eBridge Learning Solutions is an online learning consulting business that needed a quick web site. The site had to be attractive and clean, but inexpensive. This is an example of just what can be done in 4 hours. As the site is intended to hold a place for a more complex site, I've been asked to consult on the design of the new, expanded site.
My first involvement with Lock-N-Key was to take a slow-loading, script-heavy web site and make it faster, leaner, and work with Netscape. The site had been created by a design firm more familiar with print work, and they had used Adobe GoLive. All proprietary scripts were replaced with more efficient counterparts, graphics were compressed, and a more logical site structure was built. The result was a faster-loading site that looked and behaved exactly like before, but stayed closer to pure HTML. In addition, a new style sheet had to be built to accomodate the changes. After doing this to the company's delight, they asked me to continue on as their webmaster. Every month I make recommendations and perform small updates; larger tasks are either quoted or paid by an hourly rate. Most recently, we linked several of their storage locations to an online payment and reservation system called OnlineSelfStorage.com
The Central Rockies Wolf Project is a not-for-profit organization focused on the long-term survival of wolves in the central Rocky Mountains through education and outreach. In September of 2000, I approached the group's principals as a volunteer interested in upgrading their existing web site. Instead I was accepted to join a handful of professionals volunteering to do a number of marketing tasks for the CRWP.- Corporate site. The bulk of my duties concern the site www.smartstorage.com. The challenge here has been to keep a steady flow of traffic to this URL, and the largest part of the site's success is due to its freshness. As the sole web developer, I made sure that the most up-to-date information available was on the site. As a result, in 1996 we received 700 leads from the site, and in 1999 we received over 12,000, from over a million hits to the site. General hits to the site are tripling each year. In fact, the web gives Smart Storage ten times as many new leads as all other sources combined.
In 1999, I focused my efforts on streamlining the site's forms. At the time, the number of required fields just to download demo software was over 50. I discovered that over 40% of people who actually went to the form chose not to fill it out. Working closely with Sales, I was able to simplify the form and reduce the drop-off rate to 25%.
The site also features password protected resource areas for resellers, an interactive technical support area, restricted access to a site for distributors to order directly, and exhaustive product information and downloads.
To streamline the site's day-to-day maintenance, I've made extensive use of server-side-includes for navigation and page layout, enlisted HomeSite as my HTML editor, and created templates for regularly updates pages.
- German site. The site at www.smartstorage.de is completely created and maintained in tandem with the corporate site. Although the site is maintained in English, it caters to the specific needs and programs of the German sales group. Many features of the corporate site are not required here, such as the controlled-access reseller areas.
- Web/CDs. Using WebCD Publisher software from Marketscape, quarterly CDs were created for general lead fulfillment. While the software organizes all CDs from the web site[s] and saves copies to a local hard disk, I found the process less than perfect, and many files needed to be hand-edited in order for the entire CD to operate properly. A CD image was created and a master burned for out-of-house replication. When Smart Storage's CD Duplicator software came into being, CDs and even labels were mass-produced in-house, on-demand.
- Cooperative marketing. Sometimes our hardware partners would be receptive to or initiate a joint marketing program which involved the web. We would capitalize on these relationships to create links to and from each site, and sharing leads. These types of programs resulted in increased sales from special promotions and bundles, especially with hardware partners.
- Internet marketing plans. Marketing on the web isn't just about creating a site and capturing leads. It's about research, and coming up with a solid plan for a web site. It's about setting goals and beating them. Every generation of the corporate web site that I created began with an Internet marketing plan. The plans included schedules, available resources, site structure, and the purpose of the site. I made storyboards to be approved by management. Pages were built as content was created. Using this academic approach, I could stay focused on the site's ultimate purpose long after the "go-live" date. The current version of the corporate site makes use of some of the principles of Information Mapping to aid navigation.
- FloppyCD. Although www.floppycd.com no longer exists, it was a state-of-the-art site with a single purpose -- to sell one product online and build brand-name recognition at a grassroots level. However, the company's reluctance to back the product with their name and additional marketing made it one of the best-kept secrets of 1996. The site used frames to present graphically rich information about a product that sold for less than US$100. Visitors could purchase and download the product online, and there was even a searchable technical support knowledge base if a customer had problems. The entire site cost under $3000 to set up and operate for the year that it existed. The site exists in my mind as a great means to sell software online, but unfortunately it also proves that Internet marketing should be backed by standard marketing programs. Today, FloppyCD would compete with Adaptec's DirectCD software, now the standard for desktop CD-Recording.
- iXOS sells Jukeman. German CD storage competitor iXOS sold its competing Jukeman product to Smart Storage in early 1999. The www.jukeman.com site made use of extensive PERL, Java, and JavaScript programming to create software license keys online. The procedure was based on the end-user's computer IP address, and also relied on an additional C++ program. The whole thing was served up from an NT server. My task: Take ownership of the site and enable all functionality on our ISP's Solaris server. With the help of an outside PERL programmer, I was able to convert the C++ program to a version that worked on our ISP's UNIX servers and bring the site online by the end of July, 1999.
Included were access-controlled sites for resellers to order online by PO, support to create license keys on-the-fly, and finance to manage and report on ordering activities.
- Other Internet marketing. Besides the above, Smart Storage's web marketing efforts included extensive and strategic META keyword lists to boost search engine ratings, several small banner ad campaigns, listings on trade show sites and other industry sites such as isit.com, making Beta testing programs available to online visitors. Many worthwhile ideas were forced aside as the marketing staff dwindled.