the numbers are staggering:

internet use in the united states is growing at a rate of 2 million new internet users each month, according to a study by the u.s. government (february 2002).

the worldwide internet population (may 2006) is estimated to be 1,08 billion (computer industry almanac), with online retail revenues reaching 200 billion (june 2006), and consumers poised to spend 50% more online (may 2006).

while the global power of the internet is largely recognized, another study has found that many american consumers use the web to connect with local service-based businesses.

as a company, your competition on the web is not limited to your area, and not limited to other companies in your industry. with millions of other sites out there, your competition for your customers' time and attention is - every other web site.

to be successful, a web site must be effective.

it has to obey certain rules, and the most important ones are:

• speed
• usability
• information
• adaptability

the need for speed:

research shows that slow download speed is the number 1 irritant of web users.

people will bail out from a site if pages take too long to load. emarketer reports (nov. 1998) how long people are willing to wait before they give up on a site:

users waiting	load time
84%	10 sec
51%	15 sec
26%	20 sec
5%	30 sec

source: upsdell - browser news

please note: those numbers are from 1998 - that equals 30 'outside world' years. my estimate is that users will wait about half the time that is mentioned here.

if your site does not load fast enough, the customer will go elsewhere: all the competitors in the world are just one mouse click away.

usability rulez!

simply said, if the customer can't find a product, then s/he will not buy it.

usability is the art of designing a web site in a way that [almost] every visitor finds what he or she is looking for with the least amount of hassle: ease of navigation, the design of a page within the structure of the whole site, the design of the content, the convenience to click and buy ...

on the web, people look for information.

without high-quality content someone might stumble upon your site, but will the visitor return? not likely. it pays to utilize a good marketing company or a copy writer. but keep in mind: people on the web don't read: they scan. text for a web site has to be edited for the web.

adaptability

means that a web site offers endless possibilities to adapt to the actual situation: change of address? no problem. new sales special for this month? no problem. updated content? no problem.

the key is that a web site can be changed and updated in a very short time - and that the visitors expect that.

there are a lot of other considerations:

• section 508 of the rehabilitation act (part of the workforce investment act of 1998) effective since june 21st, 2001;
• the right colours for your target audience;
• the structure and treatment of the real estate of a browser window;
• integration with other means of marketing communication;
• cross-browser and cross-platform compatibility;
• the flexibility of the web page in regards to the monitor size of the visitor;
• search engine optimization;
• easy maintenance;
• changes in customer behaviour and expectations;
• inter-continental and inter-cultural web conventions;
• privacy policies and other legal considerations;
• color depths of the modern monitors;
• web standards compliancy;
• copyrights and security;

and all those things that change every few weeks or months ...

the internet is a very fast-paced environment. the saying goes that one year on the internet is like seven years in the 'outside world' - and this is one of the reasons why sites like amazon.com cost about a million us$ each year - for maintenance alone.

yes, the prices. we provide you with our price list, because we know:
our prices are average, but our service is excellent!

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