Impressed by the Internet's speedy development and by its quick infiltration into all areas of business, organizations are often in a hurry to develop their Internet presence as fast as possible... ending up doing it TOO quickly.

Entrusting a consulting firm with the mandate of building a site containing only company information, a copy of the annual report and a few corporate brochures will quickly give results... but there is little chance that the site will truly be appropriate to the company's needs.

Entrusting a well-meaning employee who lacks the range of necessary skills to conduct such a project can also lead to poor results.

When designing a site, you may ask yourself: what do we expect from the Web site? Of course, there are some easy answers: more visibility, an window on the world, etc... But what else? Why have a window on the world? More visibility to which target group? Prospective customers, current customers, possible partners, suppliers, jobseekers, shareholders? Exactly hat benefits are sought? Additional sales, better customer service, alliances for strategic projects, savings in raw materials, better human resources, better financing?

All of the above, of course... But to avoid any disappointments, the site needs a clear direction.