Blogs by nature feel informal, they should make you feel like the screen is your friend and it has written you a quick letter. But, as with most things in life, appearances can be deceiving. The craft of writing informally is almost harder than writing formally. Every comma, fullstop and slang word used has to be in it's place or the reader's experience will turn from enjoying friendly banter to being turned right off.

Problogger wrote a good article today about the importance of fullstops in headings. yes, that's right. Fullstops in headings.

Because when you want to be good, very good, every bit counts, and telling your readers to stop before they have even started is just about the best way to ensure your readers go elsewhere.

It's funny how many customers write to us saying 'my website has gone down, can you fix it?' only to find that they have let the domain name slip  (We generally tell customer's to leave domain management to us, but some already have things set up).
This morning I read about 9Rules, which is a web company, letting their domain name expire because they forgot to update their address. While you get a nice little grace period to renew if you make this mistake, it is a little blushworthy in the meantime!
So keep track of those domain names, because they companies that offer them ar not charities, if you forget the email address you used when you signed up, they won't let it slide, you will lose your domain name :)

Just a friendly reminder :)

Getting started with blogging
you can signup for a free blog @ any of plenty of places online now, a few are here:

• http://www.blogspirit.com
• http://www.typepad.com
• http://www.blogger.com
• Want to be a bit different? Then talk to us and we'll make something special and You!
   

Get your blog found
Submit your blog to blog directories, and select the tags or categories that best fot your blog

• http://www.technorati.com/
• http://www.blogtopsites.com
• If you write something interesting submit the article to http://www.digg.com

Keep up to date with the blogs you like and that inspire you
To keep your ideas moving and linked in with other conversations on the web, get a feed aggregator, newsreader, blog aggregator, whatever you want to call it. The one we use, which helps you organise all sorts of things is netvibes http://www.netvibes.com Signup to netvibes and add your favourite blog rss feeds as you find them and then netvibes will donwload and aggregate them all for you so you can quikly scan them.

• http://www.netvibes.com

Some interesting business/entrepreneurial blogs

• http://blog.guykawasaki.com/ (some really good and relevant articles, Guy is a VC)

When we get into designing sites, we look around and get inspired. With web 2 in full swing, there are heaps of great, simple, really usable websites that we just cant help but love. While most of us will never be making a web 2 application, we can all take alot of insight from their approach to design, as when you need to get people to sign-up to your service online, quickly as web 2 applications do, you just have to get your design right and focused on getting people to make the decision to Sign-up!

Heres just a few of the sites that we've been looking at recenlty, + a link to a list of about 150 web 2 sites that we scn over at various stages to get our ideas on design clear.

• http://www.collectivex.com/
• http://www.30secondrule.com/
• http://www.freshbooks.com/
• http://www.chalksite.com/
• http://www.opinity.com/
• http://www.emaginacion.com.ar
• http://www.blummy.com/
• http://www.chatsum.com/
• http://www.sidejobtrack.com/
• http://www.wayfaring.com/
• http://www.meetup.com/
• http://www.standpoint.com/

We keep all the nicely designed web 2 sites on delicious here

When you're talking with your web designer and want somewhere to start, get together a list of sites like this, that ou like, that are focused on outcomes.

I just got this from Emergence Marketing, who got it from Blog CEO, who got it from... (oh, the wonders of news spreading in the blogosphere)

"According to Onestat, only 11.4% of all search queries are one-word phrases. 3 and 4 word phrases make up more than 50% of all queries"

This is very interesting. We currently seem to think singularly about keywording, it's time to think in phrases.

It is frightening how often a business owner is afraid of what her/his customers really think. We say 'You should allow customer feedback', they say 'but I'll probably get bad feedback'.

Without going into the potential issues that this opens up (ie. why are you leaving behind a trail of unsatisfied customers?), every small business is open to critical/negative feedback. It is something we should all expect from time to time. The problem seems to be how to deal with it.

Tim and I are all for open discussion, whether it be good or bad, hense our recent blog post about one unsatisfied customer on our Decisive Flow blog, simple and loveable. Our reasoning is:

• no one believes you are perfect - I don't trust any company who only shows me blazingly happy feedback
• The negative comments, if addressed well, turn into positive feedbacks - Imagine getting bad feedback, only to promptly reply (openly) offering a free replacement/discount/explanation. That's impressive!
• Sometimes this is the only avenue people are willing to offer feedback in. Any negative feedback you get is therefore extremely valuable in developing your business. Embrace it.

With the increasing ability to have comment- like feedback on websites and definately on e-commerce sites, real-time, open, uncensored feedback is a reality small businesses have to stomach. It can be frightening to open yourself up to criticism, however, I am yet to see an example of bad feedback actually hurting a good company.

A lot of people come to us asking for a basic website that "tells people what we do and where we are". After all, this is what a website is for right? Well... Sometimes.

If you are planning on building a website that offers the most value to your business, sometimes a basic informative site can't hope to help you enough to warrant very much expense at all. Take for instance, these situations:

Case Study 1
A potential customer we met with the other day. She lives and works in a very small town, population less than 20,000, the kind of town where she knew everybody's business and they knew hers. She felt it was time to move into the internet age and wanted a website that told people about her and where she was.

But everyone in the area already knows where she is and what she does, and people from further afield are unlikely to travel to get to her shop. The only thing her money would do in that situation was clog up the drain it was going down.

Case Study 2
Same day, different potential customer. A locksmith. Locksmithing poses a few troubles for massive web returns, mainly that even the geekiest of geeks (ie. me) still turn to the good old yellow pages when in need. If I lock myself out of my car, I'm never going to choose a locksmith based on the quality of their website, I want the one that will be there in 2 minutes flat.

What this means for websites
As much as the internet may be the 'place to be' of the 21st century, there is no reason to go there purely for the sake of it. That is not to say I condone anyone who DOESN'T  currently have a website, because it would appear that you are missing out on many, many opportunities. It's purely a matter of being realistic about what you can achieve on the web, and how to contort the internet to make it fit you.

For instance, no one is willing to travel to a small town to buy a herbal remedy, however,  people would LOVE to have access to the unique skill and homemade blends that customer 1 offers. The solution: Set up an online shop. Give all the customers who currently rave about the products a few business cards each and let them pass them onto friends who can access those same products offline.

Sometimes it's a matter of figuring out what your business does. Yes locksmiths install locks one off. But the real money comes from fitting out homes/businesses with complete security systems. They already notice a surge in calls from homeowners before every holiday. Solution: Create a website around home/workplace safety. offer advice on security and information about complete security packages. That's what people will take the time to look up, and whilke they are doing it, your credibility as a locksmith is rising.

So Before You Begin...
Treat the web like any other part of your business, sit down and figure out the best way to make money from it. Treat a website like an opportunity, not a neccessary expense and see what you come up with. Obviously, it's best to find a web designer you can trust and sit them down too.

1. Think about your overall business goals and aims:
   • What business areas do you want to grow?
   • Narrow 'what you do' down to a couple of sentences description
2. Consider how your customers currently find you/are supported by you and how you'd like this to happen in the future:
   • Do you spend too much time on the phone offering basic support?
   • Is your current website (if you have one) generating new leads? Why?/Why not?
3. Start to think about how a website/web strategy can help you build on these areas or help your business become more efficient.

The result of these preliminary steps (which seem to be missed fairly often) is that a basic about us/ contact us website is not your best bet.

Homepage is as important now as ever with your website. Its an opportunity to provide simple entry points to target the different audiences you have and most importantly the different ways people start their decison making process.

We've got exacly what you want
People need to immediately know how what you offer benefits them. This is not something exclusive to your website, every business needs to focus on what makes them different and uniquely valuable to customers, we often find that its not until customers engage with us on homepage design that they really get this right, as its an absolute must that your homepage represents your business simply. Make this a clear statement at the top of your homepage. Make it about your customers, make it easy, make it as few a words as possible.

Where can I start my journey

Not everyone will come to your site in the same frame of mind, with the same knowledge. The most valuable thing you can do on your homepage is provide small focused entry points that let each of your target audience start their experience with you. When you look at and simplify your service you will most likely come up with the primary decison-making process that your audience will go through to become a customer. This is really important and the idea is to show people just how easy it is to go from being a visitor to  customer. But how you lead people into this process requires another perspective.

Speak to peoples state of mind
Your homepage is the opportunity to speak to the many different states your potential customers will come to you in. Think about the knowledge that different segments of your audience will have, appeal to what they know when they first arrive and let them start their journey from there. In the end everyone who becomes a customer is likely to have the same set of common knowledge required to make the decison to choose you, but they will each start in different ways. Some customers know what they're looking for and will see you as an option to evaluate, guide them straight into your approach and what makes you different and better. Others dont understand the context for making the decison to choose you, show them how the market works and where you fit in. Entry points are the main way most people will begin their journey into your site, they will head back to the main site navigation one they're deeper in and potentially loose their way, the flow of your site should always lead them naturally to where they need to go, but thats a different article : )

Static websites are dull. We all know that. We also know that in about two years we will look back at the cutting edge websites we are creating now and sigh at just how static they are. But all is not lost, because it's easy to introduce some dynamic elements to your site that will only grow bigger in the next few years. Be amoung the first to prepare your website for the new generation of the web.

1)  Google Maps (or your local alternative). No need to offer extensive instructions on how to find you, just dump a whole scrollable map on your 'contact us' page.
Benefits:

• You are very easy to find - customers have a full map right in front of them
• Your website/company looks cutting edge
• Anyone searching your area on Google Maps will see your business.
• It's as easy as copying and pasting a bit of code.

2) Blog RSS Feeds on relevant parts of your site.
No, you may not have the time to always be updating your website, but keep the content fresh by pulling through relevant content from other sites
Benefits:

• Gain readers who wouldn't otherwise find your blog
• Become the 'news source' in your industry/area

3) Cocomment Feed on your personal profile page
Keep track of all the conversations you're having in the blogosphere and then display them on your site. Immediately visitors can see how actively involved you are in shaping your industry
Benefits:

• Be recognised as a 'thought leader'
• Show how active you are within your community
• Your personal profile becomes a lot more 'real'

4) Link back to your LinkedIn profile

Online business networks really work and their popularity is growing like wildfire. Use your website to generate conversations with like minded people and boost busienss opportunities.
Benefits:

• Visitors to your website become valuable business contacts
• Keep your personal 'web presence' linked together

5) Allow Visitors to your site to call you on Skype in one click

Yes, even my mum uses it now, so if your's isn't already, she wont be far behind. Your website should always leave an opening for further communication, whether it's connection through to your sky-click web call center or yourself, one click calls are the future of business communication.

I've built one static website, it was the first website I ever made and because I mucked up so many bits of it, I immediately saw a need for something more scaleable and a little easier to update. A lot of web designers think differently, they claim that CMS's are restricted and enjoy the trickle of income that comes from website updates. A lot of customers don't even know what a Content Management System is. What you're average person needs to know is that it is a system that holds all the content of your site in a databse that you access through a nice website backend. If you can use basic Microsoft word functionality, you can update your website. So how exactly does this benefit you?

1) Better Search Engine Rankings - Which means more visitors to your site
Search engines love sites that are regularly updated. If you can update your site as easily as you can write a word document, chances are, you will update it - unlike your static site that sits unchanged for years at a time.

2) Save money, you no longer have to pay someone every time you want to update your website.
Or wait for them to have space to do the updates. Although you may have a slightly higher hosting bill each month, the savings by updating your site in-house more than make up for this.

3) Your whole team can be focused around your website as a marketing tool
Because everyone has control over the marketing material, your website becomes the dynamic, up-to-date center of your marketing strategy. Your website becomes a living reflection of your company and involves all of your company.

4) Create an extranet and provide customers, partners and investors access in a few clicks
If you have some content that you don't want all the world to see, but want to provide access to it for your customers, partners or investors, a CMS allows you to partition it off in just a few clicks. You can easily create user accounts for chosen people on your website, or allow people to sign up themselves to view extra content, participate in forums or any number of activities you'd rather restrict access to.

5) Keep people coming back
No one likes returning to a website that hasn't changed since their last visit. They do like returning to a site that provides relevent, up-to-date information. New products? Special offers? Exciting news? Your website becomes THE place to go to know what's going on.