What’s New

There are a number of classic myths out here about Web sites. So with the idea of doing a public service, we will take a quick look at some of them. Today we will investigate myth number on, or Myth #1, if you prefer.

Myth: You must keep your site updated so that your visitors keep coming back. OK, let’s ask ourselves what we want the visitors to come back. Why? Let’s figure this out. When a visitor comes to your site, what is it that he or she is supposed to be doing? To properly answer this you must know the purpose of your site.

You might be surprised to discover how many site owners do not know what the purpose of the Web site is. If you ask them they often say, “To tell about my business.” At which point I have to ask the “why question.”

Why do you want to tell visitors about your business?

Simply “telling” about the business doesn’t cut it. There has to be a conversion. You have to convert those site visitors into something. That “something” may be more sales, reduced mail expenses, less repetitive phone calls asking what your store hours are, more members in your organization, or something else. The goal, then, is to convert those visitors into that mysterious “something.” But simply having visitors come back to your site is not acceptable unless that conversion takes place.

Let’s say that the goal of your Web site is to to get more people into your store. In that case all you need is a phone number, address, store hours, and a nice big map or a link to Mapquest. In the most obvious mercenary terms, the idea is for the site visitors to find your store, walk in the door, and then allow you to vacuum money out of their wallets. Simple, yes?

If, on the other hand, you have site visitors returning time and again to your site only to play games, wander around, and look at photos of your fish tank, well, to be honest, your site isn’t working.

Perhaps you intend to sell products online or keep the members of your not-for-profit organization informed of the latest events. In these instances it is a good idea to have the visitors return regularly. The best way to have them return will be to have new products online, Web-only specials and in the case of your not-for-profit a calendar of events. In either instance you might even want to have a newsletter or blog!

Like this one! Oh, did I say blog? Well, in this case we have a “What’s New Department.”

Now you know about Myth #1. How can we use these ideas to improve your Web site?

Have you been receiving email with the subject line blank? Do you write email messages and not fill in the subject line? Spam is often sent with a blank subject line, and as a result spam-catching software will automatically delete messages with nothing on that line.

If you are in the habit of sending messages with nothing in the subject line you are risking your message not getting through. Many email users, including me, automatically delete any messages that do not have something in the subject line. The best thing you can do when you write your message is to include a short well-formed subject line that includes the main topic of your message.

Beware of making short single-word subjects. Right now there is a flurry of spam that has “pics” in the subject line. If you are sending photographs to somebody be sure that your message isn’t identified as spam. Something such as “Photos of Zelda’s wedding” will be much more likely to get through than simply “pics” or “photos.”

If you are like a lot of us you may have been receiving about a zillion of those so-called e-greeting card messages in your email box. You know the ones I mean. They all say something like “From: You have received a greeting card from a friend…” Or the subject like may say it is from an classmate, family member, small woolly mammal, etc. According to experts, this is message that is carrying an evil Trojan Horse spyware program.

Mark the message as spam, delete it, and do not forward it. Remember, do not open it!

Messages like this rely on people open messages without thinking, who do not have their virus protection up to date, and who don’t have firewalls running. Avoid making the spam situation worse. Here are some of the steps that you can take:

• Make sure your firewall is turned on
• Be sure your virus protection is up to date
• Never upon attachments to email messages if you are not positive you know who it is from and why you are getting it
• Avoid opening any email messages if you are not sure who they are from
• When you send email messages, especially ones with attached files, specify exactly what it is all about in the subject line of your email message.

Research indicates that the vast majority of spam is sent from “innocent” home computers that have been compromised by malware programs that turn them into spam-sending zombies. Be sure that your machine isn’t one of them.