Web Development Plan of ABM car
Introduction
The ABM Car Sales company is a new company having set up shop in 2007 in Scarborough area. They specialise in the sale of Audi, BMW & Mercedes; hence their name. They only sell pre-owned (i.e. second-hand) cars, and only sell cars that are a maximum of 5 years old; although they might make an exception for a particularly good/unusual/rare example of one of the above marques. They don't really like to have any cars for sale at less than £7,500; as they want to differentiate their business on price, as well as make of car.
ABM is owned and operated by 3 Partners, i.e. Andrew, Brittany & Malcolm; each of whom specialise in one of the marques available for sale.
ABM also employ :
- An Administrator ,who keeps all of the necessary paperwork up-to-date.
- Two Mechanics ,who check the vehicles that are bought, or accepted in part-exchange, for any problems and either carry out the necessary repairs themselves, or locate a local specialist if the âproblem' is beyond their capabilities.
- And a Forecourt Person ,who makes sure that the cars are looking their best for potential customers.
Web Architecture:
Home page:
The home page provides a brief introduction of ABM car sales company as to what business venture it is undertaking and the place from where it is operating its business.
About Us:
This page provides the organizational structure of the ABM car sales company. It provides an information about the partners who are running the company and the different sectors of the organization which they are heading.
Service list:
This page provides information about various services which are being provided by ABM car sales company. These services include car servicing, MOTs and valeting.
Registration Form:
The registration form provides a way to interact with the customer and it works as
method for business promotion. The customer is asked to fill personal information like name, age address etc. the customer is also asked about the type of service he wants and the booking date. If the customer is satisfied he is allowed to make payment online through credit cards etc.
Contact Us:
This page provides the contact information of ABM car sales company. It has its address, phone no.,email address, website etc.
Related links:
This page provides link for other companies which are running the same business as an ABM car sales company is running.
Business Relevance:
The ABM car sales company needs to have a website because the internet has made its presence felt in the business world today.Nowadays, consumers prefer having their own website as consumers perceive that if a company have their own website they are more capable, trustworthy and stable. Having a quality, professionally designed website is a measure of how successful the business is and how likely one is to remain in business. If the business does not have a web presence, consumers are likely to think that the business not making enough money and are likely to suffer the consequences of that lack of income.
Another reason to have a website for the ABM car sales company is that it provides with numerous options for cost effective or even free marketing. Having a website which is optimized for SEO, gives the company a spot in search results for targeted keywords, no matter where the company might rank in the search results.
In addition, having a website for the ABM car sales company provides the current and potential customers a means by which to measure company worth to their needs, without actually having to visit the company store in person.
Finally, owning a website enables ABM car sales companies to grow its business at an international rather than regional or local level. As consumers the world over can visit company's website, peruse your goods and services and make a purchase decision. This is an invaluable tool for increasing profitability and incurring growth of ABM car sales company.
Web-site Evaluation:
The following are some of the characteristics used for evaluating a web site.
First Impressions
- URL- The URL needs to be short and simple.
- Download time- Size of the home page. The homepage should be small and quick to download.
- Look and feel- Readability. Pages should be easily readable, clear and easy to understand.
- The home page on one screen- Users entering the site will appreciate seeing everything in front of them without having to make the effort of scrolling up and down.
- Unique Selling Point (USP) or Value Proposition- It is extremely important that the user immediately realizes that the site is of potential use to them. The unique selling point of the site should be stated on the homepage.
- Feeling of wanting more - Depth of site - The site should strive to create a feeling of wanting more in the user. The goal should be to get the user to stay as long as possible and to come back to the site again.
- Contact details- Providing immediate contact details such as e-mail addresses and telephone numbers on the homepage will increase user confidence and trust in using the site.
- Credential validation- certifications, associations etc. - Providing credential information is a useful way to build trust in the user.
- Statement from management- This provides an opportunity for the surfer to see the business vision and values of the company.
- Registration not mandatory- Forcing users to subscribe or register on the home page before continuing will not be appreciated and may turn users away. Users will only identify themselves when they are ready.
Navigation
The following key issues should be considered with regards to Navigation.
- Ease of use- The navigation system should be intuitive and easy to use, providing direct access to various content and facilities on the site.
- Site map- Site maps are easy to understand and present a completely alternative method of navigating the site to the user.
- Return to Home Page from any page- Constantly providing a link back to the homepage is essential to ensuring users do not get lost and feel more secure navigating the site.
- Internal search engine- An internal search facility provides users with a means of finding what they want on the website quickly and efficiently. This is especially important for large sites with a substantial amount of content.
- Internal links- Allow users to move through the site not only through text or graphical navigation system but also through the content. This allows the user to navigate through the site following the natural progression of the content.
- Broken links- All links should be continuously tested to insure they are working. Broken links will frustrate users and give an unprofessional impression.
- Text as well as graphic links (ALT tags)- Graphics may not convey immediate meaning to some users so providing additional text links is important. ALT tags on images accommodate the visually impaired and can boost ranking with some search engines.
- Navigational links visible- Navigational links should be constantly visible and consistent throughout the complete website.
Content
The following key issues should be considered with regards to Content.
- Useful information - All content presented on the site should be of the highest quality.
- Degree of substantiated information - Information published on the web should be verified and validated before publishing.
- Level of interaction - A website should be as interactive as possible, taking advantage of the great opportunity to interact with users.
- Use of valuable graphics - Graphics should add value to the website rather than reduce performance without providing any real benefit to the user.
- Use of valuable animation - Animation used should add value to the website rather than reduce performance without providing any real benefit to the user.
- Use of valuable sound - Sound used should add value to the website rather than reduce performance without providing any real benefit to the user.
- Reviews, testimonials and certifications - Providing independent comments about how trustworthy the website actually is will build trust in the users.
- Content in digestible quantity - Content should be chunked, that is broken up into easily digestible amounts. Pages that are only composed of scrolling text should be avoided as they will bore the user.
- Up-To-Date - All content published should be recent and up-to-date.
- Available in Multiple Languages - Making the site's content available in multiple languages will make the information accessible to a wider range of people.
- Accessibility for disabled people - It is highly important that the website accommodates those with visual and audio disabilities.
- Terms and conditions - It is important to supply details of how goods and services are to be delivered and returned if necessary. Information on how payment is to be made is also absolutely essential.
- FAQ's - Frequently asked questions provide a site with the ability to quickly introduce a site's content to an unfamiliar user quickly.
- Availability of follow up discussion - The website should provide a means to engage in a discussion with the business.
Findability
The following key issues should be considered with regard to Findability.
- Intuitive URL- The site's URL should be intuitive i.e. as close to the company's name or brand as possible.
- Intuitive keywords- Internet surfers usually search for Websites by typing keywords into the search box in search engines. The words that you imagine users entering to search for your site are your strategic keywords.
- Use of Meta tags- Meta tags can improve a site's ranking with a number of search engines and therefore are invaluable to making a site more findable.
- On-line advertising- On-line banner advertising is a useful promotional tool and there are many services that charge per number of users directed to the site such as valueclick.com.
- On-line recommend a friend- A recommend a friend facility is essential to promoting a website. A user that finds a site interesting and useful is likely to have friends or associates that will also have an interest in the site.
- Partner and affiliate sites- Getting other websites to link to your site can substantially increase the flow of traffic through your site. Another benefit of other sites linking to your site is that it can boost your ranking with some of the search engines.
- Off-line advertising- The website address should be printed on all business literature such as business cards, letterheads, brochures, catalogs and invoices.
Conclusion
The ABM car sales company should definitely own a website in order to make its web presence. This will have a positive direct impact on the sales of the company as well as it will be able to promote its services to the company's present and prospective customers. Another reason to have a website for ABM car sales company is that it will provide many options for cost effective marketing. Having a website which is optimized for SEO, gives the company a place in search results for targeted keywords, no matter where the company might rank in the search results. Finally, owning a website enables ABM car sales company to grow its business on a global scale, rather than simply in the local or regional market. As consumers the world over can visit company's website, peruse your goods and services and make a purchase decision. This is an invaluable tool for increasing profitability and incurring growth of ABM car sales company.