Creating A Purpose Driven Site

The single most important factor to keep in mind is to create a site that is driven by a specific purpose. If you start creating a site without this upfront effort, your site and its effectiveness can suffer as a result. Simply carve out a few hours from your schedule, and devote that time to writing text that you want for your Web site. You'll be glad you put the effort into it.

Step 1 - Content (Text).

Be clear on why, when and how you want to engage your target audience. You are best placed to know whom you are targeting with your online business. Tailor your language to resonate with the people you are addressing. Visit other sites that do similar business to yours and see what they are doing and saying. Click here to access google search engine and then type in words that best describe your business or industry. Browse through the various sites that come up and get the general idea of how other online businesses similar to yours are doing, then go one better. Note: copying text word for word from other sites is a copyright infringement!

Step 2 - Style.

Know how you want your site to look and feel like. In order for TOMASI Online! to produce a site that meets your expectations, it is important for you to clearly indicate the style and tone you are seeking for your online business. Click here to access google search engine and then type in words that best describe your business or industry. Browse through the sites that come up and write the web addresses of at least six (6) sites that closely match what you are looking for. When completing your Web Design and Planning Worksheet on our Members Page, write these web addresses in the space provided and explain what you like about about each site. Web addresses are for example www.thatgoodsite.com. This will point us in the right direction and ensure TOMASI Online! designs the site you are seeking.

Step 3 - Site organization.

Depending on the number of pages you want for your site, decide which areas (titles) of your business you want to showcase then create content to match those titles. Let's take this page as an example. You will see on the top left hand side a set of navigation buttons with names such as; Home, About Us etc, etc. These are basically page titles that tell our clients which areas, services and products are covered on our site. The content inside each title addresses matters related to the title indicated on the navigation buttons. The Home Page is usually an introduction to your business and can generally be used to cover the range of services and products that you offer, with more details about each being covered in other pages. This is not a rule though!

Step 4 - Pictures and Graphics.

Depending on the nature of your business or industry, pictures and graphics can play a huge role in enhancing the look and feel of your site. Decide carefully which pictures, and the number, you want displayed on various pages of your site. In general, if your business deals with items that are graphically appealing, e.g. a flower arrangement and delivery service, then obviously crisp images of various flower arrangements or an image of a lady receiving a beautiful flower bouquet, with a big smile on her face, will go a long way in not only enhancing your site appeal, but will also stimulate a buying impulse. The same would go for an online based Tours & Safaris business.

On the other hand, if for example you are a lawyer or an engineering firm, the need for pictures and graphic would not be as critical. In this case, the text would tend to carry the biggest weight in selling your products or services.

Step 5 - Forms.

You may want to receive orders, bookings, feedback etc directly to your e-mail box. This is achieved using forms embedded on your site. Decide whether you want to use these on your site, and if so, design the layout depending on the feedback you want to capture from your clients. Form submission and management systems come in many different levels of sophistication, with the most basic simply sending the content on the form to a pre-determined e-mail address, to others that manage your entire booking or order taking system on auto pilot. We can provide you with any system that you choose.

Step 6 - Uploading Pictures, Graphics and Text.

Once all the content (text) for your site is ready, save it in a .doc extension (i.e. MS Word format) and upload it when completing the Web Design and Planning Worksheet on our Members Page. To upload, simply click the button labelled Browse, go to the folder or destination where the file(s) are saved and double click them. Use the same procedure to upload photos or graphic files. Please ensure the size of each individual photo or graphic image is not more than 150 kb.

*** Re-sizing images. If you don't have the right software, you can still reduce the KB's of your images significantly using this simple method; (1) Copy the image you want to re-size from it's present location (2) Open a blank MS Word document (3) Click ""Edit" then "Paste Special" (4) Select "Bitmap Image" or "Microsoft Photo Editor" or "Picture" (5) Click "Okay" and your image is pasted on the word document (6) Click "File" then "Save As A Webpage" (7) Give your image a name and click "Save" (8) Go to the folder you saved the new image. The file you should look for is "image002" (9) Copy this image to a new folder, re-name it and continue with other images as above.

For help on any of the foregoing, contact us by clicking here.

Alternatively, please feel free to call us on Mobile: +254 (0) 712 918 589 or Office: +254 (0) 2020 392 84 if you wish to speak to a live person who will answer any question or clarify on any area that you need to understand more clearly. We will be delighted to hear from you between 07:45 hrs - 17:45 hrs (East African Time) or 04:45 hrs - 14:45 hrs (GMT).

Let your Online Business be handled by professionals. That's the key!

"Creating New Opportunities. Everyday!"

[ Close this page ]