How to Start a Business

Web Business Success: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Web Sites That Work

Web Business Success: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Web Sites That Work aims to demystify the often-confusing world of e-commerce. Whether you plan to hire a consultant or create a business Web site yourself, Web Business Success gives you the information you need to avoid wasting a whole lot of time and money getting your business online. Authors James Byrd and Susan Daffron share practical tips and strategies to help business owners make good choices when they put a Web site online.

Web Business Success is for: – People planning on starting an online business – Business owners trying to extend their business with an online presence – Anyone who is completely mystified by the hype and confusion surrounding ecommerce

If you’ve thought about starting an online business or augmenting your existing business with an online presence, you’ve probably been assaulted by hype. Web Business Success: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Web Sites That Work cuts through the clutter with the proven strategies and techniques you need to know to earn a decent income online. It’s like having your own ecommerce consultant right by your side, explaining things in straightforward terms, without a lot of “geek speak.”

The authors have been creating Web sites professionally since 1997 and understand that dealing with Web site designers can be a challenge; many business owners have had bad experiences. Web Business Success contains practical information on how to get a business online and save time and money in the process. The book is based on the authors’ real-world experience developing Web sites and is filled with the same common-sense advice they have been giving their own clients for years.

From the Publisher

Web Business Success: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Web Sites That Work gives business owners the tips, techniques, and information they need to get an effective Web site online. When it comes to ecommerce, knowledge is your best defense. If you understand the basics of how a Web site works, the developers, designers, and financial institutions you’re dealing with in the process can’t talk you into buying technology or services that you don’t need or won’t do the job.

In Web Business Success the authors explain: how to decide when it is better to take the “do it yourself” approach and when it’s time to outsource; how to screen Web developers; how to plan a sales-generating Web site before spending money on design or development; the ins and outs of online payment; and how to market the site and keep visitors coming back. Authors Susan Daffron and James Byrd wrote “Web Business Success” after years of working with clients who had negative experiences with prior Web developers. After re-developing many sites, the authors realized that their clients had made these costly mistakes earlier simply because of lack of information.

Susan Daffron has been a writer and graphic designer since 1989. She taught herself HTML and hand-coded her first Web site around 1996. Susan is the author of more than 70 articles that have appeared in national magazines, 250 newspaper articles, online software training, software books, a cookbook, and book chapters.

James Byrd has been a programmer since 1985. Along with his work for his own company, he also was a Senior Internet Developer and then Internet Development Manager for a $100 million ecommerce Web site (and several back-end systems) at women’s clothing retailer Coldwater Creek. During his tenure he managed a team of programmers, developed customer loyalty and credit card programs, and helped keep Coldwater’s ecommerce site (spanning four server farms) up, running, and making sales for several years.

“Web Business Success” explains the basics of how a Web site works in easy-to-understand terms. It teaches readers how to communicate and negotiate when dealing with Web developers and designers so they do not get talked into buying technology or services that they do not need, or will not do the job. It also includes a complete index and a glossary of terms.