From the website to the web strategy... bridging gaps

How well do you understand the difference between a website and a web strategy? Do you know the impact they can make on your business? Take this simple test to find out.

Why is/ does your enterprise want to be online?

1. Everyone's online, I can't be left out.
2. To reach more people.
3. The web space gives me great opportunity to give my business a distinct identity and grow.

What are the best things you can do online?

1. Have a good website.
2. Gain more publicity for my product or service.
3. Connect with stakeholders, gain their trust and participation in my enterprise.

What have you done to use the online space to an advantage?

1. Have created my company's website.
2. Have used my website to retail online.
3. Have chalked out goals I need to meet and taken steps to achieve them through the online space.

When do you think your online exercise has ended or has been completed?

1. Once my website is up and functioning.
2. Once I have received feedback from clients and employees and made changes based on it.
3. It never can end; I will have to periodically monitor it and take steps to ensure it achieves my goals.

If most of your answers are 'a' then you have a lot to catch up with in the online space. Today, it's not about a website as much as it is about a web presence, and there's a lot you can achieve through it. Much more than the conventional thinkers thought of when the website gained popularity.

If most of your answers are 'b', then you have an idea of how the online space can be used. But there's more you need to learn.

If most of your answers are 'c', then you truly recognize the potential of the online media. Dig deeper to see what your business can gain from it.

Now that you've got your scores, here's a bit of our take on the right answer:

• The online space has evolved into a cosmos of its own going much beyond the basic website. If in the earlier days, people had websites to reach out to more people, today they have found many ways of using it to boost their business. From enhancing brand identity to attracting more users everyday, to making transactions profitable, there's a lot you can do through it. So, get online not because your competition is, but because you want to truly gain from it.

• The best thing to do online is not always to have a website with a conventional set of pages. This media offers you tremendous opportunities to connect with people across the globe. And it also gives you many ways to do this – blogs, virals, online campaigns... Use the most appropriate one to reach your stakeholders, create a positive impression about your brand and win their trust.

• Going online is both a simple and complex task. It is simple when you know why you are going online and what you want to gain out of it. The complex part is arriving at the answers and finding the right ways of putting them to action. Before rushing to a web developer, give these questions some thought. Create a set of goals and build a plan that can help you use the online space to meet them. This will guide your actions and ensure you are on the right track.

• If your aim was to have a website, and you think you've fulfilled the goal when your site goes live, pause a bit. Your website has to bring you returns, it has to be efficient and effective all the time. It has to attract traffic and create an impact on the users. Given that these have to happen consistently and constantly, you need to monitor your site periodically. If it fails to perform the above tasks, you'll have to take steps and initiate the right action which will revive it. So, remember, having a website is easy. Getting it to work for you, well... you need to work at it.