Creating an Effective Web Site

Standard Marketing Brochure Web Site

Many organizations equate a web site to nothing more than another place to distribute that not so great looking marketing brochure they created. While that corporate marketing brochure may work well for handing out at tradeshows and to include in direct mail campaigns, it doesn't mean that it will also function as a web site. What's wrong with this approach to building a web presence?

First take the actual content. The information contained in the marketing brochure is accurate and may successfully convey the message an organization is trying to convey to the reader but it was meant for print - not an interactive distribution. It will lack cross linking between documents and will not be search engine friendly (keep in mind, search engine spiders cannot read the text in an image).

The best approach for this type of a site is to post a few pages dedicated to each area of the brochure. Such as:

• Introductory copy (Home Page)
• Explanation of business structure, mission, and goals (About Us)
• Product(s) or service(s) offered (Products and Services)
• Contact Information (Contact Us)

Next consider the design of a marketing brochure web site. The graphic design of the brochure will not translate successfully to the web without an expert spending time to design a User Interface that will adhere to the corporate brand. If this is not done, the web site will look just like a brochure on screen which is very unappealing to say the least.