By Colby Horton
Shop Site of the Month
Rodenhouse Body Shop - Grand Rapids, Mich.
www.rodenhouse.com
This site offers the latest in shop Web site capabilities. Customers can schedule an estimate, glass replacement appointment or schedule a loaner car via the shop's Web site. They can also track the repair process of their vehicle through the site. A comprehensive shop tour, professional graphics and easy navigation make this site complete.
Web Wise
Keeping it Simple
With its streaming video, enhanced graphics and overall capabilities, the Internet of today looks nothing like the Internet of five years ago. However, simplicity reigns as the key component for a “user-friendly” Internet.
Google, the Internet's largest search engine, has succeeded because it's simple to use. Google's predecessor, Yahoo, still uses the same simple concept in its search mechanism. In essence, this simplicity can carry over to other Web applications, including your shop's Web site.
In an age of high-speed Internet access, you may think you can achieve a great Web site by pulling out all the “bells and whistles” the Internet is capable of providing. However, the average Internet user will not wait longer than 11 seconds for a Web site to load. Most Web users are turned off by the new gimmicks that cause a site to load slower.
When designing your site, simplicity is of the utmost importance. Try to stay away from too many animated graphics. If you want to use them, one or two on a page is sufficient. For every animated graphic on your page, download time increases, thus turning your customers or potential customers away from your site.
Make sure any pictures on your site are low-resolution GIFs or JPEGs. A good rule to follow is to change the resolution of a picture to 72 dots per inch (dpi). Using this resolution will allow the picture to still look good on a computer screen, but will decrease download time significantly.
Make sure your shop's address and phone number are visible right away on your home page. Don't make visitors search for contact information under another link within your site. Most people will visit your site to find where you are located. If they have to search for it, they may never find you.
Finally, don't bombard visitors with lengthy text. Make sure your information is complete without being too much. Multiple paragraphs are fine, but put your main points in the first one. If a visitor doesn't want to read a lot of text, they will at least get a feel for what your shop has to offer by reading the first paragraph. Use bullets to highlight your shop's services. Never go into lengthy details on your Web site. Add a line of text that reads, “For additional information, give us a call at ...” This way, the visitor always has access to more information via phone conversations.
Net Numbers
From April to June 2001, the nation's major cable operators added 920,000 new high speed Internet cable modem subscribers, bringing the number of cable modem customers in the United States to more than 5.5 million.
Source: National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA)
ASA Web Ways
ASA Launches Online Store
The Automotive Service Association (ASA) has opened its new online store. The store, which resides in the Members Only area of the ASA Web site (www.asashop.org), offers five unique sections encompassing a variety of products and reference materials. ASA national members have access to more than 60 products, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The various sections consist of promotional items, consumer brochures, ASA insignia products, reference material and business forms. To access the Members Only area of the Web site, enter your six-digit ASA member number into both the name and password fields when prompted.
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Net Worth is written by Colby Horton, ASA's electronic communications manager. He can be reached at (800) 272-7467, ext. 234, or by e-mail at colbyh@asashop.org.
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