Before you actually begin your full web site analysis, it's a good idea to think about the purpose of your new creation. Why are you creating a web site (or ezine, ebook, or other internet project), after all?
It's important to know why you are doing this before you begin. After all, you are going to spend an awful lot of time on your creation (unless you are making one of those two-page web sites that are supposed to make zillions of dollars in seconds). In fact, if you are anything like me, your creation will take on a life of it's own and, to a certain extent, take over your life.
Why is an important question for peace of mind, so that you know if you are achieving your goal or not. For example, our goal with Internet Tips And Secrets is to educate people on how to ethically use the internet to improve their lives. Why are we doing this? Because we believe that every human being needs to give something back to society to help improve the world in which we live.
There are many reasons why you could be creating a web site. A few of the more common ones are listed below (and there are thousands of other reasons).
To make some money - A good reason. However, in spite of all of the hype, it is just as difficult, if not more so, to make a decent living on the internet as it is in the "real" world. It's essential that you understand your purpose is to make money, and focus your web site towards that goal.
To educate - A very good reason to create a web site.
To entertain - Many excellent web sites do this well. Humor web sites area good example of this type.
To direct - Portal sites fall into this category. The idea is to send visitors to other useful places.
To give your opinion - A site containing movie reviews is an example of this kind of site.
Why is it important to know why you are creating a web site? Well, so that you know when you have hit the target. If your mission is to educate, then knowing that you have the ability to evaluate your creation and determine if that purpose has been met.
Knowing why also allows you to pick the proper statistics for measuring how successful your site really is. If your purpose is to make money, then the only really good statistics is dollars earned. Page views and hits are simply not important with this goal. On the other hand, if your mission is to educate people, then page views are critical, as each page may be a lesson read. If your mission is to direct people to other sites, then the number of people who left your site and the links they clicked on would be the useful statistics.
Note that it is possible, and even desirable, to have more than one reason why you are creating a web site. You might be doing this because you want to make some money selling cat food and at the same time educate some people about cats.
Finally, if I know why I am working on something I tend to do a much better job than if I don't have a clue about the reason. Knowing why tends to cause me to aim more precisely and be able to hit the target more often.
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Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge. Web Site Address: http://www.internet-tips.net Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm Daily Tips: internet-tips@GetResponse.com
Claudia Arevalo-Lowe is the webmistress of Internet Tips And Secrets and Surviving Asthma. Visit her site at http://survivingasthma.com
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