What To Consider When Builing a Website
By Laura Waligorski - Director of Operations, IFX International, Inc.

• The most important aspect of any website is speed. If it takes longer than ten (10) seconds to download your website, a prospect will hit their stop button and go to another (faster) website. Throughout the entire planning of your website, you must always consider speed.

   

• Make sure your website contains one or two color photographs per page, no more than this since it will slow down your speed. Remember, this is your chance to provide prospects with a color brochure of your offering without spending the cost on printing, postage, and employee time. The photographs should be high quality and preferably have been professionally taken. All photographs should help a potential franchisee get a better understanding of your business.

   

• Be sure to accurately describe the Franchisor's products and services. It is amazing how often I have gone through an entire website and am still left wondering what the company actually does. It is best to include brief descriptions of industry information as well as the company itself.

   

• It is very important to include the cost of your franchise offering on the website. You do not want to waste time on prospects that can not afford your offering. It is better to get it out in the open then waste time and energy in the future.

   

• Don't give away every aspect of your franchise offering on your website. If you have too much detailed information about your program and they decide they're not interested, you have no chance to change their minds with one-on-one sales conversations. Remember, a website is one of many tools to selling franchises, not the only tool.

   

• Be sure to include what the prospect is expected to do next. A good idea is to have an "email response form" on your website so that they can request additional information immediately without having to remember to call you at a later time. It also allows you to know what kind of response your website is giving you&emdash;how many times have you asked how a prospect heard of your offering and they said "I don't remember."?

   

• Many Franchisors now have a custom intranet system that branch off from their existing website. A password protected button is often located on the main page of the Franchisor's website. Upon clicking on the button, the viewer must provide a password and/or other form of identification before being allowed into the system. IFX International, Inc.'s Franchisee Support System allows franchisees to obtain current manuals, news letters, updates, email and enter into a Q&A forum. Intranet systems are a great selling point to potential franchisees as well as maintaining current franchisees.

When selecting a company to build your website, it is critical that you look for a company that has experience in the franchise and business opportunity industry. Your image on the Internet is important and is often times the first impression prospects see, therefore you must contract a company that not only knows how to design websites, but understands your marketing needs and can structure the site accordingly. Once your website is built, be sure people know about it! Include the website address on business cards, letter head, and advertisements. If you choose to promote your website on the internet, consider buying advertising space on existing sites such as Centercourt™. Most of all, make sure you receive feedback from people regarding the site and then use that feedback when updating your website.

For additional information about IFX International, Inc. and their products mentioned above, please visit www.ifxonline.com