neosites: the concept
A neosite is a complete web info-package on a given topic.
The theory
People use the Internet mainly to locate written information. They use keywords on search engines, then browse the results looking for the perfect match. Their search is actually research.
We do the same: we choose a keyword, we browse, we read, we bookmark. Then we research offline resources and eventually find what is missing. Then we compile all the important findings in a single, consistent, easy-to-use themed website.
Search engines love content-rich, relevant websites, with appropriate promotion. There is a good chance that, after a time, our site will rank among the first results when you search for that keyword. So most people doing the search will find our website filled with useful information. They will refer to it as a reliable source on that topic. This means that we have conquered that specialized niche. It means that we have a certain audience with a special interest, an audience with great commercial potential as an advertising medium for related products and services.
This is nothing spectacular so far. In fact, perhaps, it is most common business model on the web right now. So where's the innovation?
In the process
We have designed a system which allows us to create such websites to high-quality standards, and with great efficiency.
What are the main categories of information on a given topic? We found three:
- basic — “what it is” and “how it works”
- transient — information generated around the topic - articles, news and reviews
- guiding — reference to other reliable sources of information on the same topic
That is why our sites are designed to tell you:
- what we think is important about the topic, after professional research
- what other people consider important, or what is new
- the best sources of information about that topic
Additionally, each neosite is customer-centred. (See our philosophy). That means:
- it has been written for the web. That requires a certain, rare technique. We like to think we have mastered this technique
- navigation is easy: it is the reason why we opted for tabs as site-section markers. This has proved to be the most intuitive form of navigation
- we do not like banners, pop-ups, or aggressive advertising on our websites
- technically, these sites are built and written according to modern web standards and recommendations (W3C standards such as CSS or XHTML).
Thus, the neosites are based on the following structure:
- Tutorial
This section could be described as a basic informative guide. It is the core of the site, the only stand-alone section. We build it by following several stages:
- preliminary research
- creation of a preliminary draft
- creation of the structure/ToC
- in-depth research
- organizing, selecting and processing the research results
- writing, editing and proofreading the content
- optimizing the content for search engines
- publishing
You will probably ask yourself now how reliable a tutorial like this is, as we are not specialists in the field. This may be true, but we are specialists in gathering and presenting information. And we learn a great deal in this process ourselves. We encourage and welcome any feedback from our readers. On many occasions some of them are specialists. We also know that nothing is perfect, but everything is perfectable. Besides, we avoid tackling highly technical topics without proper supervision.
- News and articles
This section contains the latest events in the field as well as various articles.
- Resources
This section offers a list of URLs organized by categories. Each article has a number of related sites associated with it. Researchers select them by following specific criteria such as content quality and overall credit.
We can implement additional features here on a case-by-case basis. These features may include a weblog, a forum, or a shopping feed.
The technology
We use a web publishing system designed in-house, a powerful, web-based, custom-built application. Our system gives us the edge. We deliver quality standards, cost-effectively.
It serves functions such as CMS, project management software, SEO optimization software as well as intranet. In real time the system manages the work of unlimited number of teams of researchers, writers and marketers working on parallel projects. In fact we are using it right now to write this paragraph.
It is also flagged as a “permanent project under development”. Eventually we will sell it as the ultimate web-publishing machine. Stay tuned :)
What is in it for you?
As long as you have an interest in the Internet, a neosite can be a profitable add-on to your website, a great business investment or perhaps just a way of sharing your hobby. See how you can use one and how affordable it is.