Let your business model be your guide
April 24, 2000
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Web sites exist for different reasons. Some aim to sell products or
services online or offline, some aim to sell ads, and some aim
simply to deliver information. The end goal of a site, or section
thereof, is something that the Web developer needs to keep in mind
at every single step of the way. Many Web developers tend to think
in terms of "What cool features can I use on this site?" rather
than thinking about what these features were intended to accomplish.
But the best designers make their decisions with the site
objectives firmly in mind, during every aspect of site build and
maintenance. Page design, site layout, even choosing a hosting
service - the right and wrong way to do all these things depends on
your business model.
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Designing things to serve their intended purpose is a worthy goal
for life in general, of course. We hear a lot about this wise
principle in connection with Web sites, because in the early days
of the Web, a lot of organizations knew they wanted a Web site,
but had no real idea of what a Web site could, or should, actually
do. With no clear direction from above, many Web developers tended
to think in terms of "What cool features can I use on this site?"
rather than thinking about what objective these features were
intended to accomplish. The result was, to put it mildly, a lot
of crummy sites.
Good Web developers make decisions based on the end goal of a site,
during every aspect of site build and maintenance. Page layout,
site navigation, graphics, text, even choosing a hosting service -
the right and wrong way to do all these things depends on your
business model. Here's a look at some of the choices the developer
faces, and how they are influenced by the site's objectives.
Common Site Objectives:
- Promote a product or service and steer users to a sales channel
(dealer, phone, online).
- Sell a product or service online.
- Deliver online applications.
- Provide content and sell advertising.
- Provide free content to the public (without ads).
- Provide technical support or other services to customers.
- Provide content and services to employees or suppliers (intranet,
extranet).
Ah, you say, but don't many Web sites do several, or all, of these
things? Of course, but Web-savvy organizations tend to separate
their content into sections, or even separate Web sites, according
to the purpose. For example, many providers of online applications
and premium content have two separate "sites" with two different
URLs: a password-protected site (probably in Java or some such)
for registered users, and a separate public site where they tout
the product. And many organizations have different URLs for sites
designed for different audiences. For example,
http://realnetworks.com/
leads to the Real Networks corporate site, while
http://realaudio.com/
leads to the site that promotes their flagship product.
The distinction between different sites and different sections of
the same site is basically a semantic one. However, it makes sense
to think of each major site objective separately, so for the sake
of argument, we'll assume that each "site" exists for one
all-consuming purpose. Whatever wisdom we find will also apply to
"sections" of a site.
Another thing you'll notice about my little list is that the
categories have less to do with what a site actually provides
than with how it's paid for. These days this sort of thing is
referred to as a "business model" but in older days it was known
simply as "knowing which side your bread is buttered on". The
folks who are paying the bills for your site are your customers,
and it's their wishes you must keep in mind.
Contents:
Hosting Your Site
Designing Your Pages
Site Layout
Maintaining Your Site
Hosting Your Site
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