Ian MacAllen - The Official Site - Internet Rockstar Guide

Choose Wisely: Selecting the Site For You

Most people I've talked to who want to build a website have not gotten past the excitement of building an online site. They have not taken the time to conceptualize what it is they are actually trying to do. Some of these people have long term goals—make a million dollars, become an internet rock star, meet hot women. But while these goals are admirable, or at the very least, understandable, no one really considers how to accomplish these tasks.

Whether you hope to build a multi million dollar business or simply want your resume out on the internet, websites fall into two broad areas. The first kind of page is a static site. A static site is essentially a collection of information that sits on the internet waiting for people to view it. The other broad type of website is a dynamic site where the user changes the content of the page, and / or the content of the page is effected by the user. A site where a user can change the content is perhaps best illustrated by a message board. A reader sees the content online, and in response posts a message, or new content. On the other hand, a dynamic page might also change its content based on the user. For instance, a website that has controlled access to a new article—such as the nytimes.com—the user does not change the content per say, but the content changes based on the values (in the case of the nytimes.com, being a registered user) the reader has given the site.

These two broad categories vary widely in appearance, content, and usefulness. While many sites are becoming increasingly aware of the value of a dynamic page, the static site still has its place as a tool for displaying information. These two broad styles of building a successful website are robust enough to fit into four categories of websites that exist today.

Personal Homepage / Business Homepage

The personal homepage is exactly that: a webpage operated by a person, about that person, with content from that person. Good uses for a personal homepage include providing contact information, offering opinions, and providing information about the creator.

Back in the height of the internet boom, personal homepages became all the rage when sites like geocities.com started offering free webspace. Now an equivalent website can be created in a user’s AOL IM profile. The trend towards internet Blogs has also shifted the effectiveness away from personal homepages. For more on this, read Me, Me, Me. Narcissism and the Web.

A business homepage is similar to a personal homepage, except of course, for a business. A website itself is not going to drive customers to you. However, it might educate potential clients about the services you offer much in the same way a printed brochure would. It also might allow current clients to find your phone number if they have lost your business card or find your mailing address if they need to send you a check. To expect a business homepage to turn a small part time business into a multi million dollar industry leader is about as sharp as expecting the French military to win a war; its not going to happen. But a business homepage is important for informing potential customers about your business.

E-Commerce

Simply put, an e-commerce site is a digital store for selling real goods (though some digital stores sell digital goods). E-commerce sites benefit dramatically from dynamic content. For instance, look at amazon.com. Without user input, amazon would be simply just another store trying to hawk a bunch of goods for less than Walmart. On the other hand, user input, customer reviews, ratings, 'favorites' lists, wedding registries, and user data have combined to make amazon a whole new kind of shopping experience.

On the other hand, an e-commerce site can still be a static site (though not necessarily a very good one). For instance, your grandmother knits sweaters and wants to begin selling them. In her case, she has a low volume business. The fact that she doesn’t take automated orders over the internet is probably not going to bother the few dozen customers she receives. What grandma needs is a catalogue to show her work and an email address where customers place orders. Just because the internet is a new means of transmitting information does not automatically make it a new method of business. Checks can still be sent through the mail, as will products.

The need for low cost static e-commerce sites has of course been obsolesced by sites like eBay and Amazon Markplace. These sites essentially license software to small time e-commerce merchants that sell products over the internet. This business model has for many small time business people eliminated the need for an online 'store' since the main site is running the dynamic software required to place orders and receive payment over the internet. At the same time, there is no reason why these businesses should not have a business homepage (see above).

Online Community

An online community is simply a place where users gather and share ideas. Online communities must by their very nature be dynamic* since the online community relies on the interaction of community members with other members. Good examples of online communities are photo.net and treknation.com. Both these sites have built a loyal following based on shared common interest. Amazon.com is also, besides an e-commerce site, straddling the divide with the online community. Users visit Amazon; users buy products; users like or dislike the product and then write a review. In this way, Amazon is both a commerce site and a community.

* Static online communities exist. For instance, a 'webring' is to some extent, an online community. These are like minded individuals who have linked their sites together in a 'ring' on the internet. Users presumably visiting one site will jump to the next site in the ring, and so on. On the other hand, since users are not leaving input, its very much a closed or gated community—people can drive by but can't buy a house.

Information Resource

The broadest of these four categories is an informational resource. This can include a news site like CNN.com or an industry specific page like the one you are reading, or a database backed site like IMDB.com or WebMD.com.

The simplest information site can be a collection of static html documents that provide some sort of valuable information. The more complex sites, like IMDB.com or Allmusic.com, rely on a database of information to serve up to users as they request information.

The more complex a site becomes, the more likely and more useful a database backed system will be to the operators. A site with say ten pages is easy enough to manage, update, and use. But say you are a site like the nytimes.com with literally thousands of pages to manage. Software working behind the scenes is the only way a site like the Times could manage all the pages, have a subscription archives, and update the information several times a day.

Information resources can serve as much as a business as an e-commerce site. Lexus-Nexus for instance, has an archive of news and legal materials, for which a subscription costs an arm and a leg. IMDB.com offers an ad supported version but more importantly a professional grade service for a subscription, along with generating revenues via other fashions.

Choosing the site that best fits your needs is perhaps the most important part of building a successful site. Crossover sites are increasingly becoming popular both with site operators and users. For instance, the nytimes.com is first and foremost an information resource. But they are also venturing into e-commerce selling hardcopy prints of photographs. Amazon is without a doubt both an e-commerce site as well as an online community. Sites that incorporate several different aspects together will eventually be all that remains of the web. Choose your concept wisely, but be open to change is the internet does.