C) What Should Your Site Include?

This is an individual choice based on your own thoughts, wishes and business philosophies as much as anything else. General thoughts:
1) Provide enough information to "put you in the running," but not enough where a potential customer thinks they're getting the whole picture and thus could write you off without follow-up.
2) Be educational in nature whenever possible, share information, make the site seen as a valuable resource and thus you're expressing an important image to customers.

More specific content ideas:
1) Clean home page making it clear exactly what it is you do. No one wants to waste time trying to figure it out. Also, clear navigation in two places on this page, and preferably, on every page.
2) Recent projects with brief description of your role and photos.
3) Customer testimonials (happy customers that is...). Links to their sites.
4) Services - clearly and concisely describe what services you provide and do not mislead.
5) Highlight affiliations, especially with key manufacturers. This might actually mean something to the customer, and either way it implies a close relationship "endorsed" by the factory. Also consider links to these companies.
6) Staff - highlight the experience of your staff. Consider e-mail links to key members allowing direct contact. This can be dovetailed back to you but could prompt response otherwise not made.
7) Honors & affiliations - nice prestige
8) Any press your company receives - local or trade press

****Do not create links for sections before they are done!!!!! This has negative connotations - you look sloppy and disorganized, you create frustration (why put a button to something I want to see if I can't even see it?), if you don't fill out the section in a reasonable amount of time, you’re making a statement for how your company completes (or does not!) a project, etc.

D) Tying Your Site Into Your Own Marketing Plan

1) Must look cohesive with your other materials
2) Create positive first impression
3) Use you www as an addition to your yellow pages ad
4) Shift newsletter efforts on-line. Saves $$ plus e-communications is a more effective business tool than paper. Use this to help build your database.
5) Tout events on the site and via e-mail listserve
6) When possible, have your customers offer a link to your site from their site.
7) Again, use the site in place of paper efforts where possible to cut cost and time, and devise ways to have the site answer questions and create impressions by itself, without your involvement.

E) Examples Of Costly Mistakes

1) Must make a commitment. Half a web site is worse than no web site in terms of image and gaining any real advantages such as timesaving
Contracts. Do your homework, especially if you're going to use an outside development resource. Who is responsible for what, when, what happens if there are problems, who is responsible for updates, etc.
2) Start out clean. The best web sites are usually big, clean outlines. Don't get too complicated from the outset. Try to establish realistic expectations of what you'll really be able to do. Set up a clean, logical outline and let the site build from there.
3) Investigate Service Providers. What do they offer in general, do they have tech support, what's their traffic and will this impact reliability, etc. Check references whenever possible. How often are they "down"? What are their upgrade options?
4) Don't get caught up in gimmicks. Streaming audio and video is neat but right now unnecessary and can't be enjoyed by the majority of customers (bandwidth and server issues). Ditto web cams (who cares what's going on in the hallways of your office?)
5) Focus on the message and how to present it cleanly, effectively, and most importantly, cleanly and glitch-free.
6) Content. Who is going to develop your content, particularly the written content. This is harder than it looks and again can be time consuming. No point to having a great-looking site if it's written by a kindergartner.