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Establishing a presence on the World Wide Web.

Article Excerpt
[check] This checklist is designed to help those managers considering making information on their organisation, products or services available on the World Wide Web (WWW). It assumes a basic knowledge of the Internet.

The ethos of the Internet was originally non-commercial, but it is now an acceptable marketing medium, particularly if some information of value is offered at the same time. The main factor that encourages people to return to a site is the usefulness of the information that is available there; not marketing hype.

Definition

The WWW is a system which cross-references, links and retrieves data from computers around the world, using what is called a hypertext system. A piece of software, called a browser, allows users to move from one page to another and one document to another by using a mouse to click on highlighted terms or graphics. It also allows them to respond to what they see via e-mail links that can be set up. Information can be found in all forms, although text is predominant. A presence on the WWW is achieved by setting up documents, each of which has a unique address, known as a uniform resource locator (URL).

Advantages of using the WWW

* It provides another way of advertising.

* You can reach a worldwide audience.

* It enables two-way communication...