Web Presence Strategy and Content

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss how a small business decides upon its Web presence strategy and then determines what features will make up the content of its Web presence. The Web presence strategy is considered after the overall business strategy has been determined and a SWOT analysis performed (refer previous chapter). First we will examine the Web presence strategy (Figure 1).

Figure 1

Web Presence Strategy

The Web presence strategy will differ according to the factors that were considered in the previous chapter. For instance, if a small business is following a growth strategy it might be more inclined to be proactive in developing its Web presence, or perhaps if it is in a competitive industry it might look to its Web presence as a way to get an edge over competitors (Burgess 2002). Figure 2 shows how this chapter will link the material from previous chapters into the selection of Website features. The overall business strategy (identified through the business analysis) will be used to select matching Web presence strategies (such as those listed in Figure 2). The Web presence strategies will then be used to select particular Website features to be employed as part of the overall Web presence.

Figure 2.

The link between business strategy and selection of Website features

However, before discussing these it is necessary to provide a little more background. The next section provides some examples of how ICTs and in particular the Internet can assist the business to achieve its aims.