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Website Content
Companies seeking foreign audiences with their websites will want to either localize or internationalize their site, or provide a mixture of both processes. Forrester Research notes that "visitors linger twice as long [on international sites] as they do at English-only URLs; business buyers are three times more likely to buy if addressed in their own language; and customer services costs drop when instructions are displayed in the user's language."
Localization consists of adapting one’s website to meet the linguistic, cultural, and commercial requirements of a targeted market. Internationalizing a firm’s website enables the company to be multilingual and be sensitive to cultural conventions without the need for extensive redesign. Localization or internationalization must be part of the online exporter’s corporate strategy for website and business development. Features that should be considered include:
language
cultural nuance, such as differences in color association and symbols
payment preferences
pricing in the appropriate currency
web metrics and visitor reports
regular maintenance and updating
Web authoring software
There are a number of web-authoring packages available on the market. Macromedia Dreamweaver, Adobe GoLive and Microsoft FrontPage are three examples. They are known as WYSIWYG editors. WYSIWYG stands for 'What You See Is What You Get'. FrontPage is a good starting point, since Dreamweaver and GoLive are used by some professional designers. For more help on using FrontPage Express visit the Creating A Basic Web Page With Front Page Express site. There are also open source solutions, such as Amaya. A list of freely available HTML editors can be found here.
HTML
HTML stands for Hyper Text Mark-up Language. All web pages need to be written in code so they can be read by a web browser, such as Internet Explorer. The code is an instruction to your computer’s browser on how to format and display the content of each web page. To see the HTML for this web page, click on 'View' and then 'Source' or 'Page Source'.
If you choose to use a web authoring package such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver, you can design the whole site without even seeing any HTML. However, it is a good idea to try and understand how the site is working. Web Pages for Absolute Beginners is a good place to start. A useful HTML ‘cheatsheet’ is also available from webmonkey.
While looking at HTML, you may find references to CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). This code defines the way content is presented on a site.
Ten tips on building a good website
Plan the site: consider all the options and map them out and retain this as a blueprint of how the site might grow over time.
Start in one small manageable area and then build gradually.
Keep it simple and accessible for all users, including those with special needs - see what you can achieve without being over-ambitious.
Use the functions that are unique to the web to make your pages easier to navigate and interesting to visitors - use hyperlinks, graphics and small animations if they are appropriate.
Remember your audience.
Enlist the help of others - children can take digital photos, for example, and write material for their own pages.
Invite feedback on how others view your offerings.
Review and update the site constantly to ensure that you see your site as others see it.
Remember issues such as copyright, plagiarism, child safety and privacy.
Appoint a webkeeper to co-ordinate the efforts of everyone in the school and oversee the site’s content.
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