Document distribution is a great way to use your website. Instead of mailing a brochure, newsletter or report, a website user can go to your website and get the full document. This saves you money and is convenient for your website visitor. However, common sense should be used in setting up documents for download.

Give some thought to the type and size of documents you make available. Most businesses have high speed connections so concerns about download times are gone. However, many home users are still using dial connections.So, consider who is using your information and how your website is accessed.

I recently visited an organization's website to get contact information for several members. I entered the password protected area and was asked if I wanted the membership list. The only option I had was to download the list. If the list was a few pages of information this would have been fine, but it was a 138 page PDF formatted document.

Since I really wanted information for just a few of the members, 138 pages is overkill for my needs. Scanning through that many pages to find the listings I want is inefficient. Printing the list will use lots of paper and require shelf space unless I throw it all away when I am done. And, when the list is updated I will have to print it out again.

There is a great deal of information contained in 138 pages. An alternative is to offer the file for download and a screen for looking up information. Such a search screen can be organized in a low cost index or a higher cost database. An index is useful for a less complex list of information where a specific key, such as last name or company name can be clicked on to take the visitor to that section of the document. A database could use several keys and allow searching the information based on several items, such as, contact name, company, city, state, zip code or other data found in the document.

Like a sales presentation or a visit to your office, you want your customer, member or prospect to see a professional organization. A well organized website that provides the right tools for ease of use is an important part of your organization's image. Don't just give information to your tech support staff to post, talk to them about the best way to distribute your informtion. You might be pleasantly surprised by their suggestions for a better website.