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Build a Simple Business Website The process of building a website begins with the paper and pencil approach. Once the decision is made that your business is going to have a website, grab your pen and paper or word processor and write what you would like the potential customer to see when they arrive at a page on your website. Think from the point of view of the customer what would they like to see. They have arrived there, from somewhere, they are expecting the proposition that you can assist them. If it is the Home page, do they wish to see a Flash page with a please wait while we load sign, or do they wish to get straight to the reason they arrived at the site. You have about three seconds before the potential customer you worked so hard to get makes a decision stay or go. There is nothing wrong with Flash, it has its place but is it applicable to your site. The same reasoning applies to the placing of a large picture on the home page and requesting the potential customer to click through to visit the site. Why make the visitor you have worked so hard to get jump through hoops. So you have decided to get straight to the point and tell the customer how you can assist them solve the problem they have. Yes, they had a problem otherwise they would not have sought you out. They hope you have the products and services that will be of benefit to them. Now is the time to start thinking about the words or key phrases the customer would key into a search engine search box when they wish to find a website that will solve the problem they have. They want information, so they place their query into the search box looking for a website with the information they require. Think what would these query words be. So start writing, write copious text, search engines and customers thrive on text, don't waffle, keep to the subject. Write about the services or product you offer and weave the key phrases into the copy. Welcome to our site and how the business started in 1922 and after marrying the bosses daughter your father bought the first truck in town and now you have 14 vehicles and how you went to school with the intention of eventually running the business has no place on the home page. Customers don't want to know and if you must give a business history place it on an about us page with your full contact details, phone, fax, physical address and contact email. Your home page is important. The copy should have the stopping power, the staying power and the selling power. After all isn't that the point of all advertising. Right, you now have your copy written or typed containing the key phrases you consider a customer would key into a search engine search box. Now on the page in a separate area, call it the title area write these key phrases, use up to about 70 characters. And on the page in another separate area, lets call this the description area write out one or two logical sentences of about 170 characters using what is written on the page, a precis or short summary, weaving into the sentences the key phrases. The information in the title and description area should also appear within the page you have also written. That's it stage one, one home page, now complete the exercise for each and every page you wish to be part of the website. Perhaps you have a product(s) which merits special attention, devote a page to it using the same technic as used when building the home page. At the end of the day you will have one or several typed or written pages. They may not look like the website but you have completed the most intensive and important part of the exercise of getting a site up and running. You have defined the purpose of the site and written the information that will attract visitors.