My business of focus for this assignment is Excellence day-care in Edmonds, WA. I recently visited the day-care during a field trip and I was impressed by the excellence (pun intended) of the institution. However, I realized that the school does not have a website, and this compelled me to come up with an appropriate internet strategy for it.
What Internet business model would be appropriate for the company to follow in creating a Web site and why?
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There are several internet business models that a company looking to create a website can consider. The common ones include brokerage, where brokers bring buyers and sellers together and take part in the facilitation of transactions; advertising, where a website offers content and services with a mix of advertising messages; infomediary, where independently collected data about the company and the products on offer is provided to the consumers; merchant, which generally comprises of retailers and wholesalers of goods and services; manufacturer, who is enabled by a website to directly reach the buyers, thus compressing the distribution channel; community model, which is based and dependent on user loyalty; subscription, where users are charged for a periodic subscription; and the affiliate model that offers purchase opportunities to people from all areas (Zanten, 2011) .
From my research, I have realized that not many people are aware of the existence of Excellence day-care. There is a clear existence of a penetrable niche because several people are in search of top-notch day-care institutions for their children. That said, t he internet business model that the day-care should venture into is advertising. Through advertising, it will be possible to reach as many people who need the services offered as possible.
In what ways can the business benefit from a Web site? What functions should it perform for the company (e.g., marketing, sales, customer support, internal communications, etc.)?
Excellence day-care is set to benefit immensely from a website. The goal is to inform people about the services that the institution provides, the duration of each service/program, and the charges for each. Research shows that most people are not yet aware of the existence of this day-care. As a result, the company is set to benefit by keeping people informed about the institution, and this will help bring in more business. Excellence day-care will provide their contacts through the website, and this will make it possible for potential customers to find a number that they can call in case they need their services. The website will also provide crucial information like the services that are on offer and the fees charged for each service.
In what other ways might the company use the Internet for its own benefit?
While marketing and advertisement are the key goals of the website to be created for Excellence day-care, there are still other benefits that come on the side. For instance, the institution can use the internet when to inform the public when they are hiring to attract potential applicants (Burns-Millyard, 2018) . I also realized that the institution sends mail to all the parents and stakeholders when they need to send some information. Through the internet, it will now be possible for Excellence day-care to cut on the mailing expenses. The internet resources and website allow the institution to eliminate or reduce the need for traditional mailing and all the associated costs. It will also be easier for the day-care to connect instantly will the stakeholders through social networking sites and forums such as YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Prepare functional specifications for the company's use of the Web and the Internet. Include links to and from other sites in your design.
When it comes to web design, one of the most crucial steps is to build the functional specifications. When using the internet and the web, the audience is the point of key concern. It will be important for the institution to ensure that it has covered every potential question that visitors to the site might be having.
A perfect example that Excellence Day-Care can consider when coming up with their own website is Sunshine House Early Learning Academy: https://sunshinehouse.com/ . This learning institution’s website displays all the crucial information that concerns it, and this includes the locations in which the institution is available, the programs offered for each age group, a get started guide for beginners, available resources, information about the institution, and the contacts. All this information is offered through dropdown menus that are bold and perfectly positions.
The website for Excellence Day-Care is intended to be simple, yet infinitely functional. It will contain information on all programs on offer, the period for which each program runs, the charges for each program, an outline of the curriculum (which will be categorized into the different age groups), a get started guide for new users, contacts, and testimonials from people who have used the services of the institution. All this is helpful information that will help potential customers in making the decision on whether they will contact the day-care or not.
There will be a segment that will display the various services provided for kids of all ages (infants, toddlers, explorers &early preschool, preschool, pre-k, Georgia Pre-K, Before/after school programs, and summer camps. There will be another segment that will display the programs that are currently on offer, and these will be displayed in a unique color and design. The website will make use of an adequate front page that will allow the individual links of the different main sides of Excellence Day-Care can be displayed on their own screens, just like https://sunshinehouse.com/ . The design of the homepage is set to be eye-catching and meek, displaying a slideshow of happy and bubbly kids undertaking different activities. The website will also have information on the different locations from which one can access the services of Excellence Day-Care as well as a live chart functionality that makes it possible to communicate with an assistant from the institution for instant support.
Prepare a list of technical specifications for implementation (e.g., what hardware and software are necessary to support your design?)
There is not much that is required when it comes to establishing a website for a business. All that is required in this case is proper internet connectivity, a computer, and the appropriate website creation platform. When the website needs to be a little more creative then a web designing software is needed. It is evident that Excellence Day-Care has no experience as far as website creation is concerned. For this reason, it will be helpful to consult the services of a professional. In this case, it will be important to create a website specification.
It is important to start a website project with a specification, which outlines the objectives of the website along with any budget or deadline constraints (Vordweb, 2018) . Some of the key technical specifications that will direct the technology used include:
A brief introduction of the company that indicated the size, the key services offered, charges, and major achievements.
The goals and objectives of the website. It is these goals that drive everything else that is listed within the specification. The key objective, in this case, is to market the institution and inform as many people as possible about the services on offer.
The key audiences targeted by the website. In this case, the key audience is the parents who have small children and they are in search of an appropriate home-school.
Provisional site structure, which is the information architecture of the website.
Technical specifications, which provide an outline of what the website should do. In this case, this is mostly a brochure site, which means that most pages will be static and will not react to the actions of the user.
The non-functional requirements, which include loading times, security, usability, and compliance to all the legal requirements.
Budget
Timescales
From these specifications, it will then be possible to decide the specific technologies that are applicable to the website (Polesný, 2018) . Some of the available software tools include Wordpress ( https://wordpress.com/ ) and Wix ( https://www.wix.com/ ).
References
Burns-Millyard, K. (2018). Benefits for Businesses Using the Internet. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-businesses-using-internet-322.html
Polesný, O. (2018). How to decide on the best technology for your website. Retrieved from https://medium.freecodecamp.org/how-to-decide-on-the-best-technology-for-your-website-815dbb92294b
Vordweb. (2018). How to Write a Website Specification. Retrieved from http://www.vordweb.co.uk/specification.htm
Zanten, B. (2011). The 9 types of Online Business Models; which one do you use?. Retrieved from https://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2011/05/25/the-9-types-of-online-business-models-which-one-do-you-use/
