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Monitoring visits and reviewing your website (screen 9 of 10)
Monitor your site
Once your website has been established it requires
constant monitoring by packages such as 
SmarterStats(1), PilotWeb(2)or
Analog(3).
You should look at the site at regular intervals to make sure it still
functions as it should, and that its content is current and relevant.
Any links should be checked to make sure that they still link to the
relevant site.
Any email you receive as a result of your Internet presence should be answered promptly and reliably.
Another aspect of monitoring the site is to gather and analyse statistics about the numbers visiting the site. This ability to monitor traffic through your site, an extremely powerful and important tool, is discussed in a later Guide(4).
Review your site
Periodic reviews should be written into the strategic plan for your website. Is the site achieving what it should? Is it meeting its objectives? Is it still relevant? Does anything need to be added to or removed from the site?
As many staff as practicable should be involved in such a review.
In Australia there are professionals such as the Hiser
Group(5) who will assess the effectiveness of your website. An advantage
of using an outside organisation such as this is that they approach
it with professional eyes, and without the prejudices that may exist
among staff.
Where changes are necessary, make them as quickly as possible, remembering the ever-present requirement to test all changes thoroughly before they are let loose on the public.
Getting help
Finally for this Guide, remember that there are plenty of people with expert knowledge who can help(6)you to integrate your site into your business plan and get it running.
Some of the most important help could come from cultural organisations
that have been through the process already. Look for their websites
in our Cultural
search engine(7).
Other resources where help can be found are mentioned in this and other Guides as specific topics are discussed.
Remember, developing a website is exciting. But decisions about it need to have a firm foundation in your business development strategy.
| 9 of 10 |
References
- SmarterStats http://www.smartertools.com/Products/SmarterStats/Overview.aspx
- PilotWeb http://www.pilotsoftware.com/pilotweb/
- Analog http://www.analog.cx/
- Guide 7 screen 15 http://culture.gov.au/resources/guides/g7/s15.htm
- The Hiser Grouphttp://www.hiser.com.au/
- Guide 10 screen 2 http://culture.gov.au/resources/guides/g10/s2.htm
- Our Cultural search engine http://culture.gov.au/
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