A Guide to Planning to Build or Re-design Your Website

First, clearly define the website's Primary Purpose and 2 or 3 prioritized Secondary Goals.

Position the Web Site as a Marketing Tool
Share Information Publically, saving printing & mailing cost
Share information Privately, with password-protected access
Cross-reference with Related and/or Affiliated Sites
Publicize or Market Events - in advance, and even in real time
Accept Newsletter & Email List signup to build that database!
Operate as a virtual storefront
Reduce Errors and Save Labor Costs (customers place & edit their own orders)
Increase Client/Member Retention
Gather Statistical Data for improved ROI

Next, do a little Market Research
Review the most successful competing and affiliated web sites on the Internet. Jot down notes on the good, the bad and the irritating. Ask your best customers what they would like to see. Get their likes and dislikes on websites in general. You can also check with your staff for a wish list. Gather ideas and share them with your web developer.

Select A Project Manager
The Project Manager will be responsible for moving things forward, providing content and approval at various stages of production. The Project manager should either have a budget, or authority to spend money.

Some of the things the Project Manger will be asked to provide include:

Content - Words and artwork can imitate the best in the field, but not copy or steal from other websites. Fines for violation of copyright can be as high as $4,000 per viewer - and those sites which offer "free pictures" may not actually have the rights to the photos they offer. We strongly suggest that you either write your own copy or hire a copy writer, and that you select royalty free images from one of the larger clip-art houses. These may be purchased for internet use from as little as $2 each.

List of Keywords - Your company name and services or products are the obvious "KEYs" to your internet presence. Any special markets you serve should be on your list, as in "Hospital food service equipment". Your competitive edge is an add-on to the main idea, for a key phrase like "Full Color Business Cards with NO Minimum"

Approve the new Domain Name(s) or Modification of the existing Domain(s)
Specify email addresses -The convention has moved away from simple first names and "info@mydomain.com" as addresses, because the simple names are more easily guessed and used by hackers. Be certain to note any special requirements, such as acceptance of huge files.

Determine Navigation or a Site Map - Ideally, the visitor sees immediately that this site answers his need of the moment. Too many choices can confuse things, but the most important features should be no more than 3 clicks from home.

E-Commerce
E-Commerce on the web may be either a shopping cart or an order form. In either case, a secure server is required and certain rules apply

Credit Card Security

Whenever you gather sensitive information, you must post a Privacy Policy that discloses what use you intend for that information. Net2Business can provide you with a master for your attorney to review.
No credit card numbers should ever be sent via email, as it is insecure.
Transmission from the secure server that accepts the information through to the credit card processors and receiving banks is encrypted for security.
The Secure Server is not allowed to store all of the credit card data indefinitely. You may choose to pick up your orders at your convenience from the password-protected secure server, or to have them automatically processed, leaving only the final four digits available for view.
No transaction fees are added by Net2Business®, but the credit card processor will usually add gateway fees, transaction fees and a statement fee.

Online Verification - Recommended for high-traffic sites. As part of the real-time, online verification, a new merchant account is set up to process all online transactions. This takes 7-10 business days. An administrator's screen is available online 24/7, and a paper statement is mailed to you monthly.

There are several layers of cost that apply.

Application Fee: $100 (may be waived)
Gateway Terminal Set-up Fee: $195.00
Merchant Account (Bank) Fees: Currently running about 1.85% of each ONLINE transaction. These fees are automatically deducted during processing
Statement Fees: $15 - $25/mo. Part of this fee may be waived if the Transaction Fees exceed the minimum statement charge.
Transaction Fees: This charge is itemized to cover the credit card companies' Encryption Software and Secure Server where the transaction are processed. $0.30 per transaction is the usual fee, though we have had reductions to $0.25.
E-Check Processing: Adds $10 to monthly Statement fee. Processing is 1.49% of the transaction plus $0.25 per transaction.
Equipment: If you wish to take credit card payments on site without entering them into the web site, a point-of-sale (POS) terminal may be leased from $40/month or purchased outright from $499.
ATM Debit Cards: In order to accept Debit Cards, you must lease or purchase a PinPad. A one-time charge of $200 may apply, plus $0.30 per transaction.

Special Programming
Administrator's Screens - With simple password protection, you can then make frequent changes easily and with no special programming knowledge.

Database Management - Your shopping cart may be built to pull information from a Database that works with your own accounting or inventory system and allows in-house control. The long-term savings of reducing re-entry time and errors can be quite significant.

Marketing & Search Engine Optimization

Search Registration takes place only with a complete and functional website.
Search Engine Optimization is built in to the website + META tags hand crafted for each page.
For Paid advertising, having a watchdog is a must, to continually adjust bids for results without breaking the bank.

Special Features - Adding something extra for free is a great draw.

Example One - The free E-Greeting Card section created by Net2Business® for www.victorianpaperco.com has been referring an average of 300 visitors per day for four years now - guests pre-selected by their own friends and family to appreciate their style. The original cost was about $2,000. Tens of thousands of advertising dollars return fewer visitors who are convertible to customers - and it just keeps working, 24 hours/day.

Example Two - Initial keyword research for our mortgage lenders indicated that there were hundreds of searchers daily for a "free loan calculator" - so we built them one. In one month, the index page was "hit" about 2,000 times, and the "calculator" page added 500 more.

Example Three - Recipes are a great addition to any website that relates to food. A recipe cannot be copyrighted (although brand names reserve their own set of rights), the search is continuous for new and better recipes. Cookbooks rank second to the Bible in popularity.