How your goals are related to you web site?

Every business, organization and individual has goals. The first step is understand and define (in writing) your objectives and goals.  This helps in planning what kind of web site you need. This in turn defines the kind of tools you need to apply to building your site.

How to match communication goals to the kind of site you need.

Here is a list of considerations.

1. Business Card site - the goal is to use the web site much like a small yellow pages listing where you give the prospective client basic contact information.
2. Electronic brochure - The goal here is let your site be part of the sale of your product or service.  Graphics, and brief text explaining the advantages you have.
3. Communications portal - Here you are delivering more pages and information in order to make the site guest develop a closer relationship with you, your service and products.  To keep them coming back you have to make your site come alive with a constant flow of content. Like a newspaper website, you need to at least change the main page on a regular basis with announcements, news, helpful tips, free stuff, new services etc.  As you do this your site may grow beyond the 5 to 12 pages of a brochure site.  You will want to add pages showing the bio of staff, history of your business, your mission statement, and pictures of products, services, etc.  You might even have a newsletter they can sign up for.
4. eCommerce site - This is more a catalogue of products and tools for the customer to purchase etc.