My friend Jack is considering revamping his website to drum up some business. Currently his website is skeletal with only 5 pages. We had a lengthy discussion on how a site should look like in web 2.0. I share the highlights of our discussion below:

Web 2.0 is dynamic.

Gone are the days of stagnant yellowpage-style sites that display an image with your contact information. Users in the 21st century desires useful information.

Users also expect the information is up-to-date. Therefore, constant updates are helpful in attracting visitors. A blog can be very useful in providing updates.

A sense of who you are

A website of a service provider should give the readers a sense of who will be providing the service and what to expect. For example, it may be useful to have a portfolio available online if you’re an artist.

Unfortunately, given the nature of the legal profession, a big chunk of a lawyer’s work is confidential and may not be disclosed. In this case, general information on the area of practice would be appropriate.

User-friendly interface

Whether you’re selling services or merchandise, you won’t get customers unless they can find your contact information easily. As a rule, your main contact information, whether email, telephone, or fax, should be easy to locate. If someone can’t find your phone number when they need to, they’ll move onto the next provider.