Over the years, the internet has grown
into a marvelous avenue to promote your business.
In my last article, "Why Your Business Needs to Have
an Internet Presence" (http://www.jvmediadesign.com/info37.html),
I discussed 5 valid reasons why your business needs a website.
In this article, I discuss some things to avoid and how
a custom, professional website can help your business succeed.
Professional is the key. Remember, the internet has a
global reach. Some of your new potential clientele may
be learning of your business for the first time by visiting
your website and the old cliché, "you never
get a second chance to make a first impression",
still rings true.
When a business makes the decision to gain an internet
presence, whether they are the largest corporation or
the smallest home business, they may be tempted to take
what appears to be the "easy way" to get the
company website up and running fast. The three major potential
pitfalls here are:
1)Some hosting comes with "do it yourself"
capabilities and pre-made templates. Although this is
a great way to upload photos of your summer vacation for
your family and friends to see, this is not a good way
to make that great first impression for your business.
In short, these "solutions" really do not present
a professional image, and often use very minimal templates
and overall poor layout and design.
2)Many companies now sell website "templates"
for low cost, making it easy for you to get up and running
quickly. While this is true (you can get up and running
quickly and many of these companies do sell more professional
designs), you run the risk of other businesses using that
SAME design. And to buy a "unique" copy of the
template the cost is often just as, or more expensive,
than if you were to hire a professional company to create
a custom design for you.
3)Complete websites for $100! This may be a bit of an
exaggeration, but I have actually seen advertisements
for complete websites for very low prices. You must remember
that you are investing in your business when you decide
to have a custom website developed, and you really do
get what you pay for. A professional design firm creates
original designs, from scratch, tailor-made for each individual
client - and the prices for that work can vary a lot,
but do expect to pay a reasonable amount for the services.
These three potential pitfalls aside, the process of
getting your business onto the World Wide Web does not
have to be a confusing, time-consuming, and costly affair.
Below is a succinct outline of the process.
1)First, you need to design on your domain name for your
website. Avoid names with "-" in them and very
long names. Try to be as succinct as possible. It is easiest
for your visitors to remember a URL that is your company
name, or at the very least, keywords that describe your
company. For instance, if your business is ABC Accounting,
you could consider abcaccounting.com or something such
as accountingservice.com. You may find that your first
(and second!) choice for a domain name may already be
taken, so you may have to get creative. Just remember
that a domain name that reflects your business is key.
2)Shop around for the right design firm. There is no
shortage of companies who can handle the design and development
of your website. Do not be afraid to shop around. Prepare
a detailed RFP (Request For Proposal) that outlines things
such as the goals of your website, your target market,
the information you would like to have on your website,
and advanced features such as ecommerce. Review the portfolios
of companies and send out your RFP to the ones you feel
have the skills to do your job. When you've narrowed down
the prospects, do not be afraid to ask for personal or
telephone interviews. Find out what their design process
and work flow is like. Ask for recommendations about what
type of web hosting your site will need. Also, make sure
to review the design agreement or contract with the company
you choose (a professional company will ALWAYS require
a contract before work begins).
3)Have a basic idea of what you would like your finished
site to look like. It's a good idea to do some "surfing"
of the web to see what your competition and similar companies
are doing, but look outside your industry as well for
designs that catch your eye. This will give your design
team a place to start and an idea of the style of design
you expect for your own website.
4)Work on your "content". The content of your
site includes all the text you wish to display. This is
a very important aspect to your site. Although you do
not want to overwhelm your visitors with nothing but pages
and pages of text, you do want to offer clear, concise,
professionally composed and edited information. Proof
read, proof read, proof read! If you are in doubt, it
is best to consider hiring a professional copy writer.
Remember that grammatical errors shout "unprofessional!"
to the viewer.
5)Once your site is up and running, don't be afraid to
add or edit your content periodically. This keeps your
pages "fresh" and shows repeat visitors that
your business is active and "takes an interest"
in staying up to date.
About the Author
Sherry Holub received her degree in design from UCLA
in 1995. She is now the Lead Designer and Creative Director
at Southern California Studio, JV Media Design.
