10 blunders to avoid

In the mad rush to set up shop on the World Wide Web, businesses tend to make some common blunders. Here are the top 10:

1. Rushing in without a master plan.

Companies seem to be so dazzled by the prospect of establishing a Web presence that they often lose sight of the original reasons for being there. Although it may be difficult to assembly meaningful projections early on, it's still important to make a list of short- and long-term goals.

[IMAGE: Clown on a Unicycle.]

2. Appointing the wrong person to the task.

In too many corporate boardrooms, this week's VP of new media is last week's marketing director who has never ventured past e-mail. "Invariably, when people from the 'old school' get handed this job [setting up a web site], they try to fit this new technology into the same old pigeon holes," said Ryan Bernard, founder of Wordmark Associates, a Web consultancy in Houston. "They want to deliver their brochure over the Internet. What they really need to do is give customers a complete online transaction, from first peek to showroom tour to final handshake.

3. Failing to research the competition.

Chances are whatever you're promoting or selling, there are already hundreds of sites devoted to the identical product or services. Be sure to see what the competition is doing, what's working and not working, and who's leading the pack. "See what the standard [approach] is, and who's the pacesetter," said Jim Wray, vice president at WebNet Services, a Woodland Hills, California, designer of online advertising.

4. Not appreciating the unique interactive aspect of the medium.

"Many of the biggest companies still don't understand that it is not just a matter of slapping information up there with pretty pictures," Wordmark's Bernard said. "And just putting up a form does not really work unless the customer has some impetus to fill it out." Remember: Interactivity is a two-way street. "Be prepared to respond to e-mail," said Paul Grand, CEO at Digital Planet, a Hollywood, Calif.-based Web site designer. "The first goal is to get the audience to respond to you, but then it's a big mistake if you don't follow through and respond to them."

5. Being too commercial.

Internet protocol dictates that you supply free information and entertainment first, and then ask for the sale. The best sites simulate a one-on-one conversation. Save the slick marketing hype for another medium. Don't be afraid to let down you corporate hair.

6. Lack of organization.

You're competing with hundreds of thousands of Web pages for a customer's attention. If he gets lost or confused, he's gone. The only sites that entice the customer past the front door are those that obey the first commandment of Web design: Content is king. And it better be easy to find.

7. Using unnecessarily large graphics.

The single most frequently heard complaint is that those hefty GIFs take way to long to download, forcing visitors to heat a hasty retreat. "Simple, crisp, attractive icons are the way to go," said Stuart Halpern, executive vice president of marketing at Hollywood Online.

8. Not supplying sufficient reason to return.

Sites that fail to constantly update and review their material run the risk of quickly becoming flame bait.

9. Overlooking the Web as a global medium.

There are Web pages now in French, Italian, Mandarin, and Czechoslovakian," Wordmark's Bernard said. Accordingly, corporations should offer translation of content in several languages, said Mark Kelly, marketing directory at DirectNet Inc, a Los Angeles Internet access provider. "Make it possible for the remote user to click on a choice in their native tongue," he said.

10. Forgetting to promote your Web site, on and off the internet.

Negotiate reciprocal links with compatible sites, submit your site to Web directories, judiciously post notices in appropriate Usenet groups, and alert the trade and consumer press. Also tout your site in all your corporate literature, and on your packaging.