Timothy
Parker Consulting Incorporated
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Designing your Web pages Well, now we've decided how to set up our Web server, it's time to finish this series by putting some content on the home pages. This is the part that seems to cause the most anguish for VARs because it involves (gasp!) programming. Fear not, you don't have to code a word if you don't want to. Designing home pages can be both simple and complex, depending on what you want on your page, how fancy it will get, and which tools you choose to develop the page. Sure, you could pay some consultant a few thousand dollars to do it for you (call me!), but it makes a lot more sense to do it yourself using freely available tools. Not only are you sure of the end result, there's also the joy of finishing the project yourself. It's best if we stick to simple Web page designs. That's not a commentary on how complicated Web pages are to develop, or your lack of programming skills. Instead it's a simple fact that the customer visiting your site has to download all the code to display your Web pages. If it's complex, with Java applets giving fancy animations, color scheme changes, and all kinds of whiz-bang multimedia effects, it takes a lot longer than a simpler-designed page. Bear in mind also that Web visitors have short attention spans and don't want to scroll through tons of stuff to find what they want. The years have proven the old adage: keep it simple. A clean, uncluttered Web page design with logical pointers to other information is much more attractive and likely to get customer interest much faster than a complex, non-intuitive design. So, we want Web pages that are uncluttered, present the information cleanly and clearly, and use hyperlinks to jump to other pages for more information. Next, we decide how to lay out your site. Do this before you even start experimenting with Web page design, and you'll save yourself a lot of wasted time and avoid the problems we've just described in the previous paragraph. The first page the customer sees is your home page, usually reached with your URL (http://www.yourdomain.com or something similar). The home page should clearly indicate to a visitor what you do, sell, offer, or represent. It should also clearly provide navigation indicators that link to other information not on your home page. And it should be attractive yet simple. Sounds easy, huh? Let's suppose you're a VAR selling customized Intel-based systems, add-on peripherals, and software. A customer visiting your site wants to know a few things: who you are and where you are, what you offer and how much it is, how to order it, and what makes you special. After all, why would the customer order a PC from you instead of Dell, Gateway, or any other mass-marketer. There must be some reason! Let's design your Web page so the home page is laid out with a column of icons down the left side (this is where studies have found most people want these links). There will be a page for your company and its contact details, another for a "why order from us" description, and a number of links for the complete systems, peripherals, software, or services you provide. Most of the main page can then hold a special offer or two which grabs the customer's eye (and which you will update regularly!). You company name across the top, maybe with a logo, and that's it. How to design the Web page? Lay everything out either on paper or on a word processing tool like Word or WordPerfect. Both these word processors have add-in tools that are free and allow you to generate HTML code from the documents you prepare. Remember to keep the pages simple, clean, and short (minimizing the use of scroll bars). You can get icons for your links from clip-art libraries, or from other Web sites that feature icons (use the Document Source option in your browser and cut-and-paste to capture the page). Lay out the home page exactly as you would like it to appear, then generate the HTML code from the word processor, and preview it in your browser. Look OK? Move on to the next page, and before you know it, you're done. Don't want to use a word processor? There are literally hundreds of HTML code generators on the market, most of which give you a WYSIWYG interface that lets you design your Web pages on-screen, then creates the HTML code for you. The most popular of the designers at the moment is HoTMetaL, which is available through many shareware Web sites or bundled with Web software (such as O'Reilly's WebSite Professional). The shareware and full versions have been through many iterations, and there are differences between versions, but most will do all you need for simple Web page design. Something more complicated? Need to embed fancy stuff? Then you're looking at more full-features Web design tools, such as Microsoft's FrontPage. These help you create Web pages will all kinds of subtle and complex features, and as long as you don't go overboard, your customers may appreciate the effects that these tools can add. Remember the customer's priority at all times, though: fast downloads and ready information. With those guidelines, you should have your Web site up in no time. One last thing. Don't let your Web page be static. Change something on the home page every week, or every fortnight if necessary. If the customer can't see something different, on the home page, then they assume nothing else has changed. Some browsing tools even speed this process for customers by comparing your current home page to the last one they saw, and if there's no difference, doesn't alert the customer. Change it, and change it often. Customers will come. |
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