There are many similarities between building a house and building a Website. An effective Web marketing plan is very much like the process of building and maintaining a new home. However, Web marketers and developers do not always follow these guidelines.
Here is how they are alike:
- You must decide where your house is located and where your Website is hosted. You must also develop a blue print and floor plans for your new house, just as you develop a site map for your Website navigation. Budgets and staff are assigned to their various specialties and many details are covered whether it is a house or a Website you are building. The house is decorated and furnishings are added along with landscaping. Graphics, photos and other visual elements are added to a Website. A house must have a solid foundation and effective heating, water and electrical systems. A Website needs a solid technical foundation and fluid interactive tools.
- A house must be maintained and improved upon or it falls apart over time. Websites also must constantly be evaluated and updated and maintained or they too will deteriorate over time. This is where many Websites fall short. Be proud of your Website, and keep it updated and fresh. Your Website will have many more visitors than your house!
- At some point the site, and your house, will be in need of an overhaul to keep them fresh and interesting to you and visitors. Here is where a house and a Website differ; unlike most houses, a Website needs a new look at least every one or two years. The problem is many people let their Websites go much longer than they should. This is usually the case because people do not see their Website as a fluid and evolving process. Even though your new home’s construction will finally end, a Website is always under construction!
