Blog

Mar 10th 2010

What Do You Need to Start a Website?

Any business owner can benefit from having an efficient website that brings in more customers. However, not every business owner knows exactly what he or she needs to start one. Not everyone has a big budget to hire a professional web design company, but has a need for a website. How?

Getting your website ready for the world to see begins with choosing the proper domain name (URL), a web address that people would enter on their web browsers. Usually it consists of your business name or your main services. There are plenty of sites, like GoDaddy.com that can help you with the purchase of your domain name.

Then comes the web hosting. You are sort of renting the web space from a hosting company to have your site live on internet. You might need some tech support to connect your domain name to the servers, but most of the time the hosting company would be glad to help you out with such tasks. It is in their interests to keep the customers and provide excellent customer service and support. So now that you have the domain name and web hosting ready to go, it’s time to design and develop your website.

As we talked about the website creation process in our previous article, it is absolutely crucial to have a solid plan in mind for your website. Think of how your website would benefit you, help your clients make a decision to work with you. Spend time to do some research and see how your competition did it and do it a bit differently, add your own personality; do something that no one else thought of doing. Might sound hard to do, but all you need is a little bit of effort.

After all said and done, and having your website prepared and filled with content, you are now ready to launch it. Again you would need some tech support to do it, and once again the web hosting company can help you with that. Remember, if you want to save money and build your website yourself, don’t expect great results. Think small first, and as your business grows, upgrade your website, by hiring a professional website design company and SEO specialists.

What about the costs?

Domain Name – $10 per year
Web Hosting – $10 per month
Design and Development – from $100 & up

If you have any questions on how a website can help your business, please consult a web design company, such as Timson Design, to make a more informative decision. I hope this article helped you to understand what goes into creating a business website.

Feb 26th 2010

A bit about the Website Creation Process

A website can do so much for you and your customers. It can provide contact information, portfolios, games, video, etc. anything to make sure the visitor stays on the page. Think of it as a 24/7 online representation of your business and what would you like your customers know about your company, your product or services.

There are mainly two stages when it comes to website design. First stage is the Design Phase. It is very important to know exactly who your target audience is, in order to create a successful online environment for your online visitors. During the initial meeting with your web designer discuss all of the possibilities for your site, budget constraints, technology tools that are available, the look and feel that you want; this will establish a good bond between you and the designer, resulting in a solid design solution. After the information exchange, the designer will create a mock-up of your website, that reflects everything you talked about. Revise the first draft, if you’re not totally satisfied, pin point exactly what it is that you might not like. Revise the second draft and so on, until you are totally satisfied with look; otherwise it would be a big pain changing the look after the site has been built.

Alright, you are completely happy with the design, now what? You enter the Development Phase. This is where a web developer works closely with the web designer to turn the graphic mock-up into a real live functional website. There is no going back to design changes anymore, this why it is so crucial to take care of design issues during the Design Phase. Depending on the complexity of your website, you might have to familiarize yourself with some of the technology. Usually most websites are built with a content management system (CMS); make sure you know how to use it, how to update content, add pages, etc. Usually the web developer would show all of this, and teach you how to use it.

So there you go, a short summary about website design process. Pretty simple and straightforward, but before you rush into it, remember to do research about your target audience, write down your goals, budget, deadlines, anything that affects your business, and only then start working on your website. This approach will save you time, effort, money, stress. Good luck!

Feb 22nd 2010

Do You Really Need a Website?

If you are running your own business, then YES you should have a website. Nowadays it is expected for any business to have a website. Even if you think that your product or service can not be sold online, it can still market your business and increase awareness about your products or services.

Please consider options before rushing into website design and development, talk to other business owners about how their website helped them. The point is that you should at the very least have a presence on the web so that customers, potential employees, business partners and perhaps even investors can quickly and easily find out more about your business and the products or services you have to offer. Remember, it’s not just about benefits anymore, but also about the ease of getting the right information, the interactivity that provides your customers with an easy way to access your product or service.

To have any impact on your customers, it’s not enough that you just have a website. You must have a dynamic professional-looking site if you want to be taken seriously. Consumers now search for information online prior to making a purchase at the store, your site may be the first chance you have at making a good impression on a potential buyer. If your site looks like it was designed by a barrel of colorblind monkeys, your chance at making a good first impression will be lost.

One of the best things about the internet is that it has leveled the playing field when it comes to competing with the big boys. As mentioned, you have one shot at making a good first impression. With a well-designed site, your little operation can project the image and professionalism of a much larger company. The inverse is also true. I’ve seen many big company websites that were so badly designed and hard to navigate that they completely lacked professionalism and credibility.

After you have designed your website, you need to make sure that people know about it. Include your domain name on every piece of your promotional materials and start with basic online marketing strategies. Again, it is in your best interest to work with a professional SEO company that knows the technology and the right techniques to get your site on the first page of Google or other search engines.

SEO is far from easy and simple. In fact, it is a very complicated discipline that can take years of study to master. If you are just starting out or you have all you can handle in running your business, it’s best to let an SEO company do all the detailed work for you. SEO can be incredibly tedious, and for most people, the time spent on SEO marketing is better used for other things. A great SEO company can ensure that your targeted audience sees your site, clicks through to visit your site and ultimately converts, either by purchasing a product, filling in a form, calling you or subscribing to something; whatever the goal of your website actually is.

What happens when you don’t market effectively? When businesses find themselves in financial trouble, they often cut back on their marketing budgets. This hurts any business, because while you’re not marketing, your competition is. That means that fewer and fewer people are finding your product, and instead, they’re becoming loyal customers of your competitor. When you don’t market, the ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ rule applies. You will lose brand visibility, and even clients you had in the past may forget about you. A steady marketing strategy is important if you want to stay relevant, and if you want your customers to have confidence in your brand.

So there you go, your business needs a professional looking website, that is constantly being updated with new relevant information and optimized for search engines, to bring solid results.

Feb 19th 2010

A bit about Website Templates

A web template is a website layout design, a shell of a website that you can use to create your own website. Most web templates do not contain any type of programming or scripting. However, some web design and publishing knowledge is strongly recommended.

Let’s say you are a business owner, but have no idea about designing a website or maintaining it, you would still benefit more from going to a web design professional who can help you with your goals. Web templates are good for beginner designers, it’s a good way to learn about the layout and functionality of interactive websites and apply it in your own work.

So if you’re thinking of purchasing a website template pick up an HTML book.

Feb 16th 2010

Making an Online Impression with Your Small Business

It is important that any small business website design gives prospective clients the right impression of your company and presents your company as a professional, competent business. To do this your website must convey such an image and will only do so if it is professionally designed itself. Selecting the right website design company is an important factor when setting up a new site and ideally it will be the start of a long relationship, so you need to feel comfortable with your website designer and ensure they will always be available when you need them.

The are a few factors to consider to having a website work for you online, traffic and the proper design and functionality. Both of them are very important. To attract the prospective clients online, certain online marketing tactics can be applied, including but not limited to meta tag page optimization, keyword research, pay-per-click campaigns, banner advertisements, links exchanges and so on. With time your website grows naturally (organically) and the more it is present online, the more content it generates, the more traffic it can attract.

To keep people coming back to your site and recommending to others, takes effort when designing the front-end of your small business website. Creating an interactive website with a visually appealing layout, makes a good impression on your clients and generates interest in your services. Good graphics come from good knowledge of your clients.

Feb 13th 2010

How to Get Your Own Website?

So, you finally realized the full potential of promoting your services or products online and now you are thinking of getting a new website. You pictured your perfect website in your mind, put some ideas on paper, and now find yourself asking where to go, who to ask, and what’s involved in creating your new website anyways.

Benefits of professional web design

Your website will look professional. If a website is designed poorly and without much care and planning your prospects will understand one thing: if the website and content is inferior then there is not much one can expect from the products or services the company offers.

You will save time and money. Website design is very detail-oriented work that requires time resources that might not be available to your small business or organization. Outsourcing your web development projects to a professional website design firm will allow you to focus on what’s most important – your business!

Post service support. Professional web design agencies know how customer support is important. If they stick with you and handle all your web-site needs and do maintenance on your website to make it dynamic, then naturally you will be impressed and recommend them to your friends and business associates.

Web design advice from a professional

The fist thing most people do when they are in an unfamiliar territory is ask for advice and guidance from their friends, colleagues, or family. So, if you do know someone who already dealt with the website design process, approach them. Ask how professional website design can benefit you, and did it benefit them. Ask if they were happy with the web design services they received, and what advice they have for you.

Research professional website design firms

You can always do your own research and just search for professional website design firms online. Read about their professional services and what sort of web design and development solutions they can offer your business.

There is no doubt that having a website will help your business growth, however a poorly designed site, can do more damage than good. So, choose a professional website design firm that understands your needs, like ours, and has the capabilities to deliver a professional web design solution.

Feb 13th 2010

Small Business Website Design

Almost any business needs a website. It’s no secret. So, if you are a small business, get a small, but efficient website. Small does not mean bad. Just because you do not sell your products or services online is no reason to assume that you do not need a website. Customers are looking for easier ways to interact with the company and get the information. A website will provide 24 hour access to your company and customer support. Your small business just grew a whole website.

Building a website for your small business

Think how a website can help your small business. Most businesses start their websites as information based resource. You can also quote your clients based on the information your gathered with the help of your website. Many start a newsletter promotion and keep it going to provide better customer care.

Think about website maintenance. Consider the fact who will be managing and updating your website. You can request the web design company to do it for you, for a certain fee; or you can do it yourself. Now, to do it yourself you must either be familiar with HTML or have a content management system built into your website. With a content management system it’s pretty much drag and drop operations to update your site, so anyone, without solid knowledge of HTML or anything that has to do with web design, can manage and update their website.

Think about the website design cost. You can build your website yourself, host it on your computer, and it will all be for FREE! But, what kind of a website will it be? There is no doubt that having a website will help your business growth, however a poorly designed site, can do more damage than good. The web design agency may charge you higher fees, but you are being offered high quality work. This high quality work will pay you for years to come.

How a website will benefit your small business

A professional website design firm can analyze your small business to make the most appropriate and crucial suggestions for your business’ specific needs. After that, implement matching solutions using industry standard technologies.

Even with the most robust, feature-packed web development software packages available today, there is a tremendous learning curve involved in developing a technically sound website for your small business. On the other hand, a professional web design company will keep up with the current technology trends to ensure that your website loads quickly and is accessible across a wide range of platforms.

Feb 13th 2010

A bit about Logo Design

Professionally made successful corporate identity logo design contributes to the success of the whole enterprise, because it gives your company and your brand name immediate credibility and lasting recognition. When was the last time they did not put the arches on the fries bag at McDonald’s? A consistent image and representation of your company builds trust and recognition in your clients. So put your image out there, in a positive way, positive vibes, colours, shapes, etc.

Insist on designing a logo that would not depend on colour so much as on its shape. If you can tell what the logo looks like and represents, then you’ve got a good logo, if not get re-branded. Branding is that consistent image of your business, and it does start with a successful logo.