After deciding what kind of internet business you want to do, it's time to start planning
design and content of your business. Many people make mistake of skipping this step, choosing instead to immediately start work on their website. However, a website is just a door into your internet business; and a door is pretty useless if there's nothing beyond it. An internet business, like any other business, requires proper planning and design if it's going to succeed.a) Domain Name
A big part of your internet business is your domain name. A domain name is like company name, or brand, of your business. This is first thing a person will notice, whether they are typing your domain name into their browser, or clicking a link in search engines.
It is advisable to choose a domain name that is short and memorable. A key part of branding is to make your name striking enough so that people will remember it long after they've visited your website. However, do make sure that domain name is at least somehow related to nature of your business.
b) Website Design
The next step will be to plan design and look and feel of your website. You will need to decide how you want your website to look like, and where to put your menu, header, footer, ads and your main text. When designing your menu and website navigation, do make it simple and intuitive. A simple navigation system will let people browse through your site without getting lost. For good examples, check out major websites out there such as CNN and Amazon.
When allocating spaces for advertisements, don't go overboard! People do not like visiting websites that are full of ads and popups. Be more conservative and discreet in your ad placement.
One good method is to draw design of your website onto a piece of paper with color pencils or markers. This way, you can adjust look and feel and correct any mistakes easily without having to go through programming changes on computer. If you are having trouble with design, you can take a look at various website templates. A good source of templates can be found at www.templatesbox.com. For more aesthetically-pleasing website designs (but with more complex programming required), you can find a lot of inspiration at www.csszengarden.com.
c) Website Layout and Structure
Next, you will need to determine how big your website will be. Online stores will be huge by default, since they will need at least one page per product being offered. In any case, think about what sections you want to have on your website, and how many pages per section. Try to structure site so that visitors will not get lost or intimidated by it.
For websites larger than 10 pages, it is useful to have breadcrumbs, like one near top of this page (eg. HOME > SECTION > PAGE). This tells visitor exactly where they are, and how to get back to where they were previously.
Also useful are search bars and sitemaps. Search bars, like one on top left of this page, allow users to quickly search for whatever they are looking for. You can get a free search bar at Digital Point. A sitemap is also important for users as well as search engine robots to find pages on your site. A good sitemap to follow is Apple's Sitemap. It is straightforward and contains all information you require.
