Shawn - July 27th, 2010
We design and host websites for a living so we know how to manage a project and do all that great webmaster stuff that brings all the elements together.
And whether or not you as a client have creative sensibilities, you know what you like. While we can make just about anything work, your input is the thing that is ultimately going to put the unique stamp on the site.
We therefore think it is always a good idea for a client to take stock of the things that are important to them in a website before we even start the design process.
So here are our Top Ten Things to Think About (or Have!) Before you Sit Down with Us or Any Professional Website Designer:
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You should have your content complete. There’s nothing more frustrating for everyone than to have the site complete and not an About Us to be found. Videos only go so far…you need tangibility of the verbiage kind.
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Make sure you have a digital copy of your logo (the higher the resolution the better).
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Pick two or three websites that you really like (if they are competitors of yours, that’s even better) and what you like about them.
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Pick two or three websites you don't like (also competitors, if possible) and what you don't like about them.
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Jot down colors that appeal and ones you can’t be bothered with.
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Think about the primary goals of your website:
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Are you selling products?
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Lead generating?
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Are you primarily offering customer service and support?
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Do you need to reduce incoming phone calls?
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Who is your audience?
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Determine how frequently the website will be updated; you may or may not want a content management system, but it will enable you to revise your site’s verbiage.
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If it's an e-commerce site:
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What type of payments do you want to accept?
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How do you want the shipping charges calculated?
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How many products are going to be sold on the website?
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Think a year ahead if you can…it is always easier and more affordable to build for growth in the beginning then to go back and add later.
No two projects are alike (good thing…otherwise we’d go crazy!), but these fundamental questions go really far toward getting your website working right out of the box.
Shawn - July 14th, 2010
Whether you’re building a brand or building a business, your first step is to establish your venue. And in the world of all that is virtual, that venue is your website. Without an effective and fully functioning one you’re kind of nowhere.
However, after the shiny slideshows and brilliant graphics are complete and your website is hosted and optimized for all mobile devices, you’re still kind of nowhere because you need to market your website.
So where to start? Well you know you need to be optimized to be found. But website optimization can be expensive and is an effort that takes some trial and error.
Our suggestion?...it’s never a bad idea to start with the free stuff first! You should absolutely go in true Gary Vaynerchuk style and leverage the ton of free marketing solutions through FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media. If you’re consistent and fresh, you can really establish a following.
Then, probably the best place to spend your marketing dollars is with Google AdWords or other Pay-Per-Click marketing programs sponsored by the major search engines. If you do opt for AdWords, we would suggest combining your social media marketing efforts in association with AdWords efforts. (Then you can follow with SEO once you have some statistics.)
For AdWords, basically what you’re doing is creating ads by choosing words or phrases related to your business so when people search using one of your keywords, your ad may appear next to the search results.
What’s cool is that you’re essentially singing to the people who like the same songs because they are searching for what you’ve got. In addition, you’ll be able to collect statistics as to what keywords convert well for your business. So you’re literally compiling market research from targeted audiences.
After you’ve pulled some statistics as to what keywords are converting well for you in your AdWords campaign, then you can launch your SEO campaign with some assurance that you have the signposts for the traffic you are seeking.
It sounds calculated because it has to be, but by monitoring these statistics you can consistently remain current on how people are searching and adjust accordingly.
You just need to bear in mind that while SEO takes time and patience, you can obtain more immediate gratification by leveraging Pay-Per-Click and social media marketing. And if you start out reaping some results, you won’t get as discouraged waiting for your SEO to hit its stride.
Bottom line -- your marketing plan is just as important as a good-looking, well-designed website. Just don’t get frustrated in the beginning or believe there is a fool proof plan to get to the coveted Page One.
You can do it, but in the interim, you can steadily build a solid fan base using social media and some Google Tools.
Shawn - June 16th, 2010
While optimizing your website for search engine attention is the norm, the website design bar is now set higher to include optimization for mobile devices. This alternate version of your main site typically highlights the best and most significant features while omitting the battery draining, performance bogging videos and effects that just don’t translate to the small screen; most of them won’t even work. The act of zooming and scrolling alone is enough to make the most persistent iPhone Googler with the best eyesight search elsewhere.
But there are definitely a couple of things you should consider before you go to the expense of having a mobile version of your website created.
First of all, you need to take into account the type of information or services your site and/or your business provides. If you are a supplier of travel information, you’re going to want to cater to your subscribers on the move. Nothing would be more annoying for a commuter in Manhattan looking to obtain information on subway delays if a site takes longer to load than the train does to arrive.
Perhaps you provide information to paparazzi or news journalists on assignment abroad; they rely on immediate notifications of things like Lady Gaga sightings or directions to U.S. Embassy locations in other countries.
Another great example of a business that would significantly benefit from a “portable overhaul” would be an e-commerce one. Why lose a sale from a potential client trying to order Mother’s Day flowers on her BlackBerry while waiting for a connecting flight at the airport? Customers like her who no longer schlep their laptops on short business trips because they can tote feature rich hand-held devices are the perfect audience for a scaled down version of a website.
Amazon.com offers the ideal example of an effective sister site. Their mobile website is a perfect thumbnail of their main site, but stripped down to the hardcore essentials minus the ton of intricate graphics. It is completely functional and easy to navigate. (By the way, let us know if you find any other great ones!)
If you do think that creating a mobile version of your website is right for your business, you can actually take it to the next level by creating two mobile versions: one for Smartphones and one for simple phones. The sophistication of the mobile device is irrelevant; it’s the adaptation to the small screen that is essential.
As you know by now,optimizing for the search engines entails a complex balance of elements and methods that combine to enhance a website’s ranking. Optimizing for mobility on the other hand is about enhancing the site’s readability and transportable functionality.
Shawn - May 19th, 2010
Not many new business owners can afford to: purchase premium-stock business cards, publish full page ads in industry periodicals, or lease a high traffic brick and mortar storefront when they are just starting out.
And just because we at iTistic provide website design and Internet solutions, we aren’t saying that’s where all your money should go either; but regardless of what you do to promote your business, be careful about who you hire for your website design, or for anything!
In no particular order of importance, this list chronicles lessons some of our clients have learned the hard way and why they now only hire professionals:
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Most legitimate website designers subscribe to a formalized agreement that outlines responsibilities and the payment structure that protects both them and you
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They can adapt to changes in scope/vision because they aren’t “one template wonders”
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They have access to the appropriate professional resources if your needs are truly one of a kind and require special customization
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They can steer you away from certain designs/strategies because they’ve seen them before and know what doesn’t work
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You have some recourse if they don’t hold up their side of the agreement; your friend's brother's uncle's kid who is “great with computers” doesn’t have much to lose if he walks away with your down payment, he has no industry reputation to maintain
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They have past clients so you can verify their credentials
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They have back-up systems and redundancies built into their hosting to ensure that your site stays seen!
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They make sure your domain name is properly registered, your domain name is locked, and your account information is accurate and updated to protect domain theft
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You buy cheap, you buy twice: not to say you have to spend ten grand on a site for it to be effective; but if the price is too good to be true it probably is…a $200 website is going to look like a $200 website
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What about your search engine optimization and integration with a blog and plugging into social media outlets? A pretty picture topped with a logo banner that sits in cyberspace is just that, a still photo in a swirling universe…
We’re living in a buyer beware world… don’t let your business suffer the consequences at the hands of your friend's brother's uncle's kid!
Shawn - May 12th, 2010
Every project created by our Tampa-based website design company is custom, but the one pre-requisite we pretty much insist upon across-client is that the site’s content be complete before we begin the website build process.
Actually, the only way to receive a truly accurate price quote from any website designer is by having the verbiage and its organization complete upfront. While you are not necessarily being charged a “per-word count” what is written and how it needs to be presented will absolutely affect your project’s quote. By coming across with content late in the game you could get hit with an unexpected bump in price…a completely avoidable surprise.
In addition, the verbiage itself is really another design element. With the content pre-determined, you and your designer can truly integrate your written concepts with your images for a seamless and cohesive website.
We know that providing the verbiage is typically the most stressful part of the project; you obviously want information about your products and services to be conveyed in a fresh and engaging manner.
You can do it; but if your approach is not an organized one it can hold up the whole show.
SO WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO PREPARE AND SUBMIT WEBSITE CONTENT?
Have The Content Ready To Go Before You Get On Your Website Designer’s Schedule
In the absence of the website content, you and your designer will quickly arrive at a point where you can’t go any further without it; then you’ll be pressured to complete something, the project will inevitably stall, and you will quickly fall into the waste of time and money trap. You’ll breathe much easier and enjoy the creative process much more if you don’t let the words hold you up.
The Hardest Part About Writing Something is Getting Started
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Our suggestion: start anywhere. You don’t have to write the pages in the order of their eventual appearance.
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Don’t fixate on creating an interest-grabbing first sentence; the first sentence typically gets written last anyway.
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Writing is re-writing…just start typing and a consistent process of refinement will eventually get it done.
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Make use of sub-headings as signposts within the verbiage so your finished text can be easily scanned to increase its online readability.
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On-screen writing is different than hard copy writing and search engine optimization is not just about making a site speak to search engines; it is also about making it easily digestible by humans.
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And if you rush the process and don’t give yourself enough time, the pain will be apparent and the cracks will show. Start the content development as your first task then all the cool graphics and slideshows will follow.
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(If you need professionally crafted verbiage or some polish applied to paragraphs you have written, Itistic has wordsmiths on staff! We can even assist with the organization of existing content!)
Get It Together
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Services like those provided by JumpChart.com are brilliant and basically supply a vehicle that allows you to steer your content through the creation, organization, and approval processes.
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You and the other decision makers in your company can efficiently monitor your content’s progress until your finished product is ready for delivery to the designers.
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(We also subscribe to this affordable and irreplaceable sanity-restoring interactive solution!)
Content In All Shapes and Sizes
We’ve literally gotten website words on pieces of paper towels, the backs of envelopes, and…you get the idea. But if you want the face of your business to speak clearly and the process to be a seamless one:
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Submit it to the website designers in a digital format, even if it is an organized email or other text document
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If using a program like Word to create the content, make use of the “comments” and “track changes” features so your remarks are clearly defined from your actual verbiage; it is also a great way to track progress and allow anyone else working on the content to see your thought process
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No one expects the verbiage to be delivered all slick and HTML; but it should be clean and proofread by everyone you know to ensure professionalism and clarity
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Plainly illustrate what words go with what site pages through the use of headers that mimic the agreed upon page names (e.g. About Us, Contact Us); assume nothing
Make Provisions In Advance For Changes Down The Road
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We recommend taking advantage of incorporating a Content Management System (CMS) like ExpressionEngine into your website’s design; we use it too!
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It puts the power in your hands to update your own content and to enable refresh or deletion of dated material.
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And if you don’t entitle yourself to a way of making post-site launch changes, it will cost you money to make them later, so you’ll have to strive to get it right the first time!
The Bottom Line…
Nothing’s better than seeing your concepts come to life via the creative process.
But by taking the approach that the website content is a huge part of the picture and needs to be given the same weight and consideration as fonts and images and effects, you’ll have more time to enjoy the ride if you just get the content under control.
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