If you have the desire to go it alone here is a tool to see if your website name is available. But if you would like to have us host it please contact us before you reserve the name, that will speed up the process.
Well this is rather sad, post number 2 after so many months, only excuse is good business, short handed, and a little time for family. This time lets talk about paying someone or going it alone.
This question is as simple as finding a balance between the following needs; time, money, & performance. I am a big fan of doing it your self, it’s the best way to learn how it works. However if you have a working budget and you need exposure, leads, customers, or sales and you need them as fast as possible. Then you need to go with an expert. If you build your own site plan on at least 6 months to get comfortable with how it works. Lets start with go it alone.
First off don’t do it, this is how I do everything, for the most part I am self taught in everything I do. When I decided to build my website I went out and spend $200.00 (then) on Microsoft Front Page. Its great for beginners and it worked very well for me then, but now I look back on it and see what a joke it is. I can always spot a FP web site and it is very hard to make a FP site look professional. But it is a great place to get your feet wet and then advance to something like Dreamweaver, which will make sites look much more professional. However Dreamweaver is more complicated to learn, unless you have started with a program like FP. Every pro will tell you they use note pad and build from code, but then off the record they will admit they use a program like DW, why? It saves time.
But there is another option, go with a hosting company that will provide you with a basic site. I have reassured quite a few and I can only recommend one “and one”. I like 1AND1 hosting company because they will provide you with a great site template that every beginner can use, they have blog templates and basic shopping carts as well. I only wish this was around when I was starting out with FP because the templates with 1AND1 look much more professional than FP and it starts at a great monthly price. So go it alone with a little help.
But if you need something fast, you have the budget, or your are ready to upgrade to a professional built site, then here are some things to watch for.
* Take some time to look at your competitors sites as well as non-related sites that you like to get a feel for how you would like the layout to be.
* If you want to have as many visitors as possible, that stay and look around, then keep it simple
* Be willing to listen to the website designer, if you have found a good one they know what they are doing.
* Treat your web site as though it was a new location for your business.
* Keep it simple.
Now there is a lot more to building a website and I am going to go into the points above in more detail in future posts, so be sure to check back.
This is a free service designed to give you some useful (we hope) information about web sites, site rankings, and why your company or organization needs a web site.
So lets start with that, we have a tendency to look at things through our own prism. I don’t advertize in the phone book and I don’t use one, in fact I don’t think we even have one at my house.
You may say that you don’t know anyone that uses the computer to find things they are looking for.
The truth is some place in the middle, but one thing is for sure, studies show that everyday more and more people are turning to the internet and web sites to find what they need.
I look at it this way, if I am only concerned about local customers than an add in the local paper, or the phone book may be a good idea, however a web site is a better value.
A web site will cost more money up front in design, however once it is built and launched you are looking at a entry level of around $.30 per day. If you have a $250 per year add in the phone book you are looking at around $.70 per day. Consider this, a web site will give you a full page, in color, in which you can display your work, your building, or even sale you products, 24 hours a day, 7days a week, and no phone book add can do that.
So it is my opinion that if you desire a phone book add then, the best plan for local traffic is a small add in the phone book with your web site listed in the add.
It all comes down to this, even though times have changed you still need to know your customers and think of the best way to reach them. If you target customer is older than the phone book is a better choice and if they are younger you should look at a web site.
Another benefit to a web site is convenience. With a web site you have a link that you can click and sent the company a e-mail to place and order or ask a question. Every morning when I get into the office I have a stack of e-mails that cam in over night.
Now think of it this way, you an I each have a company that sales widgets, I have a web site and you do not. During the night a local customer when on line in the web version of the phone book and looked up our companies, the customer clicked the link and went to my site and sent me a e-mail asking about a red widget. He must wait until morning to call you, but before he can I have responded to his question and even called him on the phone number he gave me in the e-mail. Now just look at the jump I have on you, that happens to me every day.
Look the fact is times are though and could very well get tougher, you need to have every advantage you can in order to get the sale.
Now finally here is the best reason of all, lets say you have a customer that is just looking to “kick the tires”, we have all had them, worst of all some of them have no intention of buying anything they are just curious.
With a web site they can get all or most of their questions answered, and the customer that are serious about buying something will be more informed when they call. Think of how much time that will save you and/or your employees.
Or how about an on line questionnaire, before you even talk to the customer you know what their needs are. I am always amazed when I see sites that are wasting time, what about a car lot with a online credit app.? Or how about a rental agency with a customer request form on line? The possibilities are endless and they all lead to the same thing, they save you time and that helps the bottom line.
At Flints Design our goal is to help you become more effective, to reach more people, and use our experience to think outside the box, give us a call and we will be happy to help you. 801-259-2877
This a place that we can share our ideas and opinions about web site design, web site hosting, logo design, and search engine optimization. Now days times are tough, this is not the time to cut back, slow down, or sit on the sideline. This is a time to advertise more, work harder, and now more than ever you need a website. Our intent is to give you helpful info and ideas regarding website and web site related information such as, web site hosting, logo design, and what search engine optimization is and why you need it. Of course this is our opinion here, if you disagree, let us know. But keep in mind we are talking about proven strategies that have worked in the field and are not at all “black hat”, don’t know what that is? We will cover it in the first post. If you have questions and need more info please feel free to contact us -