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by Chris Richardson
This article is not intended to give you a figure of value for your website but to help you examine the points that can determine a website's worth in terms of design, content, traffic, operating costs and other amenities that form the fabric of your website. The below questions are intended to help you gauge a sense of your websites strengths and weaknesses thus allowing you to form a clear understanding of your website when determining the value of of it.
Here are a few things for you to assess before evaluating your website.
Website
URL/Domain names: -
What type of domain name
does your website have?
Is it rellevant to your
website and targeted audience?
The more targeted and relevant
a URL is, the more valuable
that domain will be (in
terms of visitors/search
engines). If you dont have
your own domain or you are
using a Geocities type domain
I would suggest that you
get your own domain, this
will give your website a
profesional image and its
own identity.
Overall
look and feel of your website:
-
What is the overall look
and feel of your website,
is it condusive to your
visitors needs, is it condusive
to the management of content?
Is it compatible with differant
browsers, platforms and
resolutions.
Content:
-
Is the content displayed
on your website organized,
current, reliable well presented
and communicated effectively?
Not only the type and
quality of your content
can increase the value of
your website but also the
interset generated by it.
Does your website contain
"sticky" and rellevant
content?
Website
Interest: -
Is your website engaging,
will it promt the visitor
to return? Is your website
useful and what purpose
does it offer to the visitor.
Navigation:
-
Is your websites navigation
structure fast and easy
to find things without getting
lost? Is the navigation
intuitive?
Design
appeal and function: -
Is the design and aesthetics
of your website appealing?
Do you have an attractive
website? Is the function
practical and smooth?
A bland and dated website
can not only be detrimental
to the overall value of
your website but also the
impact it has on visitors.
Creditability
and trust: -
Is your website accurate?
Does it appear be a solid
entity? Is your website
profesional in its presentation
and conduct?
A website with an understanding
and relationship with its
visitors will attract loyalty
from these visitors.
Interactivity
and community: - Does
your website provide community
features such as forums/message
boards. Can the visitor
communicate with your website?
Traffic flow: - What
type of traffic does your
website get? How much traffic
does your website recieve?
Is your traffic unique or
repeat, or both?
Visitor type: - What
type of visitor does your
website attract?
Databases:
- Is your website run
on a database? A website
run on a database can be
invaluble in terms of traffic
flow, mainteneance and management.
Maintenance/update and website
management: - Does your
website have a maintenance/update
control panel for easy updating
etc. What unique management
features does your website
have?
Generating income: -
Does your website generate
an income? What type of
income does it generate?
Does it generate a solid
income from sales of products
or services from your website?
Does it generate an income
from affiliates? Does your
website generate income
from advertisment placings
on your website?
Website operating costs: - How much does your site cost to host? How much does it cost to maintain? How much does it cost to produce content?
Generating
income + website operating
costs = profit income: -
Does your website generate
a profit from income generated
against website operating
costs?
Location and accessibility:
- Does your website
serve 1 location or continent/country?
Is your website global?
Is your website accessible
to all?
All the above are key questions
you need to answer that
will help you to determine
the value of your website,
some points will be applicable
to your website, some wont.
There is no difinitive price
guide to websites because
every website is unique
and has its own advantages
and dissadvantages.
Contact Stickysauce for
a professional detailed
report of your website.
webmaster@stickysauce.com
Hope this helps, all the
best Chris @ Stickysauce.
©2001
Chris
Richardson. Stickysauce.com
the webmasters resource.
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