by Evan Scott
(Business News, 7/10/00)

I've noticed that everyone is a Web site developer. It's a particular phenomenon in the advertising and public relations world. I think it's because most business people didn't consider Web site development part of the marketing and PR menu for a long time.

A common exchange I've had goes something like this:

"We're finally going to develop our Web site," says a friend or associate.
"Great," I say.
"Yeah, our office manager's girlfriend's brother is a junior at Wright State and he knows that HTML stuff."
"Great."

I've never heard this regarding brochure development or advertising. It occurred to me that because folks see Web sites as a technology issue, they naturally went to IT companies to get them. And IT companies cheered.

Here's the rub. Successful web sites have as much to do with technology as, say, TVs. TVs are related to many categories: entertainment, advertising, multimedia, politics, communications, and so on. Web sites should be viewed the same way. The technology is a secondary, sometimes even tertiary, concern. First, we must figure out the business model and the core messages for a Web site.

The next thing is the design. How does it look? How well does it flow? Web sites need to be integrated, as much as developed, into your company's marketing strategy.

Programmers are not graphic designers, and vice versa. Contrary to what many of them will say, most Web site developers are programmers in disguise. They have never gone to school to study design.

You can tell when a programmer is playing designer. They like to develop Web sites that are fun for them. A couple of years ago the hot things were applets. Then came cgi-scripting, then Flash -- all of which may or may not look cool, but does it help the site?

Next, if no one can find your Web site, does it exist?

Here's a quick checklist to help bring your site to life.

• Have both a programmer and a designer involved in the process of integrating your site. And be careful. Most programmers are not designers and most designers are not programmers. After all, no doctor knows all areas of medicine. Web developers are the same.
• Frames are a site's worst nightmare. They are like Star Trek "cloaking devices." Search engines can't find you when all of your key information exists in a frame.
• Applets are cool but should never contain key information that doesn't appear somewhere else.
• If you can't think of ways to use your Web site to help your clients/customers, don't ask your Web developer to come up with some. Meet with a marketing and strategy person who can justify spending money on it. Remember, marketing dollars ought to work like an investment, not an expense.
• Make sure you are taking the necessary steps to promote the site. Spend time working on the content to make sure it explicitly names your services and products and the people/organizations/industries you serve. And make sure you get your Web site involved in "portal networking."

From smallbusiness.com

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