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What_YOU_should_know_before_starting_a_web_site
| What YOU should know before starting a web site!
Everyday thousands of new businesses make the leap and take
their business on line, what about yours? If you haven’t
already, I’ll bet you have thought about it and wondered how
much more business you could be doing if you just went on
line…and right about then, you wonder what it would take to get
your business on line?
Here are some things to consider:
1.What do I expect my web site to do? The question you must ask
yourself first and foremost is, “What do I want my website to
do?”. There are many types of web sites out there from purely
selling products, to purely informational and everything in
between. Are you looking to start an online community with
people who have similar interests? Do you need a one page online
resume, portfolio, bio, or online brochure to really get your
company’s information in front of the public? No two sites are
exactly alike, and because of that, the prices for your web
design can fluctuate. This question is one you must ask yourself
before you hire a web designer! 2.How much will a web site cost
me? What is your budget for your web site? Be realistic when you
set your amount. Though a good deal is great, rock bottom prices
are not what you are looking for here! Remember, this is your
virtual store front. You want your site to be professional,
efficient, and look the very best it can-you want your dreams to
come true, and they will with the right designer. Honestly, you
can find web site design from $35 (if you get this for a quote,
and you have any hopes of ending up with a professional
site…WALK AWAY!) to $10,000 (good for huge companies that can
afford it, but not the best bet for a new business).
Realistically, expect to spend from $85-$200 for a one page
resume, bio or brochure site and from $300-$1,800 for larger
full featured sites, and expect to pay either half or all of it
upfront depending on your designer. Aside from that there are
monthly hosting fees that range from $10-$40 per month for a
descent sized site. Ask your designer if they offer hosting in
addition to designing your site? You will usually get a much
better deal, and you already trust them to design your site
(I’ll go more into hosting plans and options another time). Do
you have your domain name yet? (example: www.thebestmoms.com) If
not, ask your designer if they can get you one? A lot the time,
if you are buying a decent sized design job and hosting from
them, they will throw in your domain name for free-although, you
will have to pay the renewal fee each year which can range from
$19-$35 (ask your designer). 3.What’s my web address going to
be? This is a question you want to really spend some time on
before choosing. I suggest you pick a name that is A-easy to
remember, B-as short as possible, C-as uncomplicated as
possible; try to stay away from more than 1 or 2 hyphens, if
any. People easily forget the hyphens when they remember the
address, and you don’t want to be sending business somewhere
else. D-using correct spelling; it is fun to play with the
spelling of a word, but take in to consideration your audience’s
ability to remember the way YOU spelled it as opposed to their
natural urge to spell it correctly. It’s your job to get them to
your site, not their job to find you, so make it easy. E-pick
something that has to do with your business (optional); I know
some sites have gone against this rule and been successful but
they also started from a different place than you are starting.
Come up with a list of your top 5 or 10 choices, because there
is a good chance that your first choice is already gone! When
deciding, ask yourself if you want your address to be a .com,
.net, .org, .edu, .biz, .tv, etc. I suggest .com, or .net for
selling (ecommerce) sites, but it’s up to you! 4.How long will
it take to design my site? There are a lot of different factors
that determine just how long a site takes to be completed,
including you. If you take longer to get your information (or
your words for each page and pictures) it will of course take
longer for your site to be up and running. Also, the more
complicated your site, the longer it can take-though I’ve not
seen a site construction take longer than 8 weeks. To speed the
design process, have a clear idea of what it is you want ahead
of time. Make lists, and write out your ‘blurbs’ (text) for each
page. Your text is your responsibility, and a lot of designers
will not consider creating it for you with out charging you for
creative writing (which can cost $35-75 per hour). I only
suggest leaving the creative writing up to someone else if you
are positive that you simply can not do it. If your designer
does not offer writing as a service (ask), you can hire a
creative writer online and sometimes you can even barter (trade
your products for their services) with creative writers looking
to build their portfolio. One other way that you can speed up
the design process is to make sure you and your designer are on
the same page as far as design. You do not want to keep changing
your design idea, especially after they have started working. A
lot of work goes into web site design, and so what seems like a
minor change in the design plans to you may actually be a major
change in the overall design, and some designers will charge you
for this because your initial quote is based on their expected
design hours. I wouldn’t suggest doubling it out of the blue.
5.How long before the public discovers my site? They won’t. What
I mean by that is, there is more to getting people to your site
than just putting it on the web. Like any other store, you have
to market your site. One great tool is search engines. Now, how
do you get listed on search engines? You want to give your
designer a two sentence description for each category or page,
and a list of 20 words you think some one would use to find your
site for each category. Your designer may be willing to do some
of this for you, so ask. Also, there are some search engine
submission services out there that are great, and there are some
that aren’t. I suggest you ask your designer if they submit your
site to search engines automatically or if there is a small fee
for this? Is their submission once or repeated over a period of
time? Simply submitting will not guarantee you top spot on the
search engines; especially if you are in an already crowded
field-even if you pay the $300 fees some search engines charge.
You can also market your site by putting the web site address on
everything-return address labels, business cards, t-shirts, your
car, your email signature; put it in your signature on message
boards, etc. There are many ways to get the word out, but don’t
think for one second that just because you built it, they will
come-this is by far the biggest misconception in web site
building! 6.Who will update my site in the future? Most
designers have policies about updates, from a monthly update fee
only for the months you require updates, to an hourly fee per
update. Talk to your designer, and make sure that they
understand not only how often you expect to need updates, but
the nature of your updates. If it is something like switching a
picture, or changing a phone number, there may be no charge so
ask.
After answering these questions, you are ready to talk to your
designer about the fun stuff-the design. Write down a list of
sites that possess the feel or the style that you are looking
for so your designer can get a better picture of your ultimate
goal, and the two of you go from there!
About the author:
Samantha Olea is the owner and designer for
http://GetWrappedUp.com –All Wrapped Up Business Solutions. She
specializes in visual design and web design for the small to
large businesses. Not a tied to a particular style of design,
Samantha Olea is able to create your vision and really make it
your own. To discuss your site, contact her at
designs@getwrappedup.com today.
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