What is a website?: April 13, 1998 issue of New Thinking

April 13, 1998 New Thinking:
What is a website?

Website content management

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April 13, 1998

What is a website?

By Gerry McGovern

In all the rush and swagger, have you ever stopped to ask the question: What is a website? Before trying to answer this question I’d like to attempt to answer the same question for other products.

What is a television? If you’re a consumer, then a television is a product which allows you to view programs which entertain, educate and inform you. If you’re a producer of those programs, then a television is the vehicle through which you reach your marketplace.

What is a radio? Well, a radio has the same functions and objectives as a television, only it’s dealing with the medium of sound only. What is a newspaper or magazine? Again, these products have the same basic objectives and functions as radio and television, only they deal with them through print and visuals.

What is a car? A car is a product that gets you from A to B more quickly than if you walked. What is a computer? A computer is a product that helps you do your work and solve problems faster. What is a CD player? A CD player is a product that allows you to listen to the music that you like.

So, what is a website? If you’re a consumer, then a website is a product that allows you access information, initiate communication and carry out transactions. If you’re a producer, then a website is a product that allows you to place your information so that others can access it. Further, it allows you to communicate with people and to transact with them.

Websites may be found on computer screens today, but they have very little to do with technology, programming and all that. A Website is your public face. It is your website that will establish your corporate identity, not some fleeting words in an annual report. It is your website that will either consolidate or else redefine your brand. It is your website that will help build customer loyalty or else dissipate it. It is your website that will help increase sales and profits.

There are companies out there that still think the Internet is a fad. That it is some technical thing that should be left to the IT department to deal with. There are very many companies out there that are developing embarrassing websites, with shallow information that never changes and big graphics and horrible animations.

Companies allow things go up on the Web what they would never allow go out in print. Imagine if someone handed you the annual report of a large company. Imagine if it was photocopied, stapled, and notes and corrections were scribbled on the inside. Imagine if you were then asked to buy a product from or invest in that company.

It is still early days, sure. And that is why it is vital to keep asking ourselves very simple questions. What is a website visitor? A website visitor is like a ghost that visits your company, looking over your shoulder, peering at your products and information, poking into your support function, seeing how you deal with personnel, having a peek at your corporate history, passing through your reception (homepage) and wondering why the bowl of fruit on the front desk in four weeks old and flowered with fungi.

Gerry McGovern

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Companies allow things go up on the Web what they would never allow go out in print.