NETWORK WORLD STEVE ULFELDER'S SOHO LIFE 09/22/04 Today's focus: Web sites that work, Part 1
Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED], In this issue: * One man's list of do's and don'ts * Links related to SOHO Life * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia NW Special Report: Preparing an Infrastructure for Mobile Applications. Mobility, properly done, increases productivity and decreases operating costs. So get up to date information about building a mobile infrastructure, dealing with security issues, the latest networking options, connectivity alternatives and operational support enhancements. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=81446 _______________________________________________________________ OF COURSE YOU KNOW HALF OF ALL EMAIL IS SPAM. But do you know which half? And how to keep it out of the in-boxes of corporate management who finger spam as their chief frustration? Get the practical answers and innovative technology tech you need now to solve No. 1 problem threatening every network-driven enterprise at Strategy & Management for Messaging & Spam, a September must-attend event from Network World. http://adserver.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=81509 _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: Web sites that work, Part 1 By Steve Ulfelder There are two kinds of home-based businesses: those with a Web site, and those that need one. Sadly, I fall into the latter category. Despite having owned the ulfelder.com domain since 1995, I have yet to create and launch the site. This is foolish. In my line of work, people no longer talk about "clips" (old articles cut from magazines and used as resume pieces), but rather about links. I know I've lost business by not having a site that potential clients can examine. Why? Blame stage fright and the cobbler's-children effect. But that's going to change, and soon. In the next three months, I vow to create and publish my Web site. Along the way, I'll research tools and providers and report back to you. But first, I'm thinking about what content I find pleasing and helpful in sites run by very small businesses. Here's a list of what I like (and don't like) to see; advice I plan to follow in creating my own site: * Do put contact information on the home page. The whole point ��is to persuade people to call or e-mail, correct? So make it as ��easy as possible. Include your geographic location - in some ��industries, this can make a big difference to potential ��customers. If you can't bring yourself to put contact info on ��the home page, at least put it on a clearly marked page just one ��click away. There's nothing I hate more than digging around ��"About us" pages for a phone number. * Don't use generic e-mail addresses such as "info" or "sales." ��I hesitate sending mail to such generics, even at large ��corporations, feeling as if my message will get tossed in a vast ��miscellaneous pile, to be answered by a temp or assistant ��whenever they get around to it. I want to send e-mail to a ��specific person, and so do your prospects. * Do write about yourself in the first person if you're a sole ��practitioner. This was an early dilemma for me, so I studied ��sites belonging to folks in my industry. What I found was that ��third-person writing ("Joe Schmoe is an award-winning widget ��maker with over two decades of experience") tends to be ��off-putting when you know full well that Joe Schmoe wrote it ��himself. Contrast that with modest first-person writing: "I've ��been making widgets for 20 years, and my work has won several ��industry awards." * Don't pretend to be bigger than you are. Some love to say the ��Internet lets small fry compete with much larger businesses. But ��that's not the whole truth. You might have a terrific home-based ��gourmet-food store, but if your Web site tries to make you look ��like General Mills, people will see right through it. Moreover, ��your potential customers don't want General Mills. * Do post pictures of yourself and your staff. I know from my ��experience with this column that it's a bit horrifying to have ��your photo up on the Internet. Nevertheless, with so much ��business transacted electronically today, posting your picture ��(a high quality, flattering one) establishes an immediate ��connection between you and your customers that's hard to achieve ��through e-mail and telephone. * Don't link to personal, hobby or family pages - it makes you ��look unprofessional. While potential clients do want a glimpse ��of you, they don't want to know about your massive collection of ��Love, American Style memorabilia or the big SchmoeFest Family ��Reunion held up at the lake. Trust me. There's my list. Got anything to add or contest? In my next column I'll address design. Most small-business Web sites either look hopelessly amateurish or feature bells, whistles, fonts, colors and other gimcrackery that gives me a headache. We'll search for something in between. _______________________________________________________________ To contact: Steve Ulfelder A journalist since 1986, Ulfelder writes about technology, business and automobiles from his home office in Southborough, Mass. His work appears in Network World, Computerworld, CIO, The Boston Globe, Grassroots Motorsports and others. You can contact him at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia NW Special Report: Preparing an Infrastructure for Mobile Applications. Mobility, properly done, increases productivity and decreases operating costs. So get up to date information about building a mobile infrastructure, dealing with security issues, the latest networking options, connectivity alternatives and operational support enhancements. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=81446 _______________________________________________________________ ARCHIVE LINKS Archive of the SOHO Life newsletter: http://www.nwfusion.com/net.worker/columnists/ Breaking telework and SMB news: http://www.nwfusion.com/net.worker/ _______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE ACCESS NW'S IN-DEPTH REPORT ON: BLADE SERVERS Available now is Network World's Technology Insider on: Blade Servers. Find out why early adopters of blade server technology say the benefits aren't science fiction, how blade servers differ by vendor, why blade servers are perfectly suited for today's data centers, review our extensive blade server buyer's guide and more. 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