For a website to be effective it has to work!

The first rule is to provide good relevant content. Content is king!

Whatever the objective  be it ecommerce (selling on line) lead generation, communication, profile , entertainment, keeping in touch, networking, reviews, b2b , distributor or member support ….  whatever a good site meets its objectives.

Sites need to be intuitive with  information easily accessed, relevant to your target audience .Don’t dazzle me with creative animation make me enter via splash pages or talk about you rather than my needs as a customer…..  make it easy for me (so many websites fall down by not making contact information including phone numbers readily accessible) As a consumer  that’s  what I want and expect from most sites. Make it easy for me to for fill my objectives whether its to buy something, seek information, provide feedback.

Some examples of sites that work include:

www.wotif.com : A site dedicated to distributing unused “late” (i.e. close to arrival date) hotel inventory and providing the customer with a great deal. Its not the prettiest site but its functional and caters to the customers need (give me a deal) and the suppliers need(help me quit unused inventory)

www.brandstand.co.nz : A local company who supply banners, and display equipment. It’s primarily a lead generation site that is designed to initiate dialogue (as many products are tailored to the clients needs) and is coupled with an effective online mailing programme

www.shopnewzealand.co.nz :  A major shopping site selling a wide range of NZ made  goods effectively turning small New Zealand manufacturers into exporters. The site is available in multiple languages and multiple currencies at the push of a button  and over 90% of sales are made offshore

www.whostolemymoney.co.nz : An award winning site that is a very simple online budgeting tool with a catchy URL that in itself creates interest

www.sorted.co.nz:  An addictive site produced by the retirement commission. Some excellent and engaging tools that are fun to use (just how many days do I have left to work)  and extremely useful. A subject that could have been seen as very boring made interesting and enlightening.

www.nhba.co.nz: A site for the business community in the North Harbour estate on Auckland’s Northshore. The site also contains a very comprehensive business directory to encourage members to buy locally. It keeps members informed and offers advice to companies thinking about relocating and helps networking. It is funded via member advertising