Purpose
What do you hope to achieve? Begin with patience and a long-term view. Look at how similar types of businesses are using the Internet.

Audience
Who will be viewing your site? What are some features of the type of people you'll have looking at your site? For example, what is their age, needs, concerns, activities, related interests, etc.? Designs should always be developed with the user in mind.

Site and Domain Name
You may just want to use your existing business name. But, your website focus may be broader or more narrow than your organization name implies. In that case, think of a name that is descriptive, unique, short, and memorable. Do not use misspellings (i.e. www.mor4me.com), and do not use more than 15 characters in your name. Use names that are common sense.

Content
Content is what makes a web site successful. Other flashy features may dazzle your visitors, but a site with comprehensive and regularly updated content will keep users coming back. The Internet is a unique medium in that it's interactive and easily updated. Your site should reflect this. You should provide opportunities for users to interact with your site and update your content on a regular basis.

Try to make your site as comprehensive as you can. Make it THE site for your subject area. Depth of content earns respect and credibility from your visitors, but you must have quality information as well. Don't fill your pages with information that is of no use to the visitor.

Forms
Will you need forms on your site? If so, determine the purpose for the form and what information needed from the site user.

Advertising
Subscribe to mailing lists and news groups likely to include potential customers. Have your site registered with all possible search engines. Place banners on all advertising pages for your industry. Send "press release" announcements to services that announce new businesses on the Internet. Print your website address on all display ads, literature, stationery, and business cards. This will attract customers to your site to learn more about your business and products.

Maintenance
Ignoring long-term page maintenance is not a realistic option. You will need to keep price changes, product changes, page additions, links, images, and company information current.