These are just a few insights to get you on the road:

1 Who are you targeting?

Write a list. Pull out the main one or two audiences your really want to reach. Now, personify them. Get a pencil and write down “Steve is a self-employed builder, Susan is a mother and works part-time as a nurse.”

2  What do they want?
Step away from your own viewpoint for a moment and put yourself in the position of the visitor. They’ve just typed something into Google, or followed a link in an email or a referral; Why did they do that? What are the things that they are looking for and will they find it on your page?

3  What do you want?
Now that you have Steve or Susan looking at your home page what is the absolute key thing you want them to do?

If you want them to buy your service, put a big, obvious link somewhere prominent.

If you want them register for something, make it really, really simple for them to do that one single task.

If there is more than one task, make sure that they do not clash with one another.

4  How much time do they have on their hands?
Many people will make a decision about your site before it has even loaded; If it takes too long they are gone. If they’ve stuck around for a while, the chances are that they’re trying to find something. Show them something interesting straight away; keep your text brief and to the point and don’t use too much too much jargon.

5  Will they bother clicking on anything?
Possibly not, so try to give them everything they need with no interaction. Put prices, special offers, a big video or whatever will satisfy your audience’s needs right there.

6  What does ‘conversion’ look like?
A successful home page will ‘convert’ your audience from a casual surfers to ‘converted’ customer. The only way to do this effectively is to be clear what it is you want them to do and channel them along that route so it feels completely natural.

7  Do you have a complex sell?
Sometimes it’s difficult to explain exactly what it is you are offering. If that’s the case, don’t make the visitor sit there thinking ‘what exactly do these guys do?’, put it right up at the top in big letters.

8  Why Choose You?
Are you offering a product or service similar to other businesses? If so, differentiate yourself by saying ‘we are different because we do X, Y, and Z’ and put it somewhere obvious.

9  Where are you?
The web is international so it can be confusing for visitors to know where your business operates. If you want international clients, make that clear and don’t waste people’s time by putting it in the footer. If you’re mainly serving a specific region or area be up front about it – it may even help with your SEO.

10  Is your audience in your industry?
If not, don’t expect to understand your jargon. Technical and industry terms can confuse and give visitors the impression that you’re a faceless big organisation. Be human, friendly and speak their language.

Why? Well, today, with our mobile, on-demand, location-based, personalised networks, “New Media” has more to do with how technology reacts to us as individuals. Back then “interact” meant point & click; personalised meant remembering your name. Now interact means “show me something relevant that I haven’t seen before based on my interests (and those of my close friends)… and, while you’re at it, make it nearby”.

New Media is rebellious again. New Media raises expectations. New Media provides a better service.

The difference between Old & New Media isn’t about the new platform or technology any more, it’s about the new attitude. Old media is the pizza restaurant that doesn’t deliver. New Media isn’t just a pizza shop that delivers or allows you to order online, it’s the one that recognises you and rewards you for loyalty.

For business, in many ways, this is a step back to the corner-shop attitude. Your local shop-keeper recognises you when you walk-in and will welcome you by name. They know what you usually buy. They will ask for your opinion and value it. They will give your kids a lollipop and because of all that, you will return again and again.

New Media is no longer about the technology. It’s about how we apply those attitutdes to technology .

I see a lot of this Emperor’s New Clothes, especially to do with iPhone apps and, normally I just sigh and let them go but this one continued to betray a lack of coherent digital strategy by promoting it with a QR Code on the table.

There’s nothing wrong with QR Codes in themselves, of course. They are a useful asset when used in a relevant manner and all Android phones come with a QR code reader as standard. But the app isn’t available for Android, it’s for the iPhone; The iPhone does not come with a QR code reader as standard.

This means that Pizza Express have built a service but put barriers to entry at every touch point. In fact there’s even a petition on the Pizza Express Facebook page from disgruntled Pizza fans. UPDATE: Pizza Express have removed the discussion now. Nothing like a bit of censorship when your customers are trying to tell you what they want.

If Pizza Express had thought about their customers instead of being dazzled by shiny beads and mirrors, they would have realised a mobile-optimised website can provide a better service to more customers. Dominos Pizza, for example, have a great mobile-optimised site.

So now my rant is over, I’ll leave you with this little equation:

If a Pizza has a radius of z and a depth of a, we can calculate its volume as pi zz a

It’s a bit like buying a pair of shoes.

Sometimes you’ll go into a shoe shop and the assistant will charm you. They will show you a shiny pair, flatter you, tell you these are the latest trend and that this is the pair of shoes for you. Occasionally you might fall for it and come away with something you didn’t really want and will never use.

Sometimes you see an amazing pair of shoes and you just have to buy them. You don’t care what they’ll go with, if they’ll last or, to some extent, how much they are. These are rarely practical purchasing decisions but, at least, you’ll probably get some use from them.

The shoes that we get the most value for money from are those we buy to fulfil a specific need and the same goes for websites.

We can work with you to assess your business needs and define what the internet can do solve them. Whether it’s a simple email marketing campaign or a full web strategy, we can help find the shoe that fits.