As the ads say, "Image is everything." Well, not quite. But they make an important point. Your image or brand awareness does influence, for better or worse, your business or organization. It is proven that people do business with companies that they trust and feel comfortable with. In short, they do business with companies they like. Your image plays a big part in how much consumers like and trust you. Your goal is to leave consumers with a positive impression of you and to encourage them to make a purchase, pick up the phone, or contact you for more information.

Your image and brand awareness are formed by everything that your organization does: your customer service, physical building, signage, printed materials and web site. Your brand awareness is everything that your customer thinks about when they think of your company. This means there cannot be any lapses or inconsistencies in any area where your customer comes in contact with you. But, since we are talking about your web site, I'll concentrate on that.

The internet is all about information. An essential part of your online image is to have compelling information about you and your products/services. This is where you can tell consumers how your products/services are the best possible solution for their needs. You can give consumers the inside scoop on your company and what makes it tick. Your personality and corporate culture can shine on your well designed site and make your organization personable and trustworthy.

How well your site works is a major component of your online image. Your site must be easy to use and intuitive to navigate. A site that works well leaves viewers of your site with a professional impression of you.

The graphical presentation of your site is the other aspect of a good online image. Clarity, simplicity, and balance reign supreme in good site design. All of these work together to present your organization in the most professional light. See Stevan's article on Design for all the ins and outs of good design.

Image and brand awareness are the most important thing your site will communicate. They are intangibles that encompass the quality of every aspect of your site. Without a site that communicates quality in these areas, you will never move on to accomplish the other goals of your site. The reason for that is that these qualities directly relate to how much your customers trusts you. With skilled design and information architecture you can compete on equal footing with the big boys. Can you do that by using FrontPage templates or other 'canned' sites available? I'm sorry but... no. This is where a truly multi-discipline team is needed. You will need an information architecture specialist to design an intuitive site. You need a web designer to put together that quick and elegant site. A marketer will keep the whole process focussed on your business goals. Can one person do all that stuff and do it well? Yes. You can do it. All it takes is time and the desire to learn about each of these specialized skills. We are doing our best to provide you with all the information you will need. The flip side of this issue is that it does take a great deal of time to acquire all these skills. Especially with that pesky career always getting in the way! Image and brand awareness is no place to skimp on quality. A hastily put together site can drive away customers who could have purchased from you or used your service. Remember, it's all about trust. Your online image might be the only image of your organization that people have. Your web sites quality reflects the quality of everything you do.