When it comes to opening a new retail store or a corporate office, businesses spend thousands on the layout, the phone lines, the decor, the address and plan the entire operation from start to finish. There is a well thought out strategy, clear budget and time allocation to ensure that the store or office is perfect in every way to appeal to their staff, clients, walk ins and key stakeholders.

Yet it never ceases to amaze me how little time these same businesses seem to put into planning and preparation of their website.

The internet is growing rapidly and while I will not bore you with yet another round of online statistics, I think it is pretty fair to say that this medium is rapidly becoming the most cost effective and profitable place to do business on the world stage, begging the question – why do the majority of businesses not treat it with the respect it deserves?

I will not say all, because there are some stand out websites that have clearly been designed and developed thoughtfully, in every detail and by pure professionals (take a look at www.1300flowers.com.au some time, you will be pleasantly surprised). However, they are very few in number. I see far more sites that have been slapped together by a friend, who has a daughter and her boyfriend knew a guy that used to walk his dog who can put a site together for $500!

I would be very interested to hear from anyone who could lease office space, buy desks, computers or phones, have an interior decorator design the space, have a professional and quality fit out developed and purchase stock with a budget of $500.

The real kicker is when these same businesses then expect this site to make them into an overnight success and begin making them as much money as Google or Yahoo! This is just plain unrealistic. As with everything you do in life and in business, success depends on a solid plan and a practical budget.

Before you even pick up the phone to speak to a web developer you should have, at the very least:

• Thought about why you are building a website
• Researched sites that you like and want to emulate
• Developed your outline or brief (topics, sections, colours, ideas, visuals, images)
• Have thought about what you want the site to achieve (increase leads, sales)
• Thought about the ongoing costs of hosting and marketing
• Agreed on who is going to write the content
• Decided who will manage the site and market it on an ongoing basis (important!)
• The time you are able to commit to the project, and
• The budget that you have to work with

It pains me to see great ideas or great businesses, let down so completely by their web sites. Do yourself and your business a favour – Take the time, think it through, allocate a budget, choose a professional web developer and above all else give the internet and your web site the respect it deserves, it will reward you far more in the end.