Creating a Web presence.It doesn't have to be an entangling experience An Internet presence has become a necessity for most businesses. Think of your Website as a different kind of business card -- and, potentially, a very effective one. As in most undertakings, there are things the experts advise you to do, and things you will want to avoid. Getting with the right company for consultation, design and any succeeding services is the first big step. "Allocate funds for this (Website) purpose and get good information from professionals," advises Brian Kingston, enterprise associate with Internet Operations Center The facility or location on an installation, base, or facility used by the commander to command, control, and coordinate all crisis activities. See also base defense operations center; command center. Inc. (IOC IOC abbr. International Olympic Committee IOC n abbr (= International Olympic Committee) → COI m IOC n abbr (= ) in Southfield. The experts suggest interviewing three to five suppliers. Ask companies whose sites you admire who did them. Check out referrals. "Shop your needs around," adds Matt Dame, president of Absolute Communications, Canton-based Website designers. "There's more than one way to skin a cat." Suppliers tend to agree that turning a Website project over to a bright young member of the family or college kid down the street is not a good idea. Go to a company with a track record and with the ability to give you continuing counsel, updates and service, say the pros. At this time there is no formal certification for companies in this line of work. Endorsements from satisfied customers and your own comfort level with a Website provider are your best indicators. While a full-blown evaluation of a company's Website needs and potential may cost up to $3,000, beginning conversations with sales consultants are free. "There is no charge for initial fact-finding," says IOC's Kingston. "Depending on functions and applications, a new Website is likely to run $300 to $500." So what should you expect to pay to get started? Dame says $30 per month should keep a one- to four-page Website functioning. This covers your "rent" on a server. His estimate of initial cost is $500 to $1,000 to set up a modest site. A larger site with up to 15 pages might run $2,200, he says. Designers say a company may be able to handle its own Website updates. Keeping current information posted and perhaps even adding a line, "This Website last updated on (date)" will impress visitors and customers. Amazingly, even some of the largest businesses fail to provide their Website visitors with basic information: location(s), telephone numbers, names and titles of persons to contact. If your site includes e-mail access, be certain there is someone on staff who is monitoring it regularly. E-mail connotes speedy and easy access to its user; don't disappoint dis·ap·point v. dis·ap·point·ed, dis·ap·point·ing, dis·ap·points v.tr. 1. To fail to satisfy the hope, desire, or expectation of. 2. by failing to answer in a timely manner. "If I send an e-mail and I get a quick response, I'm impressed," says Dame at Absolute Communications. Conducting business via Website is more complicated than it might seem, warns Randy Plasco, president of Awecomm Technologies, a Southfield Internet service provider Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. . Don't be fooled, Plasco says. "Companies think this will be less expensive than bricks and mortar A store (shop, supermarket, department store, etc.) in the real world. Contrast with clicks and mortar. ," he says. It might be, but you'd best know your market, your potential and your customers. "Generally, if people are going to spend more than $100, they want to see and touch what they are buying," Plasco says. With an appropriate e-business set up, a company can track customers and keep a record of what they are buying. When it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a for more chemicals for the home spa, for example, you can remind them and handle the transaction as e-business. "A lot of it depends upon your product," he says. "A clothing company based in England offered discount prices on merchandise on its Website. But there was no convenient way to handle exchanges and returns, and it failed." Worth noting A "cybersquatter" is someone who deliberately registers the trade names of others in the hope of selling them bock Noun 1. bock - a very strong lager traditionally brewed in the fall and aged through the winter for consumption in the spring bock beer lager beer, lager - a general term for beer made with bottom fermenting yeast (usually by decoction mashing); originally to their rightful owners at a tidy profit. A recent amendment to the federal trademark act prohibits the bad-faith registration of someone else's trade name or trademark as an Internet domain name An organization's unique name on the Internet. The chosen name combined with a top level domain (TLD), such as .com or .org, also called a "domain extension," makes up the Internet domain name. For example, computerlanguage.com is the domain name for the publisher of this Encyclopedia. . If your name-double is a "cybersquatter," you now hove legal recourse. Check it out! These quality services are available to Detroit Regional Chamber members at special discounted rates through the Chamber's new E-Bundle Solutions package: * Ideal Technology Solutions US Inc. offers DSL DSL in full Digital Subscriber Line Broadband digital communications connection that operates over standard copper telephone wires. It requires a DSL modem, which splits transmissions into two frequency bands: the lower frequencies for voice (ordinary Internet access See how to access the Internet. , e-mail services See Internet e-mail service. , Website hosting and customized Website design. * Zland.com provides Website design and development with outstanding customer service and user-friendly access. Design packages assist in identifying customer needs by determining what you want your Website to do. For more information, call 1-866-E-BUNDLE toll free What the experts say: 10 tips to get you started 1. Choose a Website name as close to your company s name as possible. 2. Interview three to five companies before choosing one to design your Website, Relying on a talented friend or relative may be less expensive, but it likely will cost a lot in the long run; go to an established professional. 3. Always include contact information on your site with your mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, email address See Internet address. and, when feasible, persons to contact. 4. Update your site regularly; consider including a "last updated on" slug on the home page. You may be able to change and update your Website yourself rather than pay an outsider Outsider often refers to one identified as on the periphery of social norms, one living or working apart from mainstream society, or one observing a group from the outside, as used in:
5. Keep it user-friendly, bearing in mind that some visitors are using older equipment or software that may not handle elaborate graphics, typefaces This is a list of typefaces. Serif Here you can find a graphical version of this table.
6. Visit your site from time to time for a first-hand "customer" experience. 7. If you include your e-mail address See Internet address. e-mail address - electronic mail address , assign a staff person to check and respond to it frequently. 8. All information on your site should be carefully prescreened. Be sure your information is correct and in compliance with fair advertising practices. 9. Guard against infringing on another's trademark. logo, graphic, etc.; protect yours by alerting readers that they are trademarked or copyrighted. 10. Keep customers' data secure, as you would in traditional transactions. Sources: Absolute Communications; Awecomm Technologies; Interne in·terne n. Variant of intern. Operations Center Inc.; Miller Can field. |
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