Before you launch a Web site for your farrier business, you have to determine its purpose. Will you use it to attract new customers, address your current clients or sell products? Like any other project, you need to have a clear set of goals before heading down the path of building a Web site.

Without establishing clear goals, it is nearly impossible to conceptualize a Web site, according to Nicole Madison, creative director of Primum Marketing Communications (www.primumagency.com), a Web design and marketing firm in Milwaukee, Wis.

“A poorly conceptualized Web site without a strategic direction will only lead you to a redesign when you realize no one is visiting it,” Madison says. “A Web site with strategic direction will save you time, money and engage your users.”

Getting Started

Research is the most important part of the conceptual process for Madison. She advises you to start by looking at what other farriers are doing online.

“Take time to figure out what you want your targeted audience to take away from your site and how you would like your branding to be incorporated into the site,” she says. “Once you have spent ample time researching, you can then move on to building the site.”

If you head a multi-farrier practice, she says you should seek input on the concept from your employees, because “they are stakeholders in the business.”

Smithtown, N.Y., shoer Gary Werner (www.myluckyshoes.com) realized he needed a greater presence to attract new clients. “If…