Your business is in the market for a new website, you can’t be taken seriously without one these days and you want it online yesterday. Let’s get it online!!! Woaah there Speedy Gonzales, not so fast – there are a few important points you owe yourself the time to think about first. After all, your website is a business investment, so it’s a good idea to plan carefully.

If you are anything like me, you expect quality results out of your new website.  It’s important to do some groundwork before you reach out to a professional, and I hope these questions are useful to you:

1. What is the primary goal for your website?
   Please don’t say: “To have a website.” When you break it down to brass tacks, most anyone you ask wants to increase their online sales, increase online leads for their services, or to enhance their brand. These are all good reasons but still fairly generic. Your goal(s) for your website should be very specific to your business. Consider Frank, the local Italian tailor who wants to use his website to educate his audience about the caliber of quality he puts into his service, and also to bring more clientele to his store front.  It can't hurt to quantify your goals into some kind of numbers or benchmarks. Which brings me to #2.
    
2. Are your goals realistic? 
   How will you achieve $$$ (insert your favorite # here) sales in the first month your website is online? Even the most attractive, most well architected website will be lucky if it receives a trickle of traffic once it is online, without any additional effort. If no one knows about it, no one will visit your website. On the other hand, if you (or you and a consultant) do your research and execute a well planned online marketing campaign with reasonable goals, yes you can make it happen. But keep in mind if you want a slew of traffic overnight, you better be extremely popular already, be prepared to pay for it, or be prepared to be disappointed! Growth of quality, long term online traffic takes time and effort to build, but it is well worth it.
   
   
3. What are you willing to pay?
   Everyone has a different number they are comfortable with and you should know what yours is before you talk to a professional. It’s also important to know that every professional is going to give you a different number figure for the cost of your new website. It doesn't mean that one is right and one is wrong, because there are an unlimited number of styles & approaches to designing and building websites. Which brings me back to: It’s important to know your budget first. And the adage “you get what you pay for” holds true in web design and online marketing, just like in every other industry - but with the footnote that you better also hire a web designer for quality, reputation and best fit, not cost alone.
    
4. Do you know your competition?
   If you are a brick & mortar local business, you are now also competing online – your understanding of this is extremely important to your website’s, and in turn your business’ success. This goes double for online only businesses. Knowing your online competition is extremely important. Find out who they are. Get to know their websites. This means the pages, their messages, their voice, their selling points, etc. You get the idea. I can’t stress how important this is, not because I want you to copy their websites, but because you need to know what you are up against and where you stand.

There are a lot of factors to consider when purchasing a new website and a good web consultant will be able to guide the way with solid advice and recommendations, but it’s up to you to do some groundwork first. Don’t forget to have fun with it!

Wishing you the best in Online Success.

You may have spent a lot of time debating whether to hire a professional web designer or create your website in-house. The choices you make now about how you execute your website will impact the success of your online business and how your business is perceived online for the coming months to the next few years.

Here are the top 5 reasons why you should hire an expert:

1. Your business needs to be presented professionally.
   You care about the quality of your products or services and your relationship with your customers. That should come across in in all your communications with your customers from your phone conversation to your web design.
   
   
2. You want to position yourself above the competition.
   Your online presentation will make the difference in how you are perceived in comparison to your competition.  Your audience needs to understand why you are unique and it should be apparent in your messaging as well as your web design.
    
3. You don't have the time to learn web design yourself.
   You may save money creating your own website, but it is going to take you a lot of time to research and execute a quality website, and time is money. You may also consider hiring a student or entry level employee to work on your website full time, but paying for someone to learn on the job will cost you more in the long run.
    
4. Your website is integral to the success of your business.
   If you plan on a large percentage of your business originating from your website, then it's logical this is not something your should skimp on.
    
5. You are allocating a portion of your marketing budget towards your website. 
   Reinvesting into your business can pay off many times in the long run. If you plan to increase your sales through your website, you should plan ahead and allocate a portion of your marketing budget for a professional website design.