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Purchase options:
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£18.99 amazon.co.uk
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Details:
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ISBN 0273654861
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Published by Prentice Hall
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Written by Sean McManus
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Book published August 2001
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Title:
Small Business Websites that Work: Get Online to Grow Your Company
Review:
It is sometimes said that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. However, for a non-technical person to cope with setting up and developing an online business, no knowledge can be even worse! Many small business owners have taken the plunge online and relied on others to provide the 'know-how' with varying degrees of success. With so many pitfalls awaiting the unwary, creating a successful web business can be a daunting task. Books such as this one, however, can go some way to helping small business owners or managers in larger companies - whose skills lie in other areas - to avoid floundering in uncertainty and technical confusion when briefing suppliers.
There are many books that cover much of the same ground as Sean McManus', yet this one stands out from others I've read because firstly it's by an English author - often a novelty in this field - but also because it is easy to read, well organised and practical. There's a lot of information packed into just over 200 pages, but the book's clear design, the avoidance of technical jargon, and the liberal use of checklists and summaries make it a pleasure to read from start to finish, or to dip into a relevant section. There is also an accompanying website which includes updated information and web links .
Within 11 chapters all the main elements of putting a business online are covered, often in quite brief detail, but enough to highlight the key things to think about or be aware of. There's a particularly good chapter on how to offer good customer service, plus useful sections on legal and ethical issues, as well as measuring the success of the website by using tracking software. The chapter on web design also takes an interesting angle by considering the pros and cons between doing it yourself, getting a friend to do it, outsourcing the work, or creating an in-house design team.
Several chapters deal with advertising and marketing. The use of affiliate schemes and advertising offers plenty of tips to help beginners avoid the many pitfalls that can lie in wait. The section on promoting the site includes a good overview of the role that search engines can play and, despite downplaying the importance of these tools for generating traffic, the six pages on the subject contain some solid advice.
This book provides a very good introduction to anyone who wants to have a clearer understanding of how to give an online business a better chance of success. Even those with some experience may benefit from dipping in to the book to read sections that cover an area new to them. Certainly, if you have no idea of the difference between a domain or a host, or are unsure about a virus e-mail compared to a viral one, this book will provide some much-needed enlightenment!
Free Pint Reviewer:
Clive Hawkins is an Internet marketing consultant who has been involved in the development and promotion of business websites since 1995. He set up and runs The Web Search Workshop < http://www.websearchworkshop.co.uk/>, which is a specialist consultancy offering a tailored search engine optimisation and placement service on the web's most popular search tools. The company also offers in-house training support to help businesses improve their online marketing and to make the best use of search tools. Clive has also been a regular contributor to Practical Internet magazine, writing articles on marketing in their section for small businesses.
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