Devoted to online marketing, viral marketing, and web marketing

What is the purpose of your website? Do you even know?

Here is a simple exercise that you need to do to answer the question: in just a few words, define the purpose of your site. When I say a few words I mean 5 or 6, literally. If you can't do that, your visitors won't be able to either.

The secret to success in this area is to make the purpose of your site so narrow that it can't be confused in the mind of those reading it.

I used to have one site so jam-packed full of options that it didn't resonate in the eyes of the visitors that truly had an interest; it was just too confusing and had too many options. I had free downloads, sign up for an ezine, free articles among numerous options that could be interacted with. It was too much.

One of the areas that will determine your online success is the way your web site is designed. There have been times that I have searched sites that were of genuine interest to me, that I quickly gave up on because every time I would click on a link going to a new part of the site, it would change the look and I would have to relearn how to navigate the page. This will kill your online business.

People want consistency across your entire site whether they understand it in those terms or not. They do not want learning curves navigationally; they want to be able to look at something, know what to do and where it will go. Anything that doesn't meet these expectations will result in a lost viewer and potentially, customer.

If you're thinking that your site needs an overhaul in its look, that doesn't mean that it will kill your business if you do it. Just make sure that when you change it that everything is changed completely. Don't get tempted to keep something the way it was, and then include a whole new look on another part of your site that makes your visitor have to learn how to navigate it.

I’ve noticed lately that Continental is doing everything possible to push its users, well, it’s more like SHOVE their users to use their website rather than allow them to make a free call for assistance in booking flights.

I write this because the last time I called Continental’s toll-free number for assistance in booking a flight I couldn’t find online, their recording before the agent came on said that there is an additional $10 to $15 fee assessed for booking by phone rather than doing it online. Well, I hung up and searched for another carrier with no fee to use the personalized phone service.

I can understand why they do this. Airlines are having a hard time and pushing people to the site saves them on personnel costs. It makes sense logically. Or, does it?

My grandfather asked that I drive him from El Paso, TX to Durango, a couple of days a go. Beginning at 6 AM I drove 12 hours like a madman trying to make sure I didn’t miss my pre-paid return bus. I’m writing this from the bus at 2 AM.

Though the drive down was rushed, I cherished every minute of the time I had to spend with my grandpa in which he told story after story of his political and ecclesiastical negotiations and business dealings in Mexico back in the good old days. Every road, river, mountain, and bend along the way accompanied a captivating story from his personal life or from the history of the land.

During one of our pit stops I found that the rest rooms were not clearly labeled. It was impossible to make out which side was for women or men. Fortunately I choose right. Unfortunate for the guy after me, he chose wrong :-P 

It is interesting that for years we have been educated about the downside of using frames as the way of developing your website. Oddly enough this is still something that is being used quite frequently by some in the web community.

Barry Welford makes a good case against using this:

"It may be that some website owners think they would like a Framed website. To help them understand the gravity of their choice, perhaps it's time to promote a Framed Website Disclaimer. It would read as follows: