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What Makes a Winning Web Site?
by Eva Chiu

Web sites are common in business today – but are also too often commonplace. When my company won awards in the recent WebAward Competition for outstanding Web site development, people asked me: How can I create a winning Web site? If I want winning results from my site, what do I need to consider? Here is my response.

For me, a great Web site blends art and science with a solid foundation of planning and carefully chosen marketing strategies. Your winning Web site starts with your business basics: What is your company’s value proposition? That is, what are the tangible benefits a customer gets from using your product or service? What sets your company apart from its competition? Staying focused on your message, concentrating on the strengths that matter most to your best customers, can catapult you ahead of your competition. Opportunities abound to differentiate yourself based on your strengths, advises business strategist guru Michael Porter. Look beyond your products and services to other aspects of your business operations. How you choose your employees, how you uniquely provide customer service, and whom you ally with as vendors are all strengths you can emphasize to differentiate your company from others.

Winning customers is the primary goal of most business sites. Make sure your content is relevant and interesting and that it educates, informs and persuades your target audience that you are the best choice for earning their business. Being close to your customers, and having knowledge of their goals and challenges, as well as their corporate and personal environments, will give you the insider knowledge you need to communicate effectively. Remember, people buy, organizations do not. Be sure your site content speaks to each of the key players who have an important role in buying and using your products.

Always ask for commitment. Determine what action you want your site visitors to take and how these can be integrated effectively into the site’s design and architecture. Look at your company’s sales process: What is the logical next step for your site visitors? Invite them to contact you to receive publications, a sample, a quote, a free trial or a complimentary consultation or to become a sponsor, a member or a donor. Invite them to attend an event or come to your retail location. And, of course, invite them to “Buy Now.” Many Web sites make the mistake of not asking the customer to contact them, or not asking directly enough. Make sure your calls-to-action are clearly articulated.

Your Web site can be your best spokesperson. Be clear about what you want your site to say about your brand and how you can best enhance your image through its design and content. Your brand should be clearly identifiable in the marketplace and your message should provide customers with a clear understanding of why they buy from you, and should set the tone for the customer experience they expect. Work deliberately to incorporate your company’s visual and verbal identities in your site’s design.

A Web development partner can help you bring your vision into reality. If you want to judge whether the site meets its mark, try the WebAward criteria the Web Marketing Association uses: Does the site leave the door open for further exploration? Does it stand out from its competition? Is the content interesting and relevant? Does it incorporate technology well to enhance user experience? Is the copy clear and well-written? Does it encourage interaction? Is it user-friendly?

Your Web site can be your best business tool; don’t underestimate its power!

Eva Chiu is founder and chief client officer for InfoAdvantage, an Internet marketing and Web development firm since 1994. See some of her team’s work at www.infoadvantage.com.

©2007 Caliope Publishing Company