The Internet has opened a whole New World of opportunity for all of us. With the vast amount of information available at your fingertips, it has never been easier to communicate your message to the world.

A web site will enable you to create your own home on the World Wide Web. Your home may be as simple or dynamic as you'd like and is only limited by your imagination.

Although designing a great web site is an important part of developing a successful online business, it is only one small part of an overall plan.

Although many new Internet entrepreneurs believe that all they need to do to make money online is to put up a web site, that couldn't be further from the truth.

The truth is developing a successful Internet business takes a great deal of time, thought and effort. It takes a sincere commitment, a lot of patience, and a lot of personal drive.

There are a lot of lessons that must be learned, and a lot of failures that must be endured. However, if you're truly passionate about your business and success, it will happen -- you will succeed.

A major factor in determining your success is the amount of time you take to educate yourself. Please don't take this point lightly, as it can literally mean the difference between your success and failure.

Sure, learning HTML is an important part of designing a successful web site; however, it is only one small part. You must first develop a strategic plan and design your web site accordingly.

Prior to designing your web site, here are some questions to assist you in developing your strategy:

• Who is your target audience?
• What is your most wanted response?
• What products and/or services will you offer?
• Will you sell affiliate products and/or services?
• What type of design will you use?
• Will you design your site or hire a professional?
• How will your site be navigated?
• How will your site be optimized?
• What type of graphics will your site use?
• Where will you obtain your graphics?
• What graphic formats will you use?
• What fonts will you use?
• How will you design your site for different screen sizes?
• How will you design your site for different web browsers?
• How will you optimize your pages for the Search Engines?
• How will you make your web pages load quickly?
• What type of content will your site offer?
• Where will the content come from?
• How will you gain your visitors' trust?
• How will you build your credibility?
• Will you write your own sales copy or hire a copywriter?
• How will you accept payment through your site?
• How will you process your orders?
• How will you deliver your products or services?
• How will you collect your customers' information and store it within a database?
• How will you automate portions of your business?
• Where will you find the scripts you need?
• What types of scripts will you use? CGI, JavaScript?
• Will you need to hire a professional to write your scripts?
• Will you edit and install your own scripts or hire a professional?
• What kind of computer software will you need?
• Where will you find the software?
• How will you decide on a domain name?
• How will you register a domain name?
• How will you host your web site?
• How will you upload your files to your server?
• Should your files be uploaded in binary or ASCII mode?
• What should you look for in a quality web host?
• Will you publish an ezine?
• How will you collect email addresses?
• How will you send out mailings?
• How will you drive traffic to your web site?
• How will you advertise your products and services?
• How will you test your advertising?
• Will you offer an affiliate program?
• How will you run your affiliate program?
• How will you market and promote your web site, products and/or services?

Although this list of questions is far from complete, it will give you a basic idea of exactly what is involved in developing a successful web site. As you can see, there is much more to take into consideration than just learning HTML. You must look at the entire picture and design your web site accordingly. Plan your work then work your plan.

Above all else, you must be willing to invest in your business -- not only monetarily, but also your time. Although there is a lot of free information available online to assist you, keep in mind...you get what you pay for.

The great thing is you don't have to reinvent the wheel. There are many successful Internet entrepreneurs that have been where you are right now. Subscribe to their publications -- listen to their advice -- purchase their products. If you begin by following in the footsteps of successful Internet entrepreneurs, you will eventually begin making your own paths and find your own success.

There are millions of web sites on the Internet today with thousands more being added each day. The competition is fierce and in order to be successful, you must stay one step ahead of the game.

Although designing a professional web site is an important part of your strategic plan, it is only the first step. Before you begin the actual design process, you must first determine your overall strategy and design your web site accordingly.

Internet marketers have basically two choices:

-> Design a mini web site that focuses on just one product or service, with no other content of any kind.

-> Design a content web site that includes not only your products and services, but also information and resources that will be of interest to your target market.

Although both types of sites can be effective, your success ultimately depends on your site design and marketing strategies. Both will play a very important role.

Content Web Sites
Content oriented sites are sites that provide visitors with content, such as articles, tutorials, free ebooks and resources. This type of site attracts their target audience with incentives. Their products and services are mentioned on the main page with a link to further information.

Content sites usually profit by educating their visitors. For example, a content site focusing on dog grooming might provide a basic tutorial to assist their visitors in learning how to groom a dog. They provide this tutorial completely free; however, the main purpose for this tutorial is to educate their visitors and promote their products.

When you provide your visitors with quality information that teaches and informs, you are not only gaining their trust in you by sharing your expertise, but you're also building your credibility, which is very important on the Internet.

The key to using this technique effectively is to provide content that targets your potential customer.

Mini-Sites
Mini-sites are different from content sites, as they don't provide any content. They usually contain one or two pages and completely focus on one product or service. Basically, the site is just a sales letter for the product.

No matter which type of site you design, keep in mind, your web site is a direct reflection of you and your business. The appearance of your web site is the most important factor in determining your web site's value. If your site doesn't look professional or pleasing to the eyes at first glance, it's perceived value will be low. The perceived value of your web site will have a great impact on your success.

On the other hand, you may have a great web site, well designed and a quality product or service, but if it takes too long to load, the value will still be perceived as low. Why? Your potential customer will not wait -- ultimately costing you business.

If you're serious about your Internet business, designing a web site specifically designed to sell your products is an essential part of your success. Everything within your web site should have one specific purpose -- getting your visitors to take action.

Your Strategy

Prior to designing your web site, you must decide on the type of response you're looking for. For example, if you're selling a product, the response you're most-likely trying to achieve is to make a sale. If you're developing a content site, your main goal for every page of your site should be to lead your visitors to your sales page. You can accomplish this in a number of ways, including:

1) Display a graphic image of your product on your main page with a short ad and a link leading to your sales page.

2) Create a "Products" section within the navigational menu of each page with a short description and link to each of your products.

3) Write articles that focus on the same topic as your product. At the end of the article, within your bylines, provide your visitors with information about your product.

4) Write tutorials that target your potential customer. At the end of the tutorial, provide information about your product.

5) Provide your visitors with a free autoresponder course. Your course should identify a problem, provide advice in regard to solving the problem and provide the solution with your products or services. Keep in mind, your course should not be written like a sales letter. It must provide quality information written to teach and inform.

No matter what type of response you're looking for, your site must be specifically designed to achieve your goal.

Every part of your web site must be strategically designed. From your overall design to your sales copy -- each will play a very important role.

Your web site is the most important sales tool you have. A professional web site should be pleasing to the eyes, well organized, easy to navigate, load quickly and be optimized for the Search Engines.

Above all else, you must specifically design your site for your potential customers. Provide them with the information they desire, while continually mentioning the benefits of your products, and you'll reap the rewards.