Even if it takes years for the Web to realize its full potential, many business owners figure they have little to lose and everything to gain from learning how best to exploit it. "As time goes on, this me-dium will have a major impact on how people get information and buy products," says Murphy of Clos LaChance Wines. "We don't have huge expectations in the short term. I just want to get in and learn." It's hard to see the flaw in that strategy.
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Steven Dickman (etonai@aol.com) is a freelance writer based in Cambridge, Mass.
DESIGNING A WEB PAGE
Once you've decided to set up shop on the Web, you'll need to figure out how you want your pages to look and what information you want to include on them. The best sources for ideas are other companies' pages. Go in as a consumer, and see what would persuade you to purchase a product or a service marketed on the Web.
At this point, you have two options: you can hire a consultant to design your pages or you can design them yourself. Even if you've had a lot of programming experience, you might want to seek outside help. Most consultants will give you some guidance for free, says consultant Phil Kratzer of the National Response Corp., in Dallas, especially if your company has annual sales of more than $1 million and you have done some homework. Should you decide, however, to write your own code, you can use one of several software packages. (See Resources, next page.)
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Because it's easy to move from site to site on the Web, you might think that users would find all sites equally attractive. But location can be just as important on the Web as on the ground. Indeed, dozens of malls have opened up on the World Wide Web, and they're rushing to assemble lists of companies whose Web pages are accessible primarily through Web mall sites. That way, just as in real shopping malls, a person who enters an on-line mall interested in buying sporting goods might wind up taking home two pounds of coffee and a vacuum cleaner.
Companies that wait too long to sign up may find themselves shut out of the most popular malls. "Six months from now, people will figure out which sites are more interesting than others," predicts Jason Olim, the cofounder of CDnow!, a Philadelphia-based CD retailer accessible through the Web's Downtown Anywhere mall. Some companies, like Zaro's bakery, are already seeking listings on several Web malls. Better safe than sorry.
RESOURCES
Books
The Internet Business Guide, by Rosalind Resnick and Dave Taylor, SAMS Publishing, 1994, $24.95, 418 pages. Well-organized, practical information, with useful appendices and graphics-rich examples of how businesses are using the Internet.
The Internet Business Book, by Jill Ellsworth and Matthew Ellsworth, John Wiley & Sons, 1994, $22.95, 376 pages. A text-heavy primer that leans more toward written descriptions than graphics. Not much information about the Web.
Using the World Wide Web, by Bill Eager, Que Publishing, 1994, $27.99, 512 pages. A full-blown encyclopedia of Web sites and other information, organized into useful topics such as "How to Create a WWW Home Page." Includes brief user guides for the most popular Web browsing software.
Web Access and Software
In January Prodigy began offering access to the World Wide Web, and other commercial on-line services, such as America Online and CompuServe, are planning to follow suit. You can also get on the Web through an Internet phone-access account called a SLIP or PPP account. You can obtain a comprehensive list of access providers by E-mailing a request to info@internic. net. Here are two providers that offer Web access from most major cities:
Performance Systems International (800-774-3031). The $99 setup fee includes the cost of software and one free month of service; then it's $29 for 29 hours of use a month.
Portal Information Network (800-433-6444). A $19.95 setup fee and $19.95 a month.
For software, most newcomers to the Web are better off buying one of the easy-to-set-up commercial packages. Two are Internet Chameleon, from NetManage, and Internet in a Box, from Spry. Internet Chameleon has the longer track record and the higher price tag ($199 list; 408-973-7171). Internet in a Box is easier to use, has more features, and costs less ($149; 800-557-9614).
More advanced Web users who want to design a Web page will need software that provides the Hypertext Markup Language (html). These are the two most popular packages for writing documents in html:
HTML Assistant. Available from Brooklyn North Software Works (902-835-2600) for $99.
HoTMetaL. More sophisticated than HTML Assistant but harder to learn. $195 from SoftQuad (800-387-2777).
Business Directories
One of the best directories of companies with Web sites is a Web site itself. As usual, you get there by typing the site address, or in Web lingo, the URL: http://akebono.stanford.edu/ yahoo/
The directory includes thousands of businesses and their Web addresses organized by industry.
Malls
Some entrepreneurs are trying to match retailers with customers on the Web by starting malls, which, like real shopping malls, offer a variety of products and services grouped together at one location. An example is Downtown Anywhere, one of the earliest and fastest-growing malls. Its address: http://www.awa.com
Consultants
Hundreds of consultants advise businesses about using the Internet and the Web. Two of the more experienced are National Response Corp., Dallas, 214-458-7625; and Electric Press Inc., Reston, Va., 800-993-5773.
Tip: Don't try to get on the Web with anything less than a 14.4 modem; the response will be excruciatingly slow!
