Title: Preparing For Your Website Word Count: 828 Summary: You must be at the point where you are ready to get your services or products on the World Wide Web and in front of all the people. Now the question is “What do I have to do to get started?” Well this article will provide you with all the information you will need to know. We will go over details describing the easiest way to collect all the necessary information to begin your transformation of a new website. So let’s get started, shall we? What do I need? So you have a... Keywords: prepare for your website, website preparation, preparing for website, starting website Article Body: You must be at the point where you are ready to get your services or products on the World Wide Web and in front of all the people. Now the question is “What do I have to do to get started?” Well this article will provide you with all the information you will need to know. We will go over details describing the easiest way to collect all the necessary information to begin your transformation of a new website. So let’s get started, shall we? What do I need? So you have a business and want to advertise it or want to advertise your products. You should start at Google by typing in your business related keywords. Let’s say that you are a tree service company located in Atlanta, you would go to google.com and type in tree service Atlanta or Atlanta tree service and write down the top 5-10 competitors that show up on the first page. Go to their websites and analyze them. Find out what services they provide, what information they have about their company and where and how they organized their website navigation. Here are some ideas: • What can I offer that is better than these websites that will attract more clients to my website? • Is anything missing in these sites that I can improve on? • Can I offer services at a cheaper rate? Dig in and find some improvements which will help you stand out before your competitors once your website is completed. Now that we have our main competitors down let’s start preparing our content pages. Drawing up your content pages First and foremost you have to have all of the facts about your services and/or each of your products written down in great detail. First thing that your online visitors want to see is what is it that you do exactly and information on what products and services you have to offer. Then fix you a drink and sit down with your laptop, pen and paper would do, and ask yourself these questions: • What does my company specialize in? • Why are we better than our competitors? • What sets our company apart from the rest of the pack? • What is good about our company? • Why would I buy a service or product from my own company? • How dependable we are? • What can we promise these customers to make them feel comfortable? Then just start writing down your own answers to these questions and you will notice that as you write you will start picking up more and more valuable information that you haven’t used before in any of your marketing pieces. Most people make mistakes by placing information “Our company has been in business since 1974 and we have been…” on their homepage. Now if you want to buy new shoes for yourself do you really care that the company selling you the shoes has been in business since 1974? Off course you don’t. You want to see your shoes and you want a good picture of them and an easy way to get them so that you can start wearing them as soon as possible. You also want to see the price of your shoes so that you don’t have to dig around and have to call, e-mail, or even visit the store and ask the sales associate how much the shoes cost. Putting it all together Now is the time where you are ready and have your website outlined and know what you want and need. Now you want to start looking for a good agency that is reliable and that is there to work with you from start to finish. You can pretty much distinguish a good agency within the first 5 minutes of the phone conversation. If they start promising you too much and they are trying to sell, all they are trying to do is take your money. We have all heard the story of “make money with having a website”. Don’t get me wrong, you will and you can make money with your website. But the agency that does your website most likely will not be the one that’s bringing those sales in for you. If they are recommending something to you then they are trying to make you understand the process or any similar item, now this makes them more dependable since you can sense that they are trying to help you from the start which means that they will be there when you raise your hand and have a question that needs an answer. So bottom line is that you shouldn’t try to save a buck at the start, it will cost you much more down the road. Beware of agencies that are trying to sell you like a dog and skin you down. You are ready to go and start you research. Best of luck and may your new website bring you lots of new business.