“Entrepreneur’s Adviser: The Working Web Site”

Answer:
Know your audience and your company. Who is your audience? Whether it’s customers, prospects, vendors or the general public, each group has different needs, interests and expectations.

Important concerns are usability factors: Are the fonts too small to be read by people over 40? Can you see the most important information on a 640 x 480 screen (with 256 colors)? How well does the site work with older browsers? How about AOL and WebTV?

Nuts and bolts: Create a compatibility matrix of platforms, browser versions and monitor resolutions, so that you have a detailed comparison of what elements work across the board. Demo your site to a small group of customers before it goes live to catch errors.

Make sure your site is up-to-date and accurate. People expect the Web to have the most current information. Think about services you can add to make your company more attractive, such as: online inventory and order tracking, self-help technical support or hyperlinks to partners.

Deliver: Ask your customers what they want. Track questions that come in through your sales and support departments, send out customer surveys, offer a feedback form on your site. Ask your staff what customers request daily and put that online. Form an advisory group of dedicated core customers who try out your ideas and provide feedback.

Adviser: Stephen Peters is a partner at Amazing Online Marketing, a Web-site development agency.