About MELROSE PLANTATION PRESS & WEB PUBLISHING,  DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT "What to have in your web page"

That's true of all advertising.  The greatest advertising campaign in the world can't make up for a poor product or service.  When I worked in the marketing and public relations department of the largest bank in Tennessee, we would conduct interviews called focus sessions with past, present or potential customers.  One past customer said "God himself couldn't make him bank with us again, let alone a slick, whiz bang ad campaign."

Sure, we can add animated graphics to your site, and snazzy pictures, but what most folks really want is content, the steak.  Think about the old radio plays or your favorite novel.  These works are wonderful and done with the creativity of your mind to add the pictures.  Haven't you been disappointed with some movies when you read the book before your saw how it translated on the silver screen?

1. The single most important factor in designing the content of your web page is to decide what the purpose of your page is.  It is to inform, entertain, provide a forum for discussion or sell?  Often it is a mixture of these, but only one can be the most important factor. We have a questionnaire that we use with web customers that allows them to focus on what they want their web page to accomplish.
2. When designing, use the KISS rule.  This was a design principle Robert and I both were taught in our design classes.  KISS means Keep It Simple Stupid.  This design rule is especially important when you consider the aggravating web pages slowed by huge graphics files.
3. Keep your graphics under 30K.  You can control this by making the graphic smaller and have less resolution.  Animated graphics are fun but can distract from what you are trying to have your customer learn about you.
4. Update your sales pages as we do with our rose inventory.  This lets your customers know that when they order your product, they will get your product.  If it is backordered, let them know that too.
5. Make yourself accessible to your customers.  They won't abuse this opportunity and will look to you for more information.  When customers ask me about roses we don't grow, I look up the information in our directory and let them know where they can obtain it.  Being a nice person is never a mistake.
6. It isn't necessary to have fancy gizmos like shopping carts and secured channels in order to get started with a web site.  Start small and learn to manage your web page yourself.  It will mean more to your business' success in the long run.  To use a computers you need to know which keys to push when, and how to get help.  There are many places you can learn this information.