This book teaches you all you need to know to create effective web sites for businesses of all sizes. It's packed with useful tips and practical examples. First you are taken through the planning stage, including overall site structure, grouping content, using content and language effectively, and planning for accessibility. Next, you are shown how to effectively design the different parts of your site as well as how to add specialized improvements, including feedback forms and search functionality.
The examples focus largely on CSS and HTML, but the principles are applicable to any site and some useful Flash examples are also provided.
Autorentext
Kevin Potts has been working on the web for almost 10 years, having started his career designing his first employer's website with Netscape and Notepad. He has spent the bulk of his design career working in-house as both a graphic designer and internal web developer. Coupled with years of freelance and agency work, Kevin has created dozens of websites for businesses of all sizes in an array of industries.
Zusammenfassung
The best business websites serve their readers with strong content, well-architected design, and a focus on usability, readability, and accessibility. This book covers the fundamental aspects of building a website that works for the company, not against it. It covers the essentials of strong copywriting, and then dedicates several chapters to designing user-centric About, Products and Services, and Support sections.
Your visitors come to your site because they are interested in your business and are therefore potential customers. This book covers taking advantage of that traffic by expanding the company's story through a corporate blog and using testimonials, case studies, and other third-party validation to reinforce the marketing message. With this knowledge, you will be able to create and maintain a highly professional, polished business site.
While a pleasing website is essential for any modern business, creating it is only a small piece of the online strategy. This book also discusses search engine optimization, using e-mail and RSS to communicate with customers and prospects, and advertising the corporate domain with paid search placement, online banners, text links, and more. The primary theme is using your corporate website to market the business effectively, from designing intelligent product pages to writing compelling e-mail newsletters. This book explores those ideas and offers compelling advice on how to take full advantage of the Web as a marketing medium.
Inhalt
Overview.- Content.- Accessibility.- Architecture and Navigation.- The Homepage.- The about Section.- Products and Services.- Independent Validation.- The Corporate Blog.- Customer Support.- Contingency Planning.- Legalese.- Search Engine Optimization.- Outbound Marketing.- Online Advertising.