; and Netscape's Navigator Gold to
name a few.
Figure 2: The Index Page for Real Audio
CONTROLLING THE COSTS
You can keep a lot of the development costs down by preparing
much of the content yourself. If you want a text-only Web site , your
costs will be minimal. However, by adding graphics, photos and some
of the newer forms of multimedia technologies, you can increase the
amount of traffic to your Web site which will ultimately enhance the
overall value to your firm.
Whether you develop the site yourself or outsource it, keep the number
of individuals involved to a bare minimum. A committee approach and
numerous author changes will increase the cost and delay development.
DEVELOP A STORYBOARD
Before you begin building your Web site, prepare a layout of the
elements you want to include. The layout is a storyboard similar to
those used to prepare for the production of a TV ad or a movie. It highlights the key elements of your Web site and shows the various linkages
in your site and how they interconnect. The linkages are possible
because of HTML. By clicking your mouse on a word, phrase or
graphic, you activate the link which will load the page with the desired
information, launch a type of media or send email.
After "location, location, location," a realtor's favorite phrase is
"curb appeal," and with good reason. If the place doesn't look good
from the street, why bother going in? Since your Web site is really the
front door to the electronic version of your company, you'll want to
ensure that you have curb appeal by incorporating interesting and
exciting graphics. Figure 2 shows the index page for Real Audio
INTEROPERABILITY INSIGHTS
Figure 3: Real Audio’s Menu
Don't start the HTML process until all the text has been assembled
and organized. The HTML text for the Web site should be done by a
competent programmer who understands the interrelationship and
interaction of code and data links. He or she should also have a detailed
storyboard of the site to use as a production guide. The creation of an
HTML document requires that you place "tags" within your text. The
tags not only pr ovide the links but the structure, colors and placement
of the graphics. Tags are simple to create. The problems arise when
your home page doesn't come out right and you have to find your
mistakes. The following is an example of a tag:
<A HREF="http://www.sdpros.com/gideon">My Home Page</A>
The only text that will show on the screen in your browser would be
"My Home Page," the text within the sets of "< >" signs are the tags.
Again,the most frequent mistakes are incorrect tags or missing tags. To
see what an HTML document will look like (in Netscape), select View
from your menu bar, then Source. This will give you a look at the
HTML source file, which provides an excellent learning strategy. If
you find a site that is attractive and you want to know how they put it
together, view the source.
(http://www.realaudio.com), a company that is bringing real-time
audio to the Internet. The simple, yet attractive, layout is enhanced b y
their excellent logo graphic and the preceding graphical buttons.
The Home Page needs to have a distinctive look, but it must also be
fast loading. This means that you need to keep file sizes in mind.
Creating a layout which is obvious is vital in the storyboarding
process. You want to make your site easy to navigate and interpret. This
begins with a proper table of contents or menu of choices. In Figure 3,
Adobe (http://www.adobe.com) has not only developed an attractive
way of conveying this information, but a very straightforward structure. Take note of the color scheme. By minimizing the number of colors used, the time it takes to download the page is decreased.
SKILLED COMPUTER DESIGNER
To achieve a dynamic design format, you need to work with someone
who is skilled at developing designs for computers. You'll want to
decide on the size and detail of your Web site's images. As a rule, keep
your graphic files small, yet visually exciting, so they can be quickly
downloaded and people can get the information they want. You must
not only consider the size of each graphic, but the total size of all the
graphics on each page. Many people are still surfing at 14.4bps.
If graphic design is what gets people into your site and guides them
through it, the words and information are the tools that give it substance and value. Writing for a Web site is similar to preparing any
other literature or documentation, except that you are using HTML.
Your first step is to develop all of your text in a word processor. Be sure
to spell check it — especially if you scan in any of your text.
After "location, location, location,"
a realtor's favorite phrase is "curb appeal,"
and with good reason.
If the place doesn't look good
from the street, why bother going in?
Since your Web site is really the front door
to the electronic version of your company,
you'll want to ensure that you have curb
appeal by incorporating interesting
and exciting graphics.
TESTING
From your Web site (much like a facility directory or publication
table of contents), visitors should be able to immediately go to a specific
location. These links can be to product/service information, technical/
application documentation,ordering guidelines, technical service/support,
customer case studies,company/product news or anything you feel will
be of value and assistance to your target audience.
Once your site has been developed, test it on the Web before you
publish it (listing with search engines and printing in traditional
media). View your Web site through a variety of Web browsers (tools
designed to move people around the Web) and on a variety of different
computers. Currently, HTML is at version 3.0, but most browsers only
support the 2.0 specifications. One of the biggest problems for Web site
designers is this variation in standards. Sometimes a specific browser
will create havoc with the text and graphics. Or, pages may look excellent
on a Macintosh but are totally distorted on a Windows machine. The
Internet community prefers Netscape's browser which supports HTML
3.0 in addition to several enhancements that Netscape has developed on
their own. This tends to not only be the browser of choice but the
majority of HTML developers cater to it in their designs.
When the Web site is ready, you'll have to get a Web address, which
is called a URL (Universal Resource Locator). Just like your office
INTEROPERABILITY INSIGHTS
address, once you have it, anyone on the
Internet and Web can find your location. If
you choose to use the Web services of an
Internet provider, they will help you obtain
your unique address. This can work two ways:
You either use the domain name of the service
provider or you can apply for your own
domain name "yourcompany.com."
Once you've developed your attractive,
interesting and informative Web site and posted it, don't expect people to suddenly begin
clamoring for access. It doesn't happen.
a single person well over an hour to complete.
Perhaps this is why many Web site designers
simply cruise through it.
START PROMOTING
You need to promote the URL for your Web
page just as you would the firm's products/services. This can be done with mailings to present and prospective customers,in your ads, in
your literature/letterhead and other information you produce and send out. In addition,
your Web site URL should be submitted to the
various searchable indexes (Search Engines,
What's New sites, Cool Site of the Day sites
and others that help Web travelers know
where you are). If done thoroughly, it will take
The use of the WWW
as a marketing,
sales and customer
communications tool
is still evolving, but just
like the early days of
television, the people
who innovate and take
advantage of the new
medium have a better
chance of capturing more
of the cyber-marketplace.
HELPFUL Hints
Graphics: Screen real estate is at a premium on Web pages and different systems
not only connect to the Internet at different speeds but have dramatically different
displays. What looks perfect on one machine will look very different on another.
Small graphics are better than large ones and minimizing the number of colors
in the graphic is a fast and simple way to shrink things down. Keep users in mind.
To learn more about minimizing the size of your graphics, visit the Bandwidth
Conservation Society (http://www.infohiway.com/faster).
Organization: People don't enjoy surfing for information. Sites that offer the greatest
value to visitors are those that make it immediately obvious what information is
available, how to get it, and how to update the information if you feel it is in error
or have something of your own to add.
Publishing your Web site throughout the Web is imperative. You need to define
your company properly and establish all the associated key words when submitting
your URL to the search engines.
For more information, visit the following two Web sites. They both offer an abundant amount of information on every aspect of the Web site development process:
http://www.stars.com
http://gagme.wwa.com/~boba/masters1.html
Other helpful sites:
GVU Center's WWW User Survey Home Page - results from October 10
through November 10, 1995 are in (http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/user_surveys)
The HTML 3.0 specifications
(http://www.hp.co.uk/people/dsr/html3/Contents.html)
Creating Net Sites by Netscape
(http://www2.netscape.com/assist/net_sites)
The PostMaster (http://www.netcreations.com/postmaster/) makes this easy by
announcing your site to more than 350 sites
around the globe. PostMaster is a URL
submitting service on the Web that is strictly a
script. Once you fill out the form and click on
the Submit button, the script automatically
posts your announcement directly to the online
submission forms at Net-Happenings, Lycos
and other Web sites. After The PostMaster has
posted your announcement to the list of sites
specified, you will receive an email message
containing a list of all of the sites that your
announcement has been successfully posted
to. If The PostMaster cannot access a site
because its server is down for maintenance or
suffering from technical difficulties, you will
need to visit that site and post the announcement yourself. The Full Service (which has a
fee) sends your posting out to about 350 spots.
Another way to quickly gain exposure is to
use the Web site called "Submit It." This site
makes the process of publishing your Web site
throughout the Internet a simple matter of
using http://wwwsubmit-it.com. Like The
PostMaster, you fill out an extensive form and
submit it to 15 different search engines, all
from one location.
When you're designing your Web site, save
a place to maintain links to other sites (competitive, non-competitive and trade links with as
many firms' sites as possible). Most webmasters
(site administrators) are excited about spreading
the word about their own Web site and will
trade links with you.
Usenet Newsgroups provide another valuable
tool for attracting interested people to your
site. Regular strategic postings of additions
and changes to your Web site will let people
know you exist and will keep interested parties
coming back again and again. Keep in mind
that unless you want a lot of flame mail (electronic hate mail), the information needs to be
of interest to the particular group. And never
"spam" the Internet (send message to volumes
of individuals and organizations who may or
may not be interested and who haven't
expressed a desire to communicate).
Unlike billboards along the road, ads in
publications or spots for radio or TV, people
don't have to come and review your informa tion. They come because there is something
there they are interested in, they need or they
want to know. That means you have to maintain
and constantly change your Web site. It's not
something you can develop and forget.
Changing your Web site frequently isn't
enough. You need to add new products, new
information, new documents, new industry/
technical data and new news.
You'll also need to periodically check your
links from other sites to make certain they
aren't dead (they don't automatically take you
to the informant on your Web site).
INTEROPERABILITY INSIGHTS
Make it easy for people to find what has been
changed. Include a "What's New" category or
use a "New" graphic to highlight new information, new sections, or new documents. Again,
list the "New" information with the PostMaster
and appropriate Usenet Newsgroups.
COMMENTS PLEASE
Provide a means for people to interact, to
leave comments at your Web site and actively
seek input on the information you have presented, your presentation method, what they
would like to see/read about and even what
types of products they would like to see from
your company. This can be done through an
interactive form with text fields for typing
messages and check boxes for selecting items
of interest. Forms require CGI (Common
Gateway Interface) scripts which can get a bit
complicated. If you are designing your own
Web site, you may want to consult your
Internet Service Provider. Chances are, they
have all the scripts created and just need to
activate them for your account. The easiest
way to get feedback is through a simple
HTML mail tag:
<a href="mailto:gideon@sdpros.com">
gideon@sdpros.com</a>
As you gain experience in making your
Web site more inviting to your target audience,
you'll want to experiment with such ad vanced
technologies as 3-D graphics and the use of
VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language)
which allows people to "walk" through the
company and around your products/services.
At some point, you'll probably want to test
and use multimedia presentations, real-time
video and real-time audio.
The use of the WWW as a marketing, sales
and customer communications tool is still
evolving, but just like the early days of television, the people who innovate and take advantage of the new medium have a better chance
of capturing more of the cyber-marketplace.
Companies that stake their claim in cyberspace
now can only benefit as the market matures. ts
Gideon Marken is a web
master for ExcelSoft
Technology, San Diego,
Calif. ExcelSoft
Technology specializes
in Internet/intranet
services including web
site design, development
and hosting. Marken can be contacted at
gideon@excelsoft.com. Contact ExcelSoft
at http://www.excelsoft.com.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT SEPTEMBER 1996
DEFINITE
web Page
Ø Don't crowd images.
DONT’S
Ø Don't have a stylistically different icon for every bullet.
Ø Don't have too much information on a single page.
Ø Don't forget a time stamp. Time stamps tell the user when the page was last
updated. People like more recent dates because it indicates that the information
is fresh and timely.
Ø Don't make something look like a button but not work like a button.
Ø Don't steal someone else's graphics or HTML sources.
Ø Don't repeat the same link with different names.
Ø Don't have dead-end links.
Ø Don't leave the important stuff for the bottom — someone may not make
it down that far.
Ø Don't forget to tell people how big files are before they download them.
Ø Don't forget to include a webmaster reference. The email address for the
person who maintains the site is generally listed at the bottom of the Web site.
©1996 Technical Enterprises, Inc.Reprinted with permission of Technical Support magazine.
For subscription information, email mbrship@naspa.net or call 414-768-8000, Ext. 116.