This article will give you some basic information on website design and marketing your farm and horses on the Internet. The Arabian Horse Network has created more successful websites for farms and stallions than all other companies combined! (170+ and still counting) If you would like information on getting your farm online at arabhorse.com, please visit our [ Request a Quote ] page. You can always e-mail us at info@arabhorse.com as well.

The Internet has fast become the most indispensable resources for Arabian horse owners. Never has there been another advertising medium that allows a person to include significant levels of information about their business, in such a cost-effective manner while visually dazzling the user every step of the way.

Web sites pertaining to Arabian horses number well into the hundreds and range from individual Arabians horse farms to sites dedicated exclusively to Arabian horse resources. An individual "surfing" the Web can research a pedigree for breeding purposes, compare training services of various farms and download a "Registration Application form" all at the same time. With the click of a mouse you can access Web sites for many horse organizations, magazines and equine products and services companies.

The primary feature of a Web site is the unlimited availability of information to an abundant number of interested clients via a worldwide information system. In addition, presence on the World Wide Web enables farms and businesses to advertise to an increasingly savvy and articulate client base by displaying information in an engaging and user friendly manner. Never before could Arabian horse owners market themselves to a global market in such a cost-effective manner!

Examples of Web Page features include:

• Farm information
• Complete Sale lists
• Photographs of your horses and farm
• Pedigree listings
• Stallion listings - with breeding fees and show results
• Breeding and training contracts
• News and events at your Farm
• Show results
• Training and Services offered at your farm
• Client Information
• Fees for Services offered

There are countless reasons to having your farm, product, service or business on the World Wide Web. The first of many benefits is that a well-designed Web site allows your potential client to view and retain pertinent information on your business at their leisure, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, from anywhere in the world.

Another benefit is the time-savings earned by displaying basic information to the public, allowing the business owner to concentrate on actually running the business. The third most important benefit deals with the cost savings resulting from the effective use of advertising dollars…YOUR MESSAGE TO MORE POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS FOR FEWER DOLLARS.

In addition, some companies like The Arabian Horse Network seek to provide increased visibility to their clients' Web pages by creating an Online community dedicated specifically to Arabian horses. These communities provide a larger presence on the Internet by connecting individual sites together for marketing purposes, thus generating more traffic to more sites with less work needed by the Web surfer.

The first decision you need to make when taking the leap into cyberspace with your horses is "who is going to design your Web site?" You can design your own Home Page or contract with a professional Web design firm to create it for you.

The primary advantage of designing your own Web site is cost. You will need to learn a few pieces of software to develop your own site, an image-editing program such as Image Ready or Photoshop, a Web page layout program such as FrontPage and a FTP program to get your files to your Internet Service Provider. A few other considerations are where you will host your site and who will list your site with all the search engines. If you have the time and artistic/technical capabilities, developing your own site could be a good option if you have an extremely limited advertising budget. The disadvantages associated with designing your own Home Page are the lack of visibility for your site and who is going to market and promote your image in a mammoth information system such as the World Wide Web. Only a network such as The Arabian Horse Network can instantly plug your farm or horse's site directly into a larger Web site that already generates huge amounts of traffic - and not just any traffic, traffic of people looking to buy, breed to, or simply learn more about Arabian Horses.

The most important part of a successful Web site is how easily a person can navigate through the site to find the information they want. Second there needs to be a balance between graphics and text. A textual home page is less appealing and will not encourage people to return to your site. A home page that has large and pointless graphics will take longer to download and people may not be willing to wait. Internet users want to log on to a site and be able to get the intended information and move on. An example of a properly designed Web site is having key links readily available or toward the top of the main page so that every time someone visits the site they can easily access the information they are seeking.

Contracting with a Web site design company with experience in the Arabian horse industry, while more expensive than creating your own site, will lead to a more professional Web presence for your horses. There are thousands of Web site design companies to choose from and many that are designing Web sites specifically for Arabian horse farms.

When selecting a company to design and host your Arabian Horse Web site, be sure to look at Web sites they have completed. Then ask yourself: Do they understand the industry? Are their Web sites attractive, error-free, and interesting? Are their Web sites logical and easy to navigate through?

A very important factor in selecting a Web site design company is the ongoing relationship you will have with the staff and how they will promote your site. The responsiveness of a company’s staff is vital. A Web site is a dynamic, constantly changing entity; you will want to change it often to keep it interesting and up-to-date. Ask any company you are interested in for references, and when you contact those references, specifically ask about customer service, quality of design and how they promote their client's Web sites

Traditional forms of advertising encourage people to get the message to their target markets with only the most specific details. The Internet offers an alternative and enables users to include significant levels of information about their product or service. Prices for Web sites range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars depending on the graphic work involved, number of links or pages and the amount of content. The Arabian Horse Network's average price to set up and design a site for a small breeder with a stallion, a few sale horses (5-10) and a page for farm information ranges from $700 to $1,200. Domain name registration is $70 for the first 2 years and $35 per year thereafter. Maintenance fees for a small Web site range from $40.00 to $100 per month.

Whether you will get Online", but how soon you are going to do it! Having a Web site is no longer a just a novelty item. It is an indispensable part of your advertising campaign and one that can not be ignored. One important aspect to remember is that you DO NOT have to be computer literate to have a Web site, nor do you even have to have a computer. There are many companies that will work with you to design an interactive advertising program for your farm and horses.

Happy Surfing,
from The Arabian Horse Network!!!

Scott Bailey & David Cains are owners and operators of the Arabian Horse Network. We saw the potential of the World Wide Web and the benefits to our industry and created arabhorse.com to showcase Arabian horse farms and horses. With more than 170 custom Web sites created and the online stallion directory surpassing 200 horses, arabhorse.com is the most successful Arabian horse Web site on the Internet. The Arabian Horse Network has been creating Web sites for our industry-leading farms and horses for since 1996. We can be reached by at info@arabhorse.com, or on the Web at http://arabhorse.com

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