Evaluating and Marketing Your Web Site

raft artists who assume that simply creating a Web site will mean improved sales are usually disappointed. Two steps — evaluating and marketing your site — are critical to success.

As a Web site owner, take an impartial look at your site at least once a year to ensure it meets a basic set of criteria. Your first evaluation should take place before your site is launched. If you think you may not be able to be objective, have a trusted friend or customer help you.

Is your site in tune with your work?

Does the appearance of your site reflect the quality of your work? Craft artists are very proud of their products and strive for perfection. Does your Web site have misspellings, grammatical errors, garish colors, poor quality images, off-center or oversized text, pop-up banners, horizontal scrolling, etc.? What does that say about the quality of your work? A sloppy site suggests your work may be sloppy as well.

In addition, if you are part of a group Web site with lower quality craft artists, it may reflect negatively on your offerings through association. Having a personal Web site that you control is always better.

Is your Web page too slow?

Does each of your Web pages download (appear on your screen) quickly? Each page should start to appear within five to eight seconds; if it doesn’t, you risk having your viewer “click away” from your site. Test this on a dial-up line — not a high-speed cable or DSL connection. Over 80 percent of Internet viewers in the United States have a low-speed connection.

Pages that are slow to appear reflect poor Web design. Avoid features like animation, audio, scrolling marquees, etc., which slow downloads. Remember, your objective is to communicate, not entertain!

How good is the on-site navigation?

Can you get to virtually any page in the site from any other page without using the browser’s “Back” button? Ease of navigation within a Web site is a key factor. While it costs more to design a site with buttons on every page to get anywhere else in the site, it pays for itself in viewer satisfaction.

A “site map” — a page with a description of, and a link to each page in the site — is another valuable tool. Your goal should be to make viewing your site as effortless as possible for your customers. If your viewer is unsure about how to use your site, there’s a design problem.

Update your site to keep it fresh

When was the last time your Web site was updated? Customers who return to your site and see the same thing every time quickly lose interest. The site becomes “dead.”

Consider changing your site frequently. Replacing the featured photo on your home page gives it a new look. Add new items and perhaps a monthly “featured item.” A phrase such as “This site was last updated on March 1, 2003,” on your home page says there’s something new to see. Unlike a printed brochure, a Web site can be easily and inexpensively updated.

And tell your viewer to bookmark your site; it makes it easy for them to return.

Don’t let your site just sit there

Once the Web site is up and evaluated, the next comment from many craft artists is, “I’ve launched my Web site and nothing’s happened. What am I doing wrong?”

The answer is that every Web site needs ongoing marketing. You must tell your customers you have a Web site, you’re proud of it, and you want everyone to visit it. A Web site that isn’t advertised or promoted is like a beautiful printed brochure that you leave in a drawer in your booth. No one will ever see it!

Ted Strauss is owner of a Web site design firm for crafts, artwork and antiques businesses. He has over 37 years experience in the information technology field. His Web site is http://home.earthlink.net/~tedstrauss..