RealNetworks, pioneers of streaming audio and video over web, tell us that 86% of web site visitors will stay to listen or to watch a streaming media presentation! They have had 65,000,000 downloads of their G2 player, and Media Metrixs reports that 15,000,000 people experience a streaming presentation every week. With these statistics, time is now for small business to take initiative and leap into these new web-marketing techniques.

Streaming Media is current breakaway technology of Internet. As broadband technologies of cable, satellite, and fibre optics evolve, full media experience on Internet is not far away. The capability of sending audio, video, and other forms of multimedia 365/24/7 is revolutionizing way people communicate with each other and is sending advertising industry into a tizzy. A business can now put a half-hour audio presentation on its' web site for one full year for less than cost of an ad in their local Sunday newspaper!

The ultimate aim is to create a website that will attract millions of visitors and have them returning to site again and again. From my observation, great websites, regardless of their functions, seem to observe following rules:

Good sites are rich in contents. ------------------------------------------- Before you set out to design a website, you must first identify your purpose and target audience. What do you want to do with your site? Who is your target audience? Where can you find them? What are their interests? What products, services and information will appeal to them? Why should they visit your site? How are you going to attract and retain your target prospects?

Getting answers to above questions would pretty much set looks, appeals and contents for your site. Whatever your contents and resources, they must always share a common theme and focus.

You may consider offering some free information and resources to attract visitors to your site. It is a fact that most people use Internet first and foremost to search for information. "Content is king" as witnessed by successes of Yahoo and America Online. Both started out as an information portal providing value-added information and resources to millions of users who flock to their sites every month.

Good sites have great homepages. ------------------------------------------------- The homepage is entry point to your site. If it does not appeal to your visitors, chances are high that they will leave your site as soon as they arrive without ever viewing a second page on your site.

How can we create an effective homepage? There is no straightforward answer. A directory-styled homepage may serve purpose well for web portals like Yahoo. In other cases, a simple homepage with an enticing slogan and graphic may work equally well. You may also consider setting up multiple entry points if there are distinctive sections in your site.

Whatever your preferences, key to designing an effective homepage lies in determining needs and wants of your target audience and offering them desired solutions in your site. This concept should appeal to your visitors and generate enough interests for them to start exploring your site.

Good sites are easy to read. ---------------------------------------- You are judged by how well you write! I am not exaggerating. The ability to write simply and clearly in an appropriate format and style is very important in world of business communication. A well-written sales literature is usually what it takes to close sales. This is particularly true for a website, as written words are only effective means to convey your messages to your readers.

Your writing should be free from jarring expressions, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. If you do not have ability to write clearly and concisely, you should seriously consider paying several hundred dollars for a freelance editor to proofread and edit your entire sites. It would be money well spent!

Good sites are easy to navigate. --------------------------------------------- Good contents are useless if visitors could not access information easily. Web surfers are very impatient people. They would simply go elsewhere if they feel lost in your "maze" of information.

A simple rule of thumb is to present your information in easily identifiable categories. You may consider color-coding your pages according to their respective categories or sections, particularly if you are designing a big and complex site with more than several hundred pages.