|
Why do you want a website?
So many
people want a website just because they believe that everybody
has told them that there are millions of people on the
internet and that they can get more business from the
internet. Although this is true, there is NO easy way of
getting business online.
The
other side of the coin is that a website also contributes to
the image of a business. Honestly, If I contact a business and
ask for their website address to view their products or
services and they do not have one, I will probably not do
business with them, just because in my mind I consider them as
a small, not fully functional, backyard business. A Website is
like a full colour brochure of your business. You can print
100 000 copies, but if it is still boxed in your office and
you are not distributing it, it means nothing.
If you
want your website to be successful, you need to distribute it
online.
back to articles
Will a website Benefit me?
Yes!
There is no doubt that a website will benefit you, but to what
extent is the question. There is absolutely no down-side to a
website, none whatsoever. Please, I need to make this very
clear! A WEBSITE WILL BENEFIT YOU!!!
How
will it benefit you? As discussed above, a website not only
contributes to the image of the business, but is also a great
cost effective marketing tool. There are millions of users not
only internationally, but more importantly localy searching
for your business on the internet, guaranteed. You can say
what you want, but advertising in the Yellow pages (that big
yellow book that everyone has next to their phone) is worth
every penny. But if you must spend the same amount of money
online, it will be worth every dollar!!!
So in
closing, yes, you can not go wrong by getting a website! It
will benefit you.
back to articles
How do I choose the right website designer for my website?
Probably the most important question of all. Choosing the
right website designer for your website, will determine the
difference between success and failure.
If you
should type in "Website Designer" - pages from South Africa -
in Google, you will get +/- 5000 listings of different
designers in South Africa alone. So which one do you choose?
All of them are the same, are they not? A website Designer, is
a website designer. NO NO NO, unfortunately not. Different
website designers, specializes in different kind of websites.
There are also different languages in which a website can be
designed. Deciding on a website designer, depends on what you
want your website to do and how it is done. The amount of
pages your website will have will not influence your decision,
but more importantly the functionality of those pages.
Do you
need a content management system? Do you require just basic
HTML? Do you want images and text moving and flying over the
screen using Flash? These are very important questions,
because you cannot expect a designer that specializes in CMS,
to give you the same result if you want a Flash website. So
what do you need? I get so many users sending us requests for
a quote and all they say is, I want a website.
The
big question is - What do you want your website to do? Once
you can answer this question, only then you should source a
designer that specializes in your requirements. Something else
you should remember is that not all website designers are
graphic designers eg. You might see this very smart website on
the internet, its smart, the graphics are cool, wow, but the
functionality of the website does not work properly. You might
find a website that looks very clean, little images, straight
forward, but the functionality of the website and the code in
which it is written is so perfect, that it can win an award.
Finding the designer in between is the most difficult. The
person that can design the wow website and the functionality
of the website works perfectly.
O'
yes, something else. It doesn't really matter where the
website designer is based. You can even get a person in China
to design your website, as long as he/she can speak English of
course....joke. No seriously. With the internet and email
today, communication is not a problem and sometimes it even
works better as than sitting in a meeting face to face
scratching on a piece of paper, where you can not really see
the full effect. I usually suggest that you supply me with a
website that has the same functionality as what you want and
then a few samples of other websites that you like the look
and feel of.
back to articles
How much does a website
cost?
The
cost of a website is determined by what functionality you want
your website to have. Will you be supplying all the images or
must the designer do that themselves? I have always had this
problem with cost, because some designers charge a once of fee
for a 5 page website, but they do not mention what
functionality is included and then you get designers that
charge by the hour. But if you are a better designer, then you
will do the work faster, in less hours I mean, compared to the
designer that just finished with college, that will take more
hours to get to the same result. So that has always been a
catch 22 for me. I rather suggest that you submit a clear
outline of your requirements and let the designer give you a
cost of a finished product. The other thing is, that you don't
always know what functionality you want, because you don't
know what is available, so ask your website designer for some
advice on what functionality they can offer for your website
and the costs involved and then you can decide if it is worth
it or not.
Very
important with regards to cost. Be as specific as possible
when requesting a quote and once you have received the quote,
make sure that all your requirements are outlined, as you do
not want to pay hidden fees at a later stage.
back to articles
Why do some website designers charge R1000 and others R10 000
for the same result?
Well,
that is the million dollar question. Surely there should be
some way of regulating the cost and an explanation why one
designer charges ten time more than the other.
The
more important question is - Is it really the same result? You
can have 2 websites looking 99.9% the same, but how well does
the functionality of each one work? Is the website properly
optimized for search engines?
see search engine optimization
Will one of the designers disappear after a year when you need
updates done on your site. Do both offer the same support you
expect. Is the site written in the same language as to your
requirements. Does both websites load at the same speed or
does it take forever?
Now
hold on, I'm not saying that a more expensive web designer
is always better, but what I am saying is that there can be
some clear distinctions between them and not meaning that the
more expensive designer will always offer the better service.
Look at the designer's portfolio and how long they have been
around. Are they specialists in your requirements etc. Request
a Quote
back to articles
How long
does it take do design a website?
How
long do you want it to take? It depends on the functionality
and requirements of your website and the current schedule of
the designer. If you have a set deadline for your online
project, be sure to discuss this with your designer and
include it in your requirements. The designer might push you
as priority, at a cost of course. A straight forward, static
HTML, 10 page website, will not take a month! I get so many
clients phoning me and say, Brian, I had this company design a
website for me but they have been busy for more than a month
now and when I look at what they have done so far, it is a
straight forward basic website that shouldn't take longer than
a few days to complete. So ensure that a deadline is discussed
when requesting your website design.
back to articles
I just
want a basic website, nothing fancy.
What
is your sense of basic and not fancy? What is your designers
understanding of basic and not fancy? You must understand that
everyone has different ideas and expectations. If you want a
plain website, with your logo at the top, 5 pages maximum,
some plain text links to the other pages, maybe a picture or
two, no contact form, 5 email addresses, little bit of colour,
then to my mind, that is basic, nothing fancy. Be careful to
what you say your requirements are. You want basic, nothing
fancy, you get a cheap looking website that shouldn't be
allowed on the internet. Rather be specific as to what you
want and how you want your website to look and rather source
for a designer that can fulfil those requirements at an
affordable rate.
request a
quote
back to articles
So what is the
purpose of a website?
I get so many enquiries
from business owners that want a website and when I ask them
what is the purpose of your website, they don't have a clue.
I just want a website,
because every business should have a website.
Although that is true,
the question remains, what is the purpose of your website?
Will it be for advertising, will it be just to showcase your
products and services?
Bottom line is that YES,
you do need a website and I'll explain the potential benefits
thereof.
Forget about what
everyone is saying that there are millions of people online
and that your website will get all the exposure to these
millions of users. You will only get the exposure if you
advertise your website to the users that are actually
interested in your business, your target audience.
But what if you do not
advertise your website on the internet, how do you benefit
from a website then?
Well, when you advertise
your website's address on your business cards, your emails,
your brochures or any other form of offline media, you are now
also advertising your website.
Your website now acts as
a full colour brochure of your business, where anyone can go
and have a look at the products and services you offer. Not
like in the past, where if someone wanted more information on
the services you offer, you had to either make an appointment
to go and see them or explain your product/service to them
telephonically or send them a fax (in black and white) or more
lately send them an email, with a large presentation
attachment.
Now you have the
opportunity for users to access your services or products at
any time, without you even knowing about it.
But what is important is
that when a user visits your website, that you want to make
contact with him/her, because a website will never be able to
sell your product or service better that what you can.
So it is important to
have a website that will be able to get the users contact
details. If your website looks old, out-dated, a very poor
design, there is no action required or the user is not invited
to fill in their information, your website means nothing!!!
So very important! Make
sure you get a web designer that knows what the purpose of a
website should be. It should look professional, visually
appealing and it should portray your brand, but most
important, it needs to be inviting to the user to leave their
details in order for you to generate leads.
Sales principles apply to
your website too. I see so many smart websites out there,
similar to me walking into a high-end fashion retail store. I
see how beautiful the store looks, all the latest fashions
that I love, but there is not a single person in sight asking
me if I require assistance, nobody to convince to try
something on.
O' my word, it is just
pathetic!!!
Two very important
fundamentals of a successful website:
Information & Interaction
"For the search engines,
Content is King"
The above statement is
VERY true, if you are going to get many visitors to your site.
Because then you will do well in the rankings of Google and
other search engines.
...........read more on content and
search engines
But content is just as
important to the users that visits your website.
The more information you
have about your products or services, or even more information
about your industry in general, the more credibility your
website will have.
If I speak to someone
that knows what is going on in a specific industry and they
give me advice about the pitfalls I should look out for, or
they give me tips and advice, I am more likely to engage in
business with that person, as he knows what he is talking
about. That is the kind of business I want to deal with.
Similar to this article
you are reading now. I want to show you that I know what I'm
talking about. I give advice and I tell you what the pitfalls
are, I am credible.
My name is Brian and I am
a professional web designer that knows the internet, websites
and above all, I know how to design a successful website.
After all, that is what
you are looking for.
If you would like to get
more info or just have a chat to me about your business and a
website, complete the form below and I will give you a call!
back to articles
Content is King!
Search Engines just loves
content, that is after all what the Internet is all about -
Information.
So yes, they will regard
your website more important if you have variety of information
on a specific topic eg. if you are selling blue suede shoes,
you can give information on:
shoes in general, suede,
the colour blue, the different kind of suede you get, elvis's
blue suede shoes, suede fabric, how it is made, etc etc etc.
you get the point.
More people will visit
your website now, because your website is now not only about
selling blue suede shoes, but everything about it. And that is
what the search engines like. If someone types in "blue suede
shoes" in Google, they will rank your website on the first
page if not no.1 one, because they know that you will be able
to find all the information you require.
So how does all of this
content affect your website's sales?
That's an easy question,
you are now ranked on the first page of Google!!!!
Whenever anyone will
search for anything related to "blue suede shoes" your website
is no.1.
I get so many business
owners that ask me, Brian will you get my website on the first
page of Google and then they supply me with:
Hi I'm John, I'm a
plumber, I do plumbing in Gauteng, phone me if you want a
quote, with a picture of John and his bakkie with a logo that
was designed in Paint. And that's it! Now John expects me to
get his website ranked in Google on the first page for the
keywords "plumber gauteng".
I can design the best
looking website and keyword optimize that website and get
traffic to that website as much as I want, but Google will not
list that website on the first page. Do you blame them?
Do you want to get John's
website on the first page or do you want a website that will
give information about plumbing. Advice, tips, pictures, diy,
pitfalls etc.
I'm not saying don't
design a website if you do not have all the content
information, all I'm saying is don't expect to be listed on
the first page.
More Content /
Information will increase your chances of being ranked on the
first page of Google and the other search engines.
You can still advertise
your website on the first page, with Google Adwords or you can
advertise your website on other websites, that are listed on
the first page, so don't despair.
Fill in the form below
and I will phone you to discuss your website and the content
you have that we can work with or I will suggest the kind of
content you should use.
back to articles
WWW - world wide web
Abbreviations for
the World Wide Web, also known as The Web, is www and W3.
A Web Browser is
what you use to browse web sites, that contain web pages and
all of these pages makes up the World-Wide Web.
Tim Berners-Lee
wrote a proposal in March 1989, that referenced "ENQUIRE", a
database and software project he had built in 1980 that
described a information management system.
On November 12, 1990 with the help from R.Cailliau, he
published a more formal proposal to build a "Hypertext
Project" called "WorldWideWeb"
Webbing is a
strong woven fabric.
A Spider's Web or
Cobweb is very similar to the search engine spiders that crawl
the web for new web pages
Webs.com offers
free websites
back to articles
Blogs can
be used to share thoughts on the internet. Below are my
thoughts and trust me, they don't make sense. not even to me.
link to a
web designer cape town
I also
assist other web designers when they require help with
implementing new open source web design solutions and
professional web designer.
Website
Design Tutorials in pdf format are available for custom web
designer tools and resources for software design programs like
dreamweaver and frontpage.
If you
want to study web design, I can recommend a few training web
designer courses that are available in South Africa. link to a
web designer
pretoria
I will
soon launch a top 10 directory, where I will list good, bad,
beautiful and ugly websites on the world wide web. So look out
for those award winning quality web designs.
web
designer jobs - There are plenty of companies that have
careers available in web design - Submit your web designer
resume and I will be in touch. These firms will send you a
clear outline of the web designer job description.
If you
have business ideas for a website, give me a call and I will
share my thoughts. I can partner with your firm to start a www
company.
When you
re-design a website, let your web designer show you new layout
examples. There are quite a few new techniques of making your
site more interactive.
The
easiest way of website programming these days is php web
designer, as it can process information in a much better way.
If you
are looking for sites that offer templates for magazine
websites or forums, send me a mail and I will give you some
links. The web architect of builder of some of these templates
are pretty awesome.
Website
maintenance is very important, because an outdated website
means nothing to the search engines. They are always looking
for fresh content, especially on your homepage, so if you need
your website to be updated and maintained, give me a call.
I had a
look at other web designer packages and their price list and I
was shocked when I saw some of their pricing. Some prices were
very cheap, some were affordable and then some was just
ridiculous. When you get quotes, ensure that the quote
stipulate clearly what the cost is, not to have to pay any
hidden fees at a later stage.
Photoshop
is like a creative graphic studio, where you can design some
of the best 3d graphics.
Modern
development is done predominantly in php, html, flash and css.
So if you browse for a freelance web designer developer,
ensure that they can design in the above languages. Look at
the web designer portfolio to identify that they are capable
of designing.
The only
problem with some sites are that the time the page takes to
download, takes forever and the user, wants information now,
so be careful of too large high resolution graphics
If I
don't write stuff down, I forget them, so the above is just my
thoughts and they will not make sense to you.
|
