Not all that long ago, websites were little more than a company’s electronic brochure. The website was intended to be a static resource that presented information about a company in hopes of acquiring new business. Particularly in the early days of the web, interactivity was not a typical component of overall website functionality. Many companies spent thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars creating fancy websites with huge amounts of custom graphics and long form copy. When flash programming became commonplace, companies turned to animation to make their sites stand out and attract attention.

Hard-core Internet marketing experts however are finding that when it comes to websites more is not necessarily better. Today’s high-powered website is designed to do one thing and one thing only – convert prospective shoppers into paying customers. In order to do this, website designers have significantly changed their approach.

The key now is to go with a simple – often limited to a single page – site that is called a landing page, a capture page, or a squeeze page. The site is presented in the form of copy with wide margins on both sides, typically requiring the customer to scroll down several times to reach the bottom of the page. Increasingly, the use of custom videos is becoming commonplace, with a YouTube type video clip inserted directly within the flow of the copy. Although a multiple page website is still used by many people, the simplified single page landing site is becoming widely accepted.

This type of website is designed to do one thing – capture an e-mail address. Once a person submits their contact information, he or she then flows into the company’s sales process. With the e-mail address in hand, the online entrepreneur can begin sending out a series of autoresponder e-mails intended to market to the prospect and ultimately get them to buy goods or services.

Another approach is to allow the prospect access to more in-depth information in return for providing an e-mail address. If the copy is written correctly, the prospect is eager to find out more about the product, service, or opportunity. They demonstrate their interest, by providing their e-mail address which then allows them access to a subsequent page of additional information. Sometimes, the entrepreneur decides to test the prospect’s true interest by requiring a small monetary fee in order to proceed.

Whatever the approach, today’s website is designed to be a workhorse of the marketing process, — not just a bunch of pretty pictures.