Focus on Answering
the Six Basic Questions
The Road to Hell isn’t paved with good intentions, it’s paved with assumptions. One assumption that too many dive retailers make is that “everybody knows” what’s involved in learning to scuba dive.
- While some of your website’s visitors may know that learning to dive consists of knowledge development through classroom presentations or self-study, skill development in confined water and skill application in open water, others will be clueless.
- Not everyone “knows” that kids as young as ten can learn to scuba dive (but that not every ten-year-old should).
- Visitors may assume that someone learning to dive needs basic water skills — they just don’t know if theirs are adequate.
People interested in learning to scuba dive are likely to need answers to as many as six basic questions. These are:
- Who can learn to dive?
- What steps are involved in getting certified?
- Where do the classes take place?
- When can you start and how long does it take?
- How much does it cost and what is included?
- What equipment do I need to supply?
It’s unlikely you can adequately answer all six questions on a single page — unless you think your visitors will be willing to wade through a page that’s 20 screenfuls long. Nor do you need to. For example:
A 27-year-old high school swim coach most likely has few concerns as to whether or not he or she is physically capable of learning to dive. A 62-year-old grandmother might.
Therefore, the safest approach may be to devote separate pages to answering each of these basic questions. This way, visitors only have to read the pages they feel pertain to them (and no single page is overly daunting in length). This is the approach our sample website takes.
- The initial Learn to Dive page presents the six questions, and identifies each with a specific icon, and a link to a page with more in-depth information.
- At the bottom of each individual page are a set of icons and links leading to the answers to other questions.
- Once a visitor has had all of his questions answered, he can begin the sign-up process on line, or contact the store for more information.
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