Website Design This case study is a useful example of incorporating numerous website design elements into a single website. Just as the search engines seemingly wish to be all things, to all people, so too must your website -- that is, within your niche.  Regardless of your product or service, cover the width and breadth of your world.  Doing so will not only provide worthwhile reasons for a web visit, but can also serve as a method to elevate your standing amongst your peers as viewed from your audience's prospective.  It is a simple concept, but if you provide more useful information about your product or service than the competition, then you must be more of an expert on the subject than the competition.  Become the perceived expert in your field!  Who would you rather do business with, the expert in his/her field or that "other" guy? While providing a vast resource of information can prove indispensable to visitors, it must be presented in a user-friendly format.  Too much information on a given page can overwhelm the visitor.  Organize your information into a logical, bite-size format with numerous links to and from your various website sections.  Use a Site Map and feature an internal search capability to easily locate exactly what your visitors need. Design your website from the prospective of a potential visitor.  What might be their biggest need?  Address this need in your body copy and list it as the upper most link from your navigational area.  Repeat this for the second, third, fourth need and so on. Offer a quick and easy way for visitors to contact you with questions or concerns.  Once you have determined a list of frequently asked questions, offer a "Q&A" or "FAQ" section within your web pages.  Anticipate their needs PRIOR to the need arising and you'll be helping them ... and yourself.  A happy visitor is one that will more likely place an order, tell a friend, and return to place another order. Keep your content fresh and up-to-date.  A stale, out-of-date page can drive people from your website.  Also, USE YOUR SPELL-CHECK AND GRAMMAR-CHECK!  It's amazing how many sites feature errors in their copy.  However, if you find a reoccurring error or mis-spelling from your visitors, including this error in your body copy can be helpful to draw visitors.  Never forget that the customer is always right ... even when they are wrong. Case in point, the above elements have been incorporated into the Southwest Michigan Business & Tourism Directory (SWMI Directory), launched in 2003 as a community service resource for Southwest Michigan.  The SWMI Directory website features a plethora of information from Area History to a Calendar of Events, Weather Forecasts to Directions, Area Businesses to Local News and much more for tourists & locals alike. Loaded with information, the SWMI Directory is an ambitious undertaking, but a needed resource for Southwest Michigan. The SWMI Directory has daily "PageViews" reaching highs that have exceeded "7,00".  According to the search engine Google, there are more than 100 web sites linking to the SWMI Directory while MSN places this number is over 3,000. In addition, the SWMI Directory website has received numerous awards for the design with newspaper articles and radio coverage for the content. To quote one article ... The Southwest Michigan Business & Tourism Directory shrugs off the old adage that one can't be all things to all people, at least in the vast and burgeoning world of cyberspace. The proof?  Their on-line, interactive SWMI Directory -- http://www.swmiDirectory.org -- the area's fastest growing website and search engine for local information, events and services. From acupuncture to artwork, hospitals to hotels, local news to weather, the SWMI Directory website is an on-line gateway to the proverbial who, what, when, where and why in an ever-expanding six-county Southwest Michigan region. Put Lighthouse Colorprint to work for you!  Please contact us for additional information. Website Design  |  Full Color Printing  |  Standard Printing  |  Home Page  |  Contact Us