This is the Printer-Friendly Version of the House of Hein "Preparing to Purchase Your Web Site" Page.
 


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Why A Professional Web Site?
Yes, you've seen them... "come to our Web site and create your own site! You can create it right here, on-line!" The problems with this "service" (particularly if you're in need of a business site) are in the overall presentation quality and limits to content. All too often you are limited to the parameters of the simplistic program which the "build-your-own-on-line" site uses. 
Adding your own graphics is often very frustrating procedure- if it's allowed at all! If you have a scanner, and wish to use the resultant graphics on your site (of say your product line) is there a way to "crunch" or optimize your graphics to facilitate faster display of your pages?? No. 
The world of Web Site Design is being refined daily. Loading pages faster, being sure that a link to another related site doesn't take your visitor away from your site (and thereby losing a potential customer), better interactive multimedia aides, what's the best way to present your site to a search engine...... all these factors and many other details are part and parcel of The House of Hein's everyday "homework". They assure you of  the BEST face on the World Wide Web! 

15 Powerful Reasons to Start a Web Site For Your Business  from an article by Milana Nastetskaya 
Why am I telling you this? Because if THEY don't get a web site -YOU have a better chance at succeeding. Insurance, home improvement, gift shops and other companies are among those I see dragging their feet in putting their businesses online. This means if you do it now, before EVERY company is online, you will be among the pioneers!
Yep, that's right - Internet is still in its babyhood, no matter how many web sites there are out there. It has been less than a decade since companies decided to use web sites as part of their marketing strategies. Can you imagine what it will be like in 20-30 years??
I could go on and on, but I hope you are convinced: YOUR BUSINESS ABSOLUTELY NEEDS A WEB SITE!
Even if you are not planning to sell directly online, people will find your web site and contact you about the services you offer. You can place your web site address in your newspaper ads and any other promotional materials to make people aware of your web site. 

1) business will be open 24 hours a day. This means you won't have to stay open on Thanksgiving or Christmas day. If you live on the East Coast, people
from California will still be able to shop in your store after you close. Any time someone wants to know your hours, location, directions, or any other details
about your company, they can get it without disturbing you. 
2) Low staffing costs. When you have a web site, you can offer your products and services without hiring any extra employees. You won't have to spend any resources on compensating or insuring your new staff members and still be able to maintain the same level of sales and customer service. 
3) Gain thousands new customers. Because anyone in the world can see your web site, you will gain customers from other states and countries while you are putting in the same amount of effort and money. 
4) Create an image of a well established company. The Internet is a great medium through which you can create any image of yourself you want. It is all in your hands: design a professional web site, add helpful content, and your company will immediately take a step up in the image it represents. No matter how small your business is, with the right tools and a great desire you can make it look like a corporation on the Web! 
5) Save on postage and printing costs. Think of how many cards you mail out to let customers know about your sale. All of  that can be eliminated by putting the sale information on your web site and inviting your customers to visit it. You can collect your customers' E-Mail addresses and keep in touch with them about
special events in your store via E-Mail. 
6) Unlimited advertisement. If you ever advertised in a local newspaper, you know the costs. You are being charged per line, per inch, and per color. On the Web,
there is no limit to how much you can put. You can add pictures, articles, newsletters, rates, product images and so much more! With just one web site, you can have almost unlimited advertisement for the same low monthly cost (under$25 a month!) 
7) Promotional Costs are very low. When I interviewed the manager of NY State Nissan dealership, he shared with me the costs of running an online ad compared to a newspaper or any other printed advertisement. He said, "We can run a whole month of advertisements online for the same amount of money we pay for one newspaper ad!" That's right, on an online promotion you can spend $97 a month, while paying 10times that much for a one-time large ad in a magazine! 
8) Improve communications. If you have employees or suppliers, your web site is the best way to communicate between you and them. Changes take effect as soon as you post them on the Web, and everyone can see updated information without having to wait for a new database of products, and without contacting you directly. 
9) Impeccable customer service. This is a dream of any entrepreneur: "buy my product and leave me alone". By this I mean that business owners do not like to spend time explaining to customers how to use the product, how to install it, troubleshoot it, clean it, move it, turn it, and whatever else can be done to a purchased item. 
10) A web site will become your best friend in meeting the needs of your customers. It will answer all their questions. Simply create a page of "Frequently Asked Questions" and include its address on every receipt. This way, before they come to you for help, they will come to your web site for answers. 
11) Online presence - in step with your competitors. You must think of the Internet as a gigantic the Yellow Pages book. More and more people use the Web to shop for information, services and products. If you are not there - your competitors are! Can you imagine not being in Yellow Pages and try to reach local market? 
12) Unless you spend a lot of money on newspaper ads and other local promotions - no one will know your business exists. The same thing with the Internet. If people can't find your company on the Web, you might as well not exist. 
13) Get those cranky customers, too. Many people do not like to shop in the stores, malls and any other noisy places (I am first!). They are afraid of long walks, pressure from salespeople, sneezing customers and bumping shopping carts. Once they discover online shopping - they will never go back to the stores unless absolutely necessary. By putting your products online, you satisfy the needs of such customers and therefore succeed in one more niche. 
14) Showcase your work. Whether you are a real estate agent, construction business owner or a beauty salon specialist - you can put your work on display when you have a web site. Anytime a potential client wants to see your past work and projects, simply refer him or her to your site. No need to scan and mail pictures, or bring your client to a finished building project. 
15) Beat your competition to the top. Competition on line is huge today! There are over 3,000,000 sites on the Web and this number is growing. Still, I see at least 5businesses a month who are not online and getting a web site is not in their near future plans. 


K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid)
No insult intended... just a fact of life. Especially when creating a business site, this principle is imperative. As with any area of sales and the business realities of today, everyone's in a rush! 
If your site quickly conveys your site's purpose, the unique aspects of your establishment, and at the same time catches the eye artistically, chances are that a potential client will wish to explore your site and your business further! 
Reliable statistics have shown that while, as of this writing, Microsoft's Internet Explorer is currently in version 6.0, and that Netscape is offering its browser in version 6.2. The majority of business computers are still running version 4.0 or earlier of both brands!! This despite the fact that both of these browsers and their upgrades are *FREE* and available immediately over the Internet. 
There is also an unfortunate disparity in display functionality between these Internet Browsers. Unlike many other Web Design concerns and especially the "build-your-own" sites, The House of Hein creates Web Sites which are 99% auto-functional in BOTH of the major Browsers, while using reliable industry reports of averages of Browser versions used by the majority of Web users.
The House of Hein takes all these concerns into account when we discuss creating your new Web site. 

FYI-Even for those familiar with the Internet and Web Page styles, purchasing a Web Site is your presentation to the world. Please peruse the following for some Web Site creation basics: 

PAGES
Today's Web site is made up of individual pages of information and/or product illustrations, etc. It has been found that most "Surfers" find it overwhelming or just plain dull to try and read the story which you are trying to convey, on ONE LARGE PAGE! Try the one page method, and most potential customers will be gone before you can make your presentation. Generally, dividing your ideas or product into topics is the wisest method of presentation. Your Home or Index Page acts as the hub of your site. This is were you make your introductions or statement of purpose. From there you Link to the subsequent parts of the sale: the product & it’s specifications, prices, guarantees, how to contact you, etc.


IN GENERAL, it is wise to stay with one style throughout your Web site. Jumping from one style to another on one site can become, needless to say, very ugly!


LINKS (a.k.a. Hyperlinks)
As you've seen at other Web sites, you may wish to avail your visitors access to other sites which they may find of interest, or which bolster your own credentials (i.e. professional associations which maintain sites and who recognize you there as a member in good standing, etc.). One of the draw-backs of Links, in the past, was that they took the visitor to another site. This often left the visitor trying to find their way back to your site! There is now a way to have a new screen pop-up over your site when the visitor clicks on a Link. Then, when the visitor is finished following the “foreign” Link, and closes the pop-up window, there they are back at your site! 
GRAPHICS
For several years now, an integral part of Web pages has been the ability to include graphics as an attractant and just for fun! These illustrations are limited to the .JPG, .BMP and .GIF file formats (which also includes that of the animated .GIF). These are company logos, product illustrations, buttons for Links, etc. I can also scan your illustrations/logos/photos, then save them in the file formats listed above, and include them on your Web pages. The animated .GIF is very popular as a Banner Link. This acts as an advertisement on another person/company’s site. It is a series of picture frames with a product/service synopsis, which “play” in succession, automatically, and when clicked on, takes the visitor from another site, to your site.
Graphics can also include the background of your Pages. For solid color backgrounds there is the full palette of known colors available to us. It must be remembered, though, that how the color looks to the visitor depends greatly on how they have their own monitor controls set and the viewer's graphics hardware. 
FONTS
These are simply the style of texts (type faces in printing) . There are literally thousands of these!! As an illustration, I recently created a Web site for a local Boy Scout Troop, and used a Font which looked like wood logs, for the title. 
MULTIMEDIA
A fairly new feature, and the success of presentation of which is limited to more recent Web Browser versions, these features are often very dependant on the viewer's Browser's installed "plug-in(s)" . In the case of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, background sounds (short musical or voice selections in the .WAV or .MID file formats) are played automatically, while in Netscape their play involves physically invoking a "plug-in" program.
A site owner can include multimedia presentations (audio/video) of products or just fun "Stuff", but this can not only mean longer Page loading time, so in a business setting is best left as an option (a Link which when clicked on will auto-invoke the "plug-in" & download/play the media presentation on the Page) to the visitor. 

BOTTOM LINE??
We are making an electronic brochure/prospectus for the world's customer base! Thank you for your patience in reviewing this and, again, let’s make a winner Web site! 

Domains 

WHY YOUR OWN DOMAIN NAME?-
There is nothing like your own Domain Name to establish "your own little acre" on the World Wide Web". For a business especially, there will be no confusion about where to find you! It's a convenient and friendly sales method, with the dramatic flair of "high tech".
Yes, you can get a free site name, but how frustrating do you find it to try and scribble down: 
"www.members.freeby.com/~mhallo/index.htm"
or worse yet, to try and remember it?? 

ESTABLISHING YOUR OWN DOMAIN (www.yourcompany.com)-this is a 3 step process:
1. Internic is the international agency which controls Domain names. With luck, the exact name you wish to use for your domain will be available, but be prepared to "get as close as possible". Further, you should know that there is a rental fee of sorts involved in securing a Domain name. 
2. There is often a charge by the Web Hosting Service Provider of your choice for setting-up your Domain on their Server (i.e. their computers). How much?? 
Well, this varies among different plans, from different WHSP's.
3. Additionally, there is a monthly service charge, by the aforementioned Hosting Provider to Host (carry) your Domain and maintain their equipment. 
4. To check for your Domain Name's availability go to http://houseofhein.com/whois.html .

E-Commerce 
It's exciting, and the latest fad! But you should know that E-Commerce also involves added costs.......An E-Commerce site is a "triad" of  functions. The first part of which is your Main Site (conveying your business' "Internet Brochure"), the second part the functioning "Store", and the third is the on-line order credit-card auto-processing agent link/function. Many ISP's offer E-Commerce software the use of which is available on a monthly fee basis. This also involves an initial setup fee, in which the WHSP loads the needed software which "runs" the "store" to your Domain space. The House of Hein provides an E-Commerce program which 
is available to Web Hosting clients free of charge. 
Credit-card processing services (Verisign, etc.) charge an initial setup fee, a monthly maintenance fee and a transaction fee (either a per-transaction or percentage) to process your credit-card orders. 
Why use these services and incur all these extra expenses? You could simply have a form on one of your pages which E-Mail's you and the customer all the pertinent information for a transaction.... SECURITY! It is no secret that computer hackers are inventing new ways of causing chaos on the Web, daily. Besides helping you process your orders, these services also are "manning the ramparts", constantly guarding against "invaders" who cause chaos and possible litigation! 
Establishing your E-Commerce store will also involve additional site creation costs. Besides maintaining site page layout, very often custom scripts for the E-Commerce program must be written to optimize your store/order processing functionality. Generally available purchase options are Credit-Card, Bill Me! (for established customers or those who wish to establish credit for future purchases with your business), and Off-Line purchases, in which the customer can E-Mail, Phone, Fax or Snail-Mail their orders and payments.
Below you will find a representation of a typical E-Commerce transaction

The E-Commerce Site Triad
The 3 Main Components of An E-Commerce Site

PLUS  PLUS  = Your Store

 

The Route of A Typical E-Commerce Transaction
The Route of A Typical Purchase On The Internet


                                                               
                                                               
                                                           
                                                                        
                                                                        
                         



More Questions??
If you have more questions about this, or any other Web creations topic drop us an E-Mail at inquiries@houseofhein.com with the Subject: Site Creation Questions


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