Anyone can build a website on the Internet's World Wide Web, but the real challenge is having one that is useful, informative and adds value to your communication efforts.

"The effort is to constantly provide new and useful content that leads to a growing number of return visitors -- a hot homepage," says David Gertz, VP-Marketing for World Web Technologies, an Internet marketing services company with offices in Edmonton and Calgary. Once consumers find sites they like, they'll keep coming back for more.

"And content also goes beyond the simple idea of text copy," adds Jay Linden, BXI Inc. a Toronto net presence and marketing services provider. Overall design [including speed of delivery, programming, graphics design and placement, allowances for different browser-softwares] is an important part of the 'content'. From a text standpoint, writing for the Web is different from writing for other media."

All of these are important factors in building a good, marketable and useful website. "However," Jay adds, "the bottomline is that the site itself still requires marketing and interactivity, in addition to the content, to be successful."

David agrees: "There are literally dozens of companies now that not only provide simple access, but will gladly take your money to store your homepage, which in the long run offers no real value to your marketing efforts. At World Web, we provide our clients with the products and services to ensure their 'net presence' supports their communication and marketing goals and this means marketing and advertising their presence wherever and whenever possible."

To ensure their clients have as much exposure to their target markets and boost awareness of their sites on the Web, both Dave and Jay make use of a detailed checklist they are willing to share:

1. Keep refreshing and rebuilding your website. The format of the Internet allows you to add and change your promotional material cheaply and easily. Take advantage of this flexibility. Every time you add something major to the content, it gives you an opportunity to announce something in the appropriate places on the net.

2. Make your website interactive. Make sure it's easy for Internet users to contact you, ask questions and provide feedback on your company, your products and Internet presence.

3. Register you website with the search engines, directories and indices. Don't forget to re-register your sites there regularly -- every few months at least, and every time your site undergoes a major upgrade.

4. Keep posting in the newsgroups and mailing lists where your clientele is hanging out. If you're providing an Internet presence for companies, you have to show them how to find their market on the net and teach them how to post productively [not just hyping their products, but contributing to the value of the discussions, and making the occasional announcement].

5. Synchronize your on-line marketing to your conventional marketing -- your local newspapers and broadcast media may well be interested in telling their audiences about the information on your sites. Make your sites newsworthy, and then make them news. When your company has a major announcement to make, be sure your website has supporting material on-line.

   Don't forget that your website should be consistent with the rest of your communication efforts. It wouldn't make sense for a healthcare authority to promote links to tobacco companies.

6. In the real world, a lot of companies drop the ball when their PR, advertising, marketing and communications functions are not working together. Your website should be part of the whole marketing picture for your products and services. Timing is important, often as important as content. To some extent, you should be out there in people's faces all the time. But some times are more important than others.