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Guide 4. Is the Internet for my business?
You're committed to a website: establishing a framework (screen 7 of 10)
You're going to create a website. It fits with your business plan, and it will benefit your organisation.
The first task in developing the website involves determining what you want to achieve with it. What are your objectives for your website? Is it to:
- Increase awareness of your organisation?
- Create a virtual gallery?
- Increase traffic through your doors?
- Establish an international reputation?
- Educate?
- Or any of the other things which can be achieved on the Internet?
Whatever your objectives, write them down.
Establish a framework to enable you to test whether your website meets your objectives
Any objectives for your website should be in a form that allows you to test whether they have been met.
For example, an objective that states that the website will increase the number of people coming to your organisation by 20% within one year, allows you to easily check whether this has actually happened.
However, a vague objective cannot be tested in this way.
You should also be able to determine which parts of your website contributed to achieving each objective. Some parts may need modifying if they are not succeeding, while other parts may be doing an outstanding job.
Design strategies to achieve each objective
Each objective you develop for your website should be associated with a strategy which will help you to meet that objective. If your objective is to increase sales from the gift shop through advertising on your website, then there should be a website strategy that specifically addresses this objective.
The strategy in this case may be to provide illustrations of, and prices of, key items in the gift shop on your website, and develop an online purchasing scheme. It also may require an ability to accept a wider range of credit cards. Even a scheme as simple as allowing a discount to people who present a voucher printed from your website could be a part of this strategy.
With this strategy, as with any other, there are costs and risks that need to be weighed against the benefits. Management issues and technical issues would also need to be addressed.
Test your strategies within your organisation first
Before implementing any strategies on the Web it is important to test them within the organisation. Draft plans for any strategy should be circulated to the appropriate people. The cost effectiveness of the plan should be carefully analysed.
Ideally, a trial website could be created for use just within the organisation and for testing by staff. On an internal network this is not a difficult task. It also helps to involve staff in development of the website.
These things are important, since once you open your website to the public it is available to millions, and you want it to be fully functional.
Feedback
When your website goes online, encourage feedback from your new users. This should be a normal part of the design of any website. You could establish an online form for users to fill out, or set up a 'mailto' link for an email. Whatever system you use, ensure that the feedback is taken into account in any redesign, update or review of your site.
You can also use this feedback mechanism for your own purposes - for example if you use an online form consider including some demographic fields so you get some idea of the age, gender and so on of your website users. This can help you plan for the future.
The feedback you receive may not all be glowing and some of it may be anonymous, especially if you're using forms. If you do receive feedback use your diplomatic and promotional skills when you respond.
If someone has gone to the trouble to write to you about a problem they've experienced using your website, it is good business (and good manners) to both respond positively to their feedback and to do something about their complaint if at all possible. Do not ignore feedback - even if it's negative.
Hopefully, most of your feedback will be positive and your website will have achieved its objectives. These instances of positive feedback can be used to give an account of your website's performance to management committees, shareholders, or other organisational stakeholders, and encourage continued support for the website's maintenance.
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