Your Roadmap for Web Success
Helpful Tips for Launching Effective Web Sites. Reinvent your web presence and make it work for you. Complete overhauls and simple refreshes are core competencies of ours. Apply Web 2.0 best practices for traffic, conversion and ROI today.
By now you have likely been fully exposed to the myriad of messages touting the benefits of Web 2.0… or maybe even Web 3.0. We prefer not to start any dialog about the exact definitions, but suffice to say the next generation of web development is exciting. This next generation rids itself of static internet brochure-ware, and instead optimizes functionality, interoperability, user experience, interaction, and analytics in an effort to make for a more engaging and compelling web experience.
On the whole, Merit Mile embraces three key decision drivers to every web initiative:
- Make it usable (functionality)
- Make it beautiful (creativity)
- Make it perform (technology)
Every web initiative is unique, and to publish the be-all, end-all best practice for web development would be short-sighted, if not impossible. Here, however, are an assortment of basic tips for launching effective (non-commerce) sites that embrace Web 2.0 feature sets:
Strategy
- Create strategic objectives for your new site: what does it need to accomplish and how will results be measured?
- Draft functional and technical specifications: recognize that art and science need to co-exist and make concessions only if absolutely necessary
- Publish a development schedule (and stick to it)
- Hire a firm specializing in web – not just web design, but programming, copywriting and marketing
Fundamentals
- Consistent site header, footer, interface and navigation
- Informative page title
- Copyright, privacy policy, terms of use
- Contact, Site map
- Social media link integration
- Link sharing capability
- Landing page publishing capability
Development
- Cross platform and cross browser compatibility
- Mobile platform compatibility
- Hosting environment SLA and back-up processes
- Web and email uptime commitments
- Content management processes and administration rights
- PPC campaign URL development and tracking mechanism
- Web analytics and reporting mechanism
- Testing, ongoing maintenance, bug repair and feature request processes
Help – What’s a Social Media Strategy Consist Of?
Social media for businesses large and small is all the rage. Where do you start is the most FAQ. Here is a top 10 list of the most important pieces of any social media strategy.
