When building your web site, it's important that you get it right the first time… you don't want to waste your time and money on a site that doesn't get the results you desire.

At AFAB, we've developed a 4-step plan to assist you in preparing, creating and marketing a successful and profitable web site.

But before I outline this plan, I'd like to reveal some basic facts about the business use of the internet:

1. There are a wide range of internet users, of all demographics and with different needs, wants and behaviours. Many of these users are looking for the products/services you offer.

2. These users have a large (and growing) selection of web sites to visit and consider. The number of online options for shopping, "pre-shopping" and browsing has given consumers the greatest range of choices in history.

3. Internet users have very short attention spans. They know what they're looking for and if they can't find it quickly and easily, they'll go elsewhere (to the next web site).

4. Due to widely publicized security issues and online scams, internet users are typically cautious and careful in choosing the businesses they'll do business with. A sense of comfort and trust in your web site, your company and your products/services is a requirement.

5. Users of the internet are looking for specific information about your business and your products/services. Each visitor to your site may be looking for differing information and they may act differently in how they locate this information, but in the end, if their needs aren't met, they'll move on to the next site.

It's really as simple as that -- focus on your visitors' needs. But for such a simple concept, an awful lot of web sites are falling short of this goal. I see two main reasons why:

1. Many business web site operators don't understand what their visitors are looking for -- or at least they aren't using this information when they plan and build their sites. The internet is used differently from a typical "real-life shopping experience" but the customer's need for your product/service is still the same. A visitor to your web site will have similar questions and concerns to those of a customer who calls you on the phone or walks into your establishment, but often these questions and concerns are not addressed on the web site.

2. Many business web sites have stuck to the "online brochure" format. The information is presented in a broad and generic style so that a single message can address all the visitors to the site. What these sites overlook is the fact that internet users (and consumers in general) are all different. They all have different needs, wants, behaviours, decision criteria and preferences -- even when they're shopping for identical products. The interactive nature of the internet allows users to shape their own experiences because they have control over which links they follow. But rather than taking advantage of this interactive medium and customer differences to present targeted messages to each individual visitor, these web sites offer one message for everyone and rarely address the specific needs of anyone.