Building Effective Web Sites / Edition 1

After six years of growing pains, the Internet is finally starting to settle down. Changes in technology and user adoption rates are now more measurable and predictable than in the early days. The huge shakeout at the turn of the century resulted in a return to sound strategy over wild experimentation. Finally, we are beginning to understand what users really want while online, thanks to a plethora of research into user behavior. All this means that effective Web site content, design, and functionality are starting to become as much science as art.

We wrote Building Effective Web Sites within this context. It draws on the best current research and thought to inform Web site developers about how to create sites that are 100 percent user focused. It is unlike any other book because it describes the process from planning through publishing and publicizing, all from the user's perspective. It gives hands-on software tutorials and practical advice. This book is also unusual because the authors each bring a different background and perspective to the task: marketing and information technology. The melding of these two disciplines creates Web sites that sing to customers.

AUDIENCE

This book is for beginning Web site developers, although veterans will find good advice about planning, usability, and ways to draw visitors to the site. It is perfect for university classes that include Web site development as a component or the entire syllabus, and for which an inexpensive, all-in-one text is desired. The book is a good companion to E-Marketing (also a Prentice Hall book by Strauss and Frost), because the latter focuses on electronic marketingstrategies, while the book in your hands focuses on Web site design and implementation.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

We do not recommend reading Building Effective Web Sites cover to cover. We suggest readers go through the book in this order:

1. Start with the Chapter 1 overview.
2. Move to Chapters 2 ("Creating a Web Site Marketing Plan") and 3 ("Designing for Usability"). Refer back to Chapter 3 frequently when actually creating your Web site.
3. Next, select either Chapter 4 ("Creating a Web Site in HTML") or Chapter 5 ("Creating Web Sites with Page Authoring Tools"), depending on the tools you want to use for Web site creation.
4. Then head for Chapter 6 to create graphics for the site.
5. To publish the site on a server of choice, go to Chapter 8.
6. Finally, other chapters serve as references for those wanting more: Chapter 7 describes the Web for e-commerce, Chapter 9 tells how to publicize the site, and Chapter 10 is a technology refresher, giving lots of instruction about how the Web, browsers, and e-mail work.

This book presents brief tutorials in Macromedia Dreamweaver, Microsoft FrontPage, Adobe Photoshop, and others. We recommend purchasing an additional book dedicated to your software of choice if you plan to go further than the introductory stage.

THE BOOK WEB SITE

A Web site accompanies this book (www.prenhall.com/frost). We designed it using the principles in this book as a model for Web site developers. On it, you'll find additional tutorials, exercises, and other resource materials. There is also a test bank available for selected chapters.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Raymond Frost and Judy Strauss have collaborated on several Web-based projects. Together they have 12 years of Web site design and development experience, and currently manage and maintain several Web sites. They published academic papers on issues of, Web audience measurement, Internet survey research, consumer/company e-mail communication, and Internet pedagogy. Their first book is in its fifth edition as E-Marketing Guide (Prentice Hall), and their second, E-Marketing, is in its second edition (Prentice Hall). They also have developed e-business and Web site development training seminars for business clients, both domestically and internationally. They created a new course in 1996, "Marketing in Cyberspace," and continue to teach classes in electronic marketing and Web site development.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The most pleasant task of writing a book comes in expressing our appreciation to the individuals who helped us create the work. Our gratitude is enormous. First we want to thank our students over the years who inspire us, teach us, and help make our books 100 percent user focused. Next, we want to thank Prentice Hall—especially Whitney Blake, Bruce Kaplan, and John Roberts—for providing a place to showcase our ideas. We also appreciate the support of our institutions, Ohio University and the University of Nevada, Reno. Finally, we thank the reviewers who helped us shape this book with their sage advice:

• Dwayne D. Gremler, University of Idaho
• Monica Perry, University of North Carolina-Charlotte
• Mary Wolfinbarger, California State University
• Mohan K. Menon, University of South Alabama