Page 12 - EXTERNAL Service Offer overview for distributor use 5.0

Developing your website:

Guiding

Recommendations

For starters:

1 Decide your ambition level - based on budget, resources, ambition level….
2 Draw up a plan which considers all the necessary criteria to develop your site
Who will build and maintain the website (in-house or outsourced)?

What features and functionality should it have
3 If you wish to sell via the site, which e-commerce platform will you choose? Ensure compatibility
with your ERP system

And then when deisgning your site…

a) protect yourself legally (cookie policy, safeguarding customer info, terms and conditions..)
b) engage your suppliers to provide you with content
c) if you choose to have a webshop, use online marketing tools to drive traffic and sales

d) ensure your visitor can find what he is looking for. This means:
-your platform’s search engine is up to the job

-your site has enough content for the search engine to do its job
-your site has intuitive product & site menu navigation categories
e) ensure visitors have a smooth ‘journey’ through your site which is clearly signposted
f) provide iconography to assist navigation – not words alone

g) host enough content to attract and convert new customers, not just existing
h) your website design should follow your existing brand identity

i) follow existing standards and norms connected to layout
j) give your customer a consistent ‘experience’ across all pages
k) ensure you provide easy navigation to supplier brands

l) if you choose to host links to other sites, configure the link not to close your webpage
m) ensure you follow your suppliers’ own brand identity guidelines when hosting their content
n) if you lack resources to host ‘site native’ content, provide product catalogue downloads

o) look at the options available from suppliers to automate the maintenance of content on your site
p) make sure you provide a ‘call to action’ for any content where you want a customer reponse
q) market your site in all areas – business cards, invoices, quotations, email sign offs..
r) ensure your website plays a key role to support any sales and maketing activity
s) keep on top of updating your site – at the very least include a ‘news page’

t) review your website statistics

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