Websites have become an increasingly
important aspect of most companies. As
websites were first created for the purpose of simply having one, today
websites are used as marketing techniques with carefully created objectives
(Lombardo, 2001). Websites play
increasingly significant roles in most companies, and therefore, it is
important to understand and follow the website development process.
Websites play a very significant
role in the marketing strategy. They act
as a channel for providing information or a channel for generating sales. They can also act as a channel for both
(Roberts & Zahay, 2013). Websites
are commonly created for the purposes of increasing sales revenue, increasing
company visability, advertising products/services, providing customer service,
and retaining and growing customer bases (Lombardo, 2001). To successfully fulfill these objectives, it
is important to follow the website development process carefully. The website development process consists of
seven essential steps (Roberts & Zahay, 2013).
The first step in the website
development process is to establish site objectives. The company must first decide whether the
intention of the website is to be informational of transactional. It is also important to include both generic
and specific objectives in doing so (Roberts & Zahay, 2013). When creating objectives, they must also be
measurable (Lombardo, 2001). When
creating an information website, the objectives should be based on the AIDA
model, which stands for attention-interest-desire-action. The website should guide visitors through each
of those stages (Roberts & Zahay, 2013).
Ultimately, objectives should provide a strong foundation to the overall
marketing goals of the company.
The second step in the website
development process is to identify and describe the target market. It is then the responsibility of the
marketing department to understand how each of the objectives relate to a
specific target market. This information
needs to be shared with all website developers (Roberts & Zahay,
2013). A target market, its profile
characteristics, and the reason for visiting should all be developed and then website
content and the navigation structure need to be designed around it (Lombardo,
2001).
The third step in the website
development process is to design site content and navigation structure. This is the stage in which the necessary
content and the appropriate manner of how to present the content is
decided. At first it generally appears to
be straightforward to the public eye.
However, successfully created websites are far from
straightforward. It has been proven that
generally website viewers skim the text rather than read it word for word. This creates a need for the text to be placed
properly. Properly placed text is
generally in short blocks and a column fashion.
Eye catching graphics, clean fonts, and strong visual metaphors have
also recently been found to be helpful.
Ultimately, the goal is to simplify the site’s message and improve the
visual appeal of it (Roberts & Zahay, 2013).
The fourth step in the website
development process is to conduct usability tests. This is when internet users test out the
website. They are able to discover
issues within it and provide suggestions as to how to improve the site. The site needs to be user friendly when it is
all done and displayed. Therefore, it is
important to test the site on samples of individuals before putting it in front
of the public eye (Lombardo, 2001).
The fifth step in the website
development process is to deploy and tune the site. This is a technical focused step. This is the stage when images are compressed
to make them load quicker and links are checked to ensure they work. Overall, it is the stage when the site is
checked to make sure it is running as quickly and smoothly as it could. If not, then measures are taken to fix
it. The website may then be uploaded (Roberts
& Zahay, 2013).
The sixth step in the website
development process is to measure and evaluate the site’s effectiveness. This is the point where the IT department
monitors the technical aspects of the website.
Doing this enables them to find things such as infrequently accessed
websites, abandoned carts, or navigation paths that indicate difficulty. The IT department is then able to take action
on these issues to resolve the problems quickly. These changes improve the website (Roberts
& Zahay, 2013).
The final step in the website
development process is to refine and improve the site’s effectiveness. It is important to continuously be updating
the website and improving it in as many ways as possible. One good way of improving the website is
through obtaining customer feedback.
Ultimately, it is the customer you are trying to impress, so it is their
feedback that should be taken into consideration (Roberts & Zahay, 2013).
Overall, websites are very
beneficial for companies to have.
Creating a website to fulfill certain roles within a company and
following the website development process to ensure the site fulfills the roles
will help ensure greater successes for the company. Having a strong website can really give a
company a strong competitive advantage over other competing companies.
References
Lombardo,
C. (2001, June 1). Marketing Online Services: The Need to Be Savvy. EBSCO
Publishing Service Selection Page. Retrieved
December 15, 2012, from http://ehis.
ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&hid=23&sid=423a61c9-cce9-45c4-aa2e-4eab67c308d2%40sessionmgr12.
Roberts,
M. L., & Zahay, D. L. (2013). Internet Marketing: Integrating Online and
Offline
Strategies (3rd ed.).
Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
