andy206uk — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 17:43:44 +0000

I think being unique is definately important. Whether it's something small such as offering free shipping for orders, or something big like being the only place to find a certain product/information/service it always helps if you offer something that no-one else does.

Megan — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 15:14:14 +0000

Those are all good points, Tim. I was trying to come up with some other examples but couldn't think of much.

I would probably change "provide information" to "communicate something". First of all because it's a more active word. You're actually doing something and reaching people rather than passively putting information up and hopeing people will want to consume it. And not all sites are purely information based either. Communicate is also also much broad term, so this could apply to a site that was only providing a service, for example.

I would also add something about encouraing people to take the next step. When you create a website you usually want the visitor to do something - buy a product, tell their friends about your site, subscribe to your newsletter, come back again, bookmark your site, share it on social networking sites, whatever.

You could also add something about differentiating yourself from the competition or filling a gap in the market place. Every site should know what makes it special or different and why people would want to visit your site instead of the competition.