So, you’ve decided to have a website created. That’s great! There’s no better way to educate other people on everything you have to offer, be it products, services, or something else entirely. You’ve made the decision to get online, and you’ve found someone to help you with the technical aspects of creating a website. Now what?

This is the point where many of us start to have real trouble. We have all been to other people’s websites and have seen different ways to organize them, but if you have never actually considered what information to put on your site and where that information comes from, the task might seem a bit daunting.

Fortunately, it’s not as hard as it looks. If you consider the advice I have to offer carefully, and consider each point as it relates to your business or organization, you’ll be well on your way to delivering quality content to your web designer for publication.

For the sake of argument, we’re going to assume that you have an existing business and you want to create a website to promote your products and services to the general public. While the goals and methods for organizations and other groups may be different, the basic principals I’m about to share should still apply.

1. What’s the Point?

First and foremost, your website must have a purpose. Most small businesses want to promote their business, and that’s a good start. You can list all your products, discuss all your services, and provide all your contact information. However, I would encourage you to be a little more focused and to create a mission for your website. Perhaps you would like to establish the fact that you are an "expert" in your field and make a potential visitor more comfortable in proceeding through the sales process. So, more than simply stating that you offer that service, you need to establish that you know what you’re talking about.

It’s probably a good idea to think about your website as an extension of your sales force. Your site needs to persuade visitors that your service or product is the one they need. As such, the language and structure of the site needs to have an appropriate tone and flow. (This is just as true for organizations, as many of you would like donations, grants, new members, etc.)

Once you have a good idea of what the purpose of your site is, next think about what information will support that purpose. A list of services is nice, but it’s better to describe each service in as much detail as you can. You should provide information on who you are, why they should give you their business, what your qualifications are, etc. Depending on the nature of you and your business, this might be a profile of you, the owner, or it might be a page describing industry awards and large clients you’ve worked for. Regardless, it’s a useful tool in establishing your credibility within your industry, and one that should be kept up to date as your expertise and clientele change.

Don’t be afraid to get feedback from your web designer when it comes to organizing the information on your website. He or she should have a lot of experience creating websites for small businesses, and will have a good understanding of how to arrange text and pages in a way that make sense to your potential visitors.

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