Just because you must include standard content on your website doesn’t mean it has to be boring.

Keep the content fresh and make your customers want to read more. You can do this by using humour, breaking up the text with snippets of quirky information or by just making the content informative.

The following is a detailed look at what you should consider when it comes to your site content.

What identification information to add

To help your customers trust your business you should tell them as much as you can about who you are. Saying this, it is important not to do this on your home page. Give customers a link to an "About Us" page so they can choose whether they need more information about your business.

Don't bombard customers on your home page with information about your business. The customers initially want to know what you can do for them and then they might be interested in your company's history.

Important identification information includes:
"Real-world" address, Operating hours, ABN, Phone number, Fax number, E-mail address.

Having your "bricks and mortar" address, telephone and facsimile numbers will help encourage customers to visit your offline store. It will also make them more comfortable buying from you knowing you have an existing business.

It is also important to make sure your information is consistent. This means that your stationery carries your Internet address.

Make your site sticky

Keeping users on your website for as long as possible is important. This is known as enhancing the "stickiness" of your site.

To do this you must always provide links to other areas of content held on your site.

Each of your website pages should provide links to other similar areas of information. For example, someone browsing EBC’s website may be interested in benchmarking a business.

They will arrive at a page titled "The Benefits of Benchmarking" which is an article about benchmarking. This page also provides links to other business-related articles within EBC’s site.

To keep the user at your site, therefore, offer them links to your other Web pages, which will provide similar or helpful information. This ensures that no page is an "orphan" and your visitors are not left with nowhere to go except back.

Instead of your visitor just reading the article and leaving, they are given an incentive to continue their search for information.

The longer a user stays at your website the more likely it is he/she will make a purchase.

Don't forget the contents page

A contents page or table of contents will help to tell customers what your Web pages contain. There should be a link from your home page to this information.

Your contents page should set out the major content headings customers can access on your site.

By clicking on these headings they should be directed to the information they are seeking.

Packaging information in "easy to digest bites" is a good way to inform users. This means keeping the content concise while still being informative.

Using short paragraphs is also a good idea. This way the user is not put off by long pieces of text.

Using hyperlink icons on your contents page is a great way to give customers easy to identify links to other snippets of information.

You can also use a site map instead of a contents page if you prefer. This is similar to a contents page and shows visitors how the site is laid out and which sections are where.

Many software packages will automatically generate either a site map or contents page for you. Use whichever one comes with the package or ask your developer to create one for you that automatically updates itself so you don’t have to do it manually.

Create website search functions

If your budget allows or if this function is incorporated in the software package you are using, you should incorporate a "search" feature on your site, particularly if you are adding numerous pages of content.

Many visitors to your site may not know exactly what they want but if you include a search function on your site, they can look for it very easily.

Like search engines, this feature will allow your visitors to type in a word and then search for it on your site. It’s like having your own mini search engine, only instead of it searching the World Wide Web, it just searches your site for key words. It’s a nice feature to have in addition to your contents page.

EBC incorporates a search function on its site. With more than 10,000 pages on its site, it was a must.

Search functions are fairly easy to incorporate onto your site. For instance, FrontPage automatically generates it for you which, once inserted, will read all the text on your pages.

If you are using a developer, he or she should have access to what is called an “index server.” Again, this is a type of search engine which can be inserted into Web pages and will automatically search text. Unless you are using complex Active Server Pages, like EBC, your developer can generate a search function very easily using the index server.

Add value to your website

This is an extremely useful content tool. It is the process of adding and creating extra information as an add-on service for customers.

By value adding, you can also encourage more "hits" to your site. For example, if you are a hotel in a ski region you could include on your site weather reports, ski hire prices and information, and perhaps a restaurant guide. This added information may help to make a reservation.

Or if you are a camping store selling camping products, you may add information to your site which is relevant to camping. This could include weather reports, lists and reviews of camping grounds, walking tours and the like.

You could package information as part of your Web site by having links to it. This means researching for this information.

Value adding also has advantages in that customers may return to your site because they know certain information is available.

Someone wanting camping grounds information may automatically go back to your site because they know the information is there. It may also translate into more sales. If users log on to your website specifically for camping grounds information, they may also come across a product they need or want to buy.

You should also cross-sell and up-sell as part of your Web content. If a potential customer is looking at a particular product, give them a link or encourage them to look at related products.

It is important to take advantage of every selling tool available when trading online. You don’t have the luxury of dropping other product information in as part of a one-on-one sales pitch.

Make sure to include important statements
Privacy continues to be a major issue for customers shopping online. Concerns about the information they supply and how it will be used can be a major barrier to making a sale.

Extensive American research has revealed that Internet users are far more inclined to shop at a site that has a privacy policy.

The Internet shopping experience is really built on trust between the customer and merchant. Privacy is the number one ingredient in trust.

Your site should have an open privacy disclosure which is easy for customers to understand and gain access to.

Customers should also be given clear and easy links to your return policy and security statement. These statements are an important aspect of your customer service.

Users will want to know what your return and security procedures are. It will help them to feel more comfortable when making a transaction.

These statements are usually located at the bottom of the page along with the business name, ABN and copyright notice. Many sites have links to these statements usually built in as part of the page template.

Your Copyright and Disclaimer of Liability

Your website should also carry a copyright notice to protect the site’s intellectual property. The copyright notification should be part of your website template.

You can do this by making sure your website template contains, for example, "Copyright © 1999-2002, Your Company Name." The notice should be updated to reflect the current year.

There should also be a link on your home page which directs customers to your Disclaimer of Liability.

You should be extremely careful that you do not infringe copyright laws when creating your website content especially if you are tempted to "lift" information from another website.

If there is something you want to use, you must contact the author or copyright owner and ask for permission.

Personalise your website content

Personalising your site’s content is an excellent way of endearing yourself to your customers. This makes the online shopping experience seem less like just transacting with a computer. Give them relevant personal information about your staff.

Again this type of information can be placed in an "About Us" page. You could include staff pictures and biographies. This is useful if you are in a business where staff experience and reliability is important.

For example, if you run a tyre company you may want to list staff information such as qualifications, time in the trade etc. This will give credence to any product recommendations your site makes. Customers will conclude that your staff know what they are talking about.

Personalising content works extremely well for small "ma and pa" businesses, especially those ones who are the real characters behind the front counter.

For example, you might be a retail store, which sells specialised pasta, sauces, small goods, etc., say Mama Maria’s Pasta. You are facing a lot of competition from other larger, more well known, pasta businesses.

However, by providing customers with a biography of Mama Maria, including photo, you are "humanising" your business. Tell customers how she devised her secret pasta sauce recipes and how she loves to cook. Customers will know who has made their pasta sauce and will feel an affinity for Mama Maria.

After all, how many people buy Paul Newman’s pasta sauces merely because they “know” the actor and feel an affinity with him?

Don't forget testimonials and reviews

Products reviews, comparisons or benchmarks will help give buyers confidence in your products or services. Links to reviews and testimonials are also a good idea.

These links could be to information stored on your website or to another website, which could provide customers with more information. However, remember that a link to an outside website will lead your customers out of your site, which is something you want to avoid wherever possible.

Also remember not to get bogged down by offering too much information. Testimonials from satisfied customers will show how your business can do a better job than your competitor when it comes to customer satisfaction.

After you have launched your site, it is worth adding any e-mails you receive to your testimonials. Be sure to ask the person’s permission to do so, just to be on the safe side.

Encourage transactions

Make it as easy as possible for customers to complete an order by providing clear instructions.

Make sure delivery costs are outlined before customers get into the ordering process. Have a link to your delivery policy and, if your business allows it, have the prices there.

This way, customers will know what to expect, and it may just be the clincher as to whether they will proceed with making a purchase.

You should provide:

Clear instructions on how to use your online store and how to order.
Clear delivery arrangements
An explanation of your refund and return policy
Summary descriptions of your products with links to more detailed information
Images which may enhance product information.