Essentials to a Great Website
The time has come to have a web site designed for your business. You may have an old, outdated site from the early Internet years - full of animated gifs and tiled backgrounds that you just can’t bear the site of anymore. If you’re starting a new business, having a website designed may be one of the first things you feel the need to organize - along with your bank account, office and telephone lines.
More than ever, people are starting to feel they are at a competitive disadvantage by not having a professional website and why not - more and more people are using the web as their primary source of information when searching for products and services they require.
There are a lot of choices when it comes to designing a website. You may be asking yourself questions such as "Who do I get to build my web site?", "How much will it cost" and "What do I need to have on it?"
Our 3-D Approach
Design - Based on your business needs and branding directions, we work with you to create a plan for a unique and distinctive technical solution.
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Develop - Implementing the plan; developing graphic components, writing code and programming, testing, validating and documenting the work effort. We checkpoint with you to make sure that we are meeting your initial needs as well as any that may come up during the development cycle.
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Deploy - After receiving your approvals, we launch the project! The SIXDAYSWORKS Web Design team will be there to make sure everything runs smoothly and that you understand how to utilize your new solution to gain the most business benefit as possible!
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Regardless of who designs your website, there are 4 essential elements that if properly addressed can mean the difference between a web site that sits there collecting cyber dust or one that promotes your business, engages potential clients and leads to sales.
Other sections in essentials to creating a web site include:
Planning A Web Site
Designing A Web Site
Creating Content for a Web Site
Marketing A Website
Planning a Web Site
Like anything, no matter who builds your website and how much it costs you it will always turn out better when it is properly planned for. The main question to ask yourself is "What is the objective of my website?"
Is it to?
Generally promote the overall services of the business with a few pages of content and imagery – often referred to as a "brochure based" site.
Display your products online for customers to browse – known as an product catalogue website.
Sell online – an ECommerce style Website
No matter which type of website you require, it is important to consider the following points:
Who is my target audience?
What information would they want to see?
If the website does not sell online, are there sufficient calls to action? – Clear phone number displayed on each page, constant reference to "contact us" which may link to an online enquiry form or email address.
What other branding material do I have that may need to be addressed by the website’s design – e.g. logo, brochure, imagery etc...?
Now that those questions have been answered it's time to draw a sitemap. Outline your site map in a flow chart style. Stick to that flow chart while you prepare the content of the site. Once you have your site map drawn out, outline your home page on pen and paper. With a strong outline to guide you, it will be easy to work with a design firm to assist in building the website for you.
Our website designing process is comprised of the following:
Identify the target audiences for your website and comparing to your competitors.
Develop a persona set.
Conduct usability studies.
Survey the nature of your business / clients.
Define the structure of the website being developed.
Not only designing, we are into website redesigning also
Consulting: strategic planning
market research
best practices guidance
website analysis (of existing sites)
copywriting
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| Creative: graphics design
animation
photography
audio & video
web page coding
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Marketing: marketing planning
search engine marketing
pay-per-click and affiliates
online marketing
offline/traditional promotion
advanced web metrics
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| Technical: e-commerce
web hosting & e-mail
application deployment
custom programming
database development
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Designing a Web Site
A well designed site is a crucial element to achieving success online. If you spend a bit of time looking around you will notice that businesses with good looking websites will also have a well designed logo and print material. Why? Because they realize the importance a professional design plays in portraying themselves as a credible business.
The first bit of advice we give new businesses, before starting on the website, is to have a Professional logo designed. A logo is essential to building a brand and creating a sense of recognition for the product or service that you offer. The website design should compliment the logo and add to the exercise of building a brand name.
Imagery is another important element of a website. The correct using of images within the design as well as the page content will not only improve the aesthetics but also add purpose by engaging the user from a visual perspective. Having a professional photographer take shots of your business can be expensive but there are alternatives. Stock photography websites such as Istockphoto offer an affordable and very appealing option for your website.
Creating Content for a Web Site
Content is undoubtedly the most import part of your website. Well worded content that not only informs and educates readers but promotes your business will do a lot to sell a client before they have even picked up the phone or started writing you an email.
It cannot be stressed enough how important it is that the copy comes across professionally written and to the point. Don’t create 'filler' content. Don't write something or put something online just for the sake of having something online. Plan your content as you planned your site. There's nothing more irritating than visiting a site only to find mindless banter. When writing, be direct and to the point. Use short sentences if necessary. If you aren’t confident writing and can budget for it, have a professional copywriter tidy it all up.
A website's content can date very quickly so it’s important to keep it fresh and updated. Having a Content Management System (CMS) makes it easy for the everyday person without HTML or programming skills to edit and maintain all areas of the website. Once a luxury only available to large company with deep pockets, content management solutions are now becoming a financially viable option to SME’s looking for a website that they can maintain themselves
Marketing a Web Site
The Internet is often referred to as the 'New Economy'. Just because it's new doesn't mean that the old marketing rules don't apply. In order to convert the sales, a website, like a normal business needs to market and advertise itself to potential consumers.
Much like traditional advertising, the Internet is comprised of many different ways to advertise your business. Search engines are one of the most popular means of researching products and services but other online destinations such as Internet Yellow Pages, category specific websites and e-mail marketing are also an important part of ensuring that a website is found by different types of customers.
Online Marketing Online Marketing and Search Engine Optimizations (SEO)
If you’re website isn’t doing much more than displaying a few pages for the odd customer then you have to ask yourself “Am I really getting the return I deserve from my website?” If you search for keywords that relate to industry in the search engines and you’re no where to be found, the chances are your potential customers aren’t finding your website either.
That’s where Net Starter’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) service can help. Our skilled team will tailor a web site optimization package to suit your needs. With more and more websites released every day, people are becoming more and more reliant on search engines to find what they are looking for.
Let’s review the basic reasons for exploring a search engine campaign:
More then 90% of the web site visitors come from the search engines;
Advertising campaign on the Internet is relatively cheap in comparison with others;
Gaining a competitive advantage on your opposition who do not have an optimised web site;
Our search engine and online marketing services include:
Pay Per Click Advertising
A type of online marketing campaign or service which applies a Cost Per Click (CPC) price to relevant key phrases to easily and accurately calculate positioning, online marketing costs and ROI for your website. As opposed to a Maintenance or Optimization SEO campaign, the client only pays for the traffic that is provided, based on the agreed CPC. Examples of such services include Google Ad words and Overture
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Search engine optimisation is the process of optimising your web site code to be favorably listed in the search engines that use automated 'indexing robots' or 'indexing spiders' to add your web site to their index.
Link Campaigns
Link campaigns involve getting other websites to link to yours. This usually involves a reciprocal link where you link back to them. Exchanging links with other web sites of similar or related content can be an excellent method of attracting new visitors to your web site. Apart from the advantage of getting new visitors from a related web site, you will also increase your link popularity or relevance in some major search engines - an absolute must for getting a higher search results ranking.
Email Marketing
Permission based email marketing is an effective marketing medium that can offer immediate responses and effective ROI. Thanks to advanced tracking solutions, email marketing offers much better feedback and reporting thank traditional mail marketing.
Website Redesigning Services
Website redesigning can be a vital step toward success in business. If you already have a web site, but it doesn't look as professional as you want, or it's not performing as you would like, we can help you by redesigning the entire website with a foresight toward search engine marketing. We will evaluate each and every aspect of your website by optimizing the web pages, graphics and code to ensure that you stay abreast with your competitors.
Our website redesigning service includes analyzing your website to seek a position in search engines and maintain a professional look and feel. Our team of creative designers will work closely with you to know your taste and will implement the same to ensure that your ideas are also given importance.
web hosting service
A
web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that provides individuals, organizations and users with online systems for storing information, images, video, or other content accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. Web hosts can also provide data center space and connectivity to the Internet for servers they do not own to be located in their data center, called
colocation.
Domain name Registration
a name that is entered into a computer (e.g. as part of a Web site or other URL, or an e-mail address) and then looked up in the global Domain Name System which informs the computer of the IP address(es) with that name.
the product that registrars provide to their customers.
a name looked up in the DNS for other purposes.
They are sometimes colloquially (and incorrectly) referred to by marketers as "Web addresses".
Domain names are hostnames that provide more memorable names to stand in for numeric IP addresses. They allow for any service to move to a different location in the topology of the Internet (or another internet), which would then have a different IP address.
We bring you our technology expertise in :
Web development
Portal Development
E-commerce Development
Flash - Multimedia CD ROM
Internet Promotion
Enterprise services
Web based enterprise solutions
Enterprise application integration
Web conferencing
Web based CRM with Audio and Video
Making the Most of Your Design Business
It is the best of times and the worst of times. Life as a web or graphic arts freelancer can be both rewarding and tough. On one hand is the indescribable pleasure of be able to charge what your worth; on the other is the often frustrating task of getting paid what you're owed.
Your time is money. That is why you went into this business in the first place. Learn it. Live it. Love it. This is the Golden Rule and you should chant it like a mantra because we'll be coming back to it in this article; I promise.
The reality of any design business, or service business in general, is that you must pay as much attention to the business end of your efforts as you do to the service end. Failure to do so exposes you to liability issues, profit loss, headaches, dry mouth, wasted projects and more. While you may be a creative design god, a visionary, genius-it doesn't mean you are running your business as effectively as you can. If you've ever watched a profitable project slip away because the edits just wouldn't end; if you've ever let a client push you around and make you feel uncomfortable; if you've ever found yourself wishing you had more legal protection for the work that you do, then this article is for you.
This list of steps will separate your design business from the amateurs:
1) Spend time interviewing the client about the job. Not only will this help you determine first hand what the client's needs are, but also it will help the client view you as a professional. A good first impression will help you later on when it comes time for payment.
2) Put together a work order based on what was discussed in the interview. This will be your proposal to the client to begin working on their project. You will need to spell out all of the terms, delivery dates, number of pages, editing guidelines, deposits and payment terms. You also need to include all of the options discussed in your interview with the client. A formal proposal says that you are a professional.
Your proposal should contain no less than the following:
Cover letter
Site Specifications and layout
Development Guidelines
(include milestones and number of drafts)
Payment terms and conditions
Storyboards, diagrams, or examples
The contract
In considering each of these elements I cannot stress enough the following point: Leave nothing open-ended! Even if "open-ended" is a vital part of the contract, as in the case of an ongoing relationship for maintenance and updates, you need to spell it out!
3) Never work without a deposit. Go look at the Golden Rule again in case you forgot. A deposit does two things for you.
4) Have a pricing strategy. Know what your time is worth, how long it takes you to do certain tasks, and the value of those tasks in the marketplace. Communicate them effectively to the client, impress on them which tasks are time consuming, and how this will impact pricing. Your client is likely to be a professional, and they will understand that time is money. They understand that their own time is money. They should understand the Golden Rule and so should you.
Developing a spreadsheet or other form which allows you to track changes to a project as you go helps in the long run. It will not matter whether you charge per page, per project, or a combination of both, because you will know how to price what you are doing for the client.
5) Test early and often - don't let your credibility erode by forgetting little Q/A issues such as Browser Compatibility (read: Netscape), plug-in issues, load times, and screen resolution. Do as much of this before the client sees it. If the first impression of your creation is a good one, then it will be easier to get paid than if the client could not view the site correctly the first time around.
6) Have a final invoice - make sure it reflects the work order to the letter. Any agreed upon changes must be billed with the approval method clearly outlined. Attach any copies of emails, faxes, or other communications regarding changes to your site. Your contract should outline the terms of payment, and definitely detail a "late payment" policy. Just slap a statement on your invoice which reads "18% APR for accounts more than 15 days past due" and see what happens. You should always have a plan to enforce non-payments
Note:
Whether you are a freelance web designer, graphic artist, desktop publisher, or programmer you take on a great deal of responsibility every time you accept a new contract. Having ironclad contracts, invoices, and work orders can go along way in protecting your interests early and often, before trouble starts.
Putting these steps in place takes time and a little money, but you don't need to hire an attorney, an accountant or a business manager to increase your sales and efficiency. Just remember the Golden Rule. Your time is valuable; don't let the client take that from you.
ALL THE BEST
www.walkingants.com
