When determining the size of your company's Web site, approach it as you would any other business decision. No contractor adds employees unless he has the jobs to pay their salaries and make a profit, and no merchant installs new displays unless she believes they're going to increase sales. Similarly, each component of your Web site should have a reason behind it.

What and for Whom

First and foremost, there's the purpose. "You need to ask, 'What does the site need to do to be successful?' " says Rochelle Seltzer, president of the Boston design and marketing communications firm Seltzer Design. For example, a coffee shop that wants to provide hours, directions, a menu and telephone number doesn't need a site that welcomes users by name or allows visitors to create a personal home page. Sure, you may want to go beyond basic store information -- by providing a history of the business, say, or presenting testimonials from satisfied customers. Features such as these help give a site character, and adding them doesn't have to be expensive. But make sure every feature somehow contributes to reaching the site's overall mission.

"The very beginning of our process is determining a project's goals and objectives," says Joshua Cyr, a principal of Harbour Light Productions, a design studio and Web company in Portsmouth, N.H. "The process is very much like writing a business plan: You need to set goals, plan for feedback to incorporate into your next efforts. You need to determine the stakeholders: employees, customers, investors or others."

Carefully planning the message and scope of the Web site can result in especially effective communication. As an example, Mr. Cyr points to the site of TMS Architects in Portsmouth. "In design, organization and content, it's always clear who they are and what they do," he says. "Users can quickly and easily see commercial and residential applications or works in progress, learn more about TMS and its background and history."

In large part, the dynamics of your site will depend on the nature of your business, says Javier Arango, director of the Web and print design firm Studio Arango in Cambridge, Mass. "If you have a product you can sell over the Internet, you should create a site with an e-commerce solution, so you can actually take orders," he says. "If not, you might just want a brochure-like site."

Then, there's audience: If most of your customers sign on to the Internet several times a day, your site may be somewhat advanced. If they only check e-mail once a week, a simpler approach is in order. How do you determine your target's comfort level? The most efficient way is to pick up the phone. Call your customers and ask them what they'd find useful. And be sure to ask them how comfortable they are with the Web in general.

Keeping the Message Fresh

How much information do you have to share? What's the story you have to tell? If you want to sell products, how many items do you need to show? The answers to these questions will help determine your site's size.

While adding pages here and there may not significantly impact the scope of your project, the expenses involved can add up. Creating different areas of the Web site -- such as an "About Us" section, a separate "Products and Services" section and a "Contact Us" section -- certainly impacts the cost of initial design and implementation. In addition, "it's extremely important to plan for updates -- or even for expansion -- so that the site's physical architecture can handle changes without upsetting the apple cart," says Ms. Seltzer.

On top of that, the amount of information you offer will indicate the resources needed to support it. This consideration is key, for few things erode a company's credibility more than a Web site that contains old or erroneous information. Even material you consider "evergreen" -- that is, information that rarely requires updating -- needs to be reviewed and confirmed on a regular basis.

If you've linked to a variety of Web sites, you'll have to check periodically to make sure they remain available. All of this is straightforward, but it takes time. If you and your employees can't stay on top of the site's content, make sure you have the money for freelance help.

"Your Web site is never done," says Mr. Cyr. "It's not a one-time effort or budget item. This is something where you complete 'phase one' knowing that 'phase two' is on the horizon."

Building in phases also allows businesses to develop their Web sites more intelligently. When Harbour Light created the site for the Greater Seacoast United Way in Portsmouth, Mr. Cyr's team, "started off with the idea that phase two would be right around the corner," he says. Now, incorporating new features and information about external programs keeps the site fresh. At the same time, they continually evaluate and prioritize features to be added in the future. "If we had done everything we could imagine in just one phase, it would have been an overwhelming project, far beyond the budget in both time and money," Mr. Cyr says.

Be sure to consider who will be doing the updating. When Ms. Seltzer produced a Web site for Boston-based photographer Ralph Mercer, she knew her client wanted to manage the site himself. "We had to think about the design differently," Ms. Seltzer says. "Not every client wants to do their own updating, but we always make sure to consider who will be taking on that task."

Remember the Budget

Finally, there's budget: This can be either the starting point or ending point of your planning. "If you simply don't have much money to spend, that's going to limit the size and scope of your project," says Mr. Cyr. On the other hand, if you've figured out a way to increase your overall sales through the Web, all of the other considerations will help determine the funding you'll need to raise. In either case, when it comes to numbers, be realistic. Or even better, be pessimistic. As a rule of thumb, plan on spending at least as much money on your Web site as you did on your last piece of print material -- including the printing costs.

Whatever your approach, a truly successful Web site will be as lean and cost-effective as possible. Like any piece of your business, it should make every dollar count.

-- Mr. Feffer is the publisher of Small Business Web Update, a publication of Tramp Steamer Media, a publishing company based in Trenton, N.J.

Email your comments to sjeditor@dowjones.com.

 

Let's make your website a reality @ No Lemets Concepts

With all the details involved in developing a Web site, entrepreneurs sometimes mistakenly overlook the importance of their site's written content. Often, design and programming take precedence over the crafting of each sentence.

It's through your site's words that you communicate with customers and prospects. Words set the tone for your company. They make it appear approachable or stodgy. They build trust in your product or destroy your credibility. Correctly assembled, they have an impact on your search-engine rankings.

"If the content on your site isn't compelling, it doesn't matter how nifty your product or service is. A visitor may not stick around to read about what you offer," says Debbie Weil, publisher of Word Biz Report, a Washington, D.C.-based publication helping businesses create effective content for their Web sites.

Ms. Weil, a former journalist, doesn't discount the importance of good design. "Appealing, effective design is important, but the design should make visitors read the page, and guide them to the major parts of the page," she says. In fact, Ms. Weil believes a site's words are as important as the graphics, navigation and back-end technology.

Entrepreneurs have "a huge job of selling," says Ms. Weil, and at each step of the sales process they need to provide clear answers to the user. The right words, she points out, can drive revenue to your business.

"Writing is both an art and a science. The science is the facts, figures and benefits to the customer; the art is putting that together to make copy that flows naturally," she says.

Besides presenting sales information, your site can raise your profile -- and credibility -- if it includes articles about your industry or perhaps a news section with summaries and links to expanded resources. For example, "A marketing consultant might post the '10 reasons why you should hire a marketing consultant,' " says Ms. Weil, but she cautions: "Don't write about yourself. That's too sales-oriented."

While pertinent industry analysis or helpful tips may bolster your online presence, typos and grammar mistakes hurt your credibility. If writing isn't your strongest skill, consider hiring a free-lance writer or editor to assist you. Also, enlist the aid of friends or family for proofreading.

Selecting a Free-lance Writer

So you're not Hemingway. How do you hire someone to produce the pithy prose you desire? Ms. Weil believes the most important factor is finding a writer whose approach matches your own.

Ask how he or she works with clients via fax, phone or e-mail. For many entrepreneurs, whether the writer will put in the extra effort to finalize their site within deadlines is critical.

Further, look for experience. "Get clips; ask to see an example of a Web site or an online newsletter he or she has written," says Ms. Weil. "If you have a limited budget, you don't have the resources to experiment while someone learns online copywriting skills. Be upfront about what you're looking for. Be specific."

Letting Your Personality Shine

While much of today's online content originated as printed material, copywriting experts advise against simply posting existing copy to your Web site. Web users tend to like informal copy, and brochures usually are written more formally, from the perspective of "the corporation."

"You can't just take text you use in print and use it online," says Montreal-based consultant and author Nick Usborne, who helps large and small businesses analyze what messages users get from Web sites, newsletters and "anything in the online space."

For example, a brochure is written for a reader to leisurely explore a product's features. Web users, however, have different goals when they visit a site. "The Web audience has a task-oriented mind set. They want to get to information quickly and easily," Mr. Usborne says. While brochures or direct-mail pieces can have long sentences and paragraphs, Web sites shouldn't, he says. Such copy is "difficult to read," he explains. "You want to inform, yet the audience has limited time."

Mr. Usborne emphasizes that writers need to be deeply connected to the audience's needs. For example, he cites the American Cancer Society Web site, which is most often used by friends or relatives of cancer patients. The site has a simple sentence -- "No matter who you are, we can help." This shows how much the organization has thought about its visitors.

One small-business man who has been successful writing his own online copy is Eric Lupton of Life Saver Systems, a Delray Beach, Fla., manufacturer of swimming-pool fencing. In writing for Poolfence.com, Mr. Lupton provides parents with the information they need, even while he empathizes with their problems.

"When you understand your audience, you speak in a way they understand. You don't use industry jargon or technical terms," says Mr. Lupton, who's been writing and managing the site for five years. His e-mail tag line is concise and cute: "Keeping little feet on the ground for over a decade." He explains, "It appeals to people, especially young mothers."

Mr. Lupton has gone so far as to write standard messages for his distributors to use when e-mailing customers about his products. "The message that gets to the audience is very important," he says. "The distributors may not be the best writers, or typists, or have the time. This way, the clients are getting professionally written responses."

Writing for Spiders

Finally, words perform a strategic function on your Web site: They influence the search engine "spiders" -- or software robots -- that comb through online text and use it to categorize pages. Milwaukee florist Greg Johnson, who has been writing for his Greenfield Flower Shop Web site since 1997, focuses on creating text that will help his site get picked up by search engines.

"You want your site to be found," he says. Plus, Mr. Johnson says, once a user lands on his site he wants them to stay.

The site features a personal and friendly style that alleviates customers' concerns by speaking to them directly and warmly. "We understand that purchasing flowers can often be an intimidating experience," the site says.

On occasion, Mr. Johnson has hired outside writers to produce content. "The people who've done the best job are genuinely excited about receiving flowers themselves," he says. That enthusiasm comes through in their writing.

Capturing that enthusiasm in your online copy just may translate to customers who feel good about your product or service.

Related Links

-- Ms. Miller is editor of Small Business Web Update, a publication of Tramp Steamer Media, a publishing company based in Trenton, N.J.

Email your comments to sjeditor@dowjones.com.