Planning, user-friendliness keys to successful Web sites

In today's world, a Web site is a must-have for any successful business. But if it's not meeting the customers' needs, it can also be the kiss of death.

"The immediacy of the Web can be both good and bad," said Chris Edwards, chief operations officer with Creata Vivendi, a marketing, public-relations and consulting company in Conewago Township, York County.

If it's up to date, easy to navigate, interactive and visually appealing, a Web site can be a valuable tool in providing customer service, he said. If not, it could lead to the loss of business.

In creating a customer-friendly Web site, each of the following businesses incorporated two simple strategies: plan carefully and design with the user in mind. The result, they said, was a valuable business tool that serves the clients' needs and, in turn, the company's needs, as well.

Virtual interaction

For Kathy Jordan, a gymnastic coach in Connecticut, the ability to custom design her teams' uniforms online was the main reason she chose Alpha Factor, a division of gymnastic-apparel maker Perform Group (formerly Tighe Industries) in York County.

"Their Web site blows the competition away," Jordan said. "It just makes ordering so much easier."

That's exactly the type of response the company was looking for with the launch of its new Web site - www.alphafactor.com - which features a virtual design studio where coaches from anywhere in the world can customize leotards with their choice of colors, fabrics and rhinestones.

"In designing the site, we put our customers' needs first," said Wendy Martin, Alpha Factor's business manager.

Enabling users to virtually serve themselves with interactive tools is one way a Web site can enhance customer service, said Denny Miller, president of Pipeline Interactive, the Lebanon-based company that designed the Alpha Factor site.

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