There’s a balance between functionality on the web and creativity on the web.  You can bore a visitor with no creativity but plenty of functionality, or you can annoy a visitor with plenty of creativity but not much functionality.  The magic of the web doesn’t come from magic tricks, it comes from fulfilling the needs of the visitor.

We are a branding firm that does interactive, not an interactive firm that does branding.  Our business in the interactive area has grown rapidly over the past few years.  Here are a few things we’ve learned along the way.

1.  Start with a clear objective–What do you want the site to do for your business.  Sell, inform, entertain, create a following, all of the above?

2.  Be realistic about expectations–We would all like to have a web site that has millions of visitors a day.  Business would be good.  But that’s not reality for most businesses.  If you’re selling bearings from China, you’re likely not going to make the top twenty five.  The important thing is that the right people visit your site.

3.  What does the visitor want from the visit--They have taken the time to search you out.  They obviously want something from you.  Do they want quick information, or a total product demonstration?  Do they look to you for the latest information in your category?  Do they want a price and if they do are you going to make them call to get it?  I hate that.

4.  Make the website brand rich–Your web site should be the best representative of your brand in your organization.  You control it. Think of it as the center of your marketing programs.  Make everything point to it.

5.  Promote it–Buy AdWords.  Maximize SEO.  Include the URL prominently in everything you do promotionally and otherwise.

6.  Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should–Web sites become information dumping grounds.  Less is more.  The other point to this learning is just because you can do magic, make things appear, disappear, move, dance and sing, doesn’t mean you should.  But if you determine you should and your visitors will love it, swing for the fences.

7.  Don’t be awed by the technology–If you can think it, you can do it and you can find somebody that knows how.  We have yet to meet anyone who knows everything about the web and programming.  But we’ve developed a deep network of people who know how to make our sometimes crazy ideas work.

8.  Monitor results frequently–Your web site is real time marketing.  You can see when promotions are working, and when they’re not working.  You can use visitor habits to finely tune your site to reap the biges rewards.