The Idea Girl Website Design

Taking on the Responsibility

Written by Administrator
Monday, 26 July 2010 13:30
I just finished writing to a potential client about designing their website and began thinking about making the process a little easier for new clients. Then, I changed my mind. Having a website means you have a certain amount of responsibility toward that website. For instance it is not like hiring someone to paint your house. That job is out of your hands. You call a house painter and pay them. They come and do what is necessary to get the job done. Not so with a website. You wouldn't hire someone to come in and take over your entire business, make all the decisions, purchase whatever they want and leave them alone without overseeing their work would you? Some web designers will promise to do just that. They will take care of all aspects of your website and just send you a bill. While that service may sound good to those of you who have a busy schedule it can be very detrimental to your business. I will help you in any way you need help but some things should be left up to the business owner. #1 - Securing your own domain name. This is not a difficult process and should be managed by the business owner or an authorized representative of the business owner. Why? Because on many, many occasions new clients have come to me needing a new website because their former web designer either went out of business, doesn't do updates, etc.. and the business owner is left not knowing where their domain name is registered, what the user names and passwords are, etc.. Therefore they have NO ACCESS to their own domain name without begging the former web designer for that information. This can prove to be VERY problematic. The former web designer could keep your domain name, sell it, or basically do whatever they want to with YOUR DOMAIN because THEY have all the access! A domain name is not like a business name. You don't have to prove you are the business owner to get the name nor register it with your state government. ANYONE can purchase ANY DOMAIN name they want. I could purchase a domain called www.mindysflowersandbows.com even if I do not own the business and there isn't anything the actual business owner can do about it. In some cases web designers will charge you much more for your domain than it actually costs. A domain name should not cost you more than $12 per YEAR. You never OWN your domain name you are simply renting it from a domain registrar. So, register your own domain name into YOUR OWN business name or your name and register it for a few years so you don't forget to renew it and potentially loose it. KEEP your usernames and passwords in a safe place so you don't loose them. VERY IMPORTANT!! - Many of my clients choose to use their ISP (Internet Service Provider) email. BAD IDEA. If your email is [ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ] DON'T use it to register your domain name. CREATE an online email account and use that. Why? Because sometimes companies change their names. IE: Alltel - windstream. OR You may decide to change your ISP later on. Then, you are stuck changing everything associated with your ISP email address. I recommend using gmail. It's free and reliable. Then, when your website is up and running use your DOMAIN EMAIL for advertising. IE: [ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ] Why? - Because people will remember it better... Your business cards and letterhead and any other print materials will look more professional and you will always be able to monitor that email as long as you have your domain. People don't like seeing [ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ] or [ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ]. They want to know you have your act together and having a domain email shows them you are not only more professional but more knowledgeable when it comes to online business marketing. #2 - BE ACTIVE in the creation, maintenance and updating of your own website. Sure most of my clients ask me to update their sales, pricing, etc.. but you really need to think about what your website is doing for your business and change it up as often as possible. New and innovative online marketing methods are being created every day. If you are a good business owner you stay on top of new products, ideas and marketing in your physical business. You need to do the same with your website! Sticking up a website and hoping for the best is like putting your business cards in a Laundromat and hoping someone will pick them up and call you. #3 - CHECK YOUR EMAIL! Really? I need to tell you to check your email? If this is the case you probably shouldn't be thinking about having a website because it won't do your business any good. Customers have questions all day, every day. You need to respond to those questions in a timely manner. Don't wait for a week then send them a response. Set up an AUTO RESPONDER so they at LEAST get something from you immediately. Then, when you check your email you can get back to them with the answers they requested. If you do not have an auto-responder in place ask me about setting one up for you. You can use an auto-responder to promote sales and discounts too! Why not use it for marketing as well as immediate email response. Q: How often should you check your email? A: As often as you can but at least 2 times per day. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Q: What if I don't know the answer to a customer question right away? A: Email them and let them know you are on top of it and will get them the answer as soon as you can. Email them daily until you DO have the answer. Q: A customer emailed me last week but I missed it because it got dumped into my SPAM FOLDER. What should I do? A: This is a common occurrence. You need to go through your JUNK and SPAM folders each time you check your email. I know it is a pain but it beats missing out on a sale because you didn't take the time to check. IF YOU DON'T HAVE A WELL DESIGNED, UP-TO-DATE WEBSITE YOU ARE LOOSING BUSINESS HOURLY! Don't believe me? Do some research on your own and give me a call. WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR WEBSITE TO DO FOR YOU? is the question you need to ask and then act on it. Give me a call and we can discuss what to add, change, remove, etc.. to make your website work better for your business.
Last Updated ( Monday, 26 July 2010 21:03 )

Social Networking Automation

For those of you who have not heard about the massive marketing upswing using the social networking and social media websites you are being left behind in the SEO race.

If you are going to seriously market your business on the WWW your marketing efforts need to change with the times. Social networking websites like Twitter and Facebook, social media websites like Youtube and Google video are currently the most effective way to boost your website traffic and user loyalty. People WANT to know what you and your business is up to. A lot of my clients are still not updating their websites as often as they should. Lately I have been pushing my top two website packages simply because it gives my clients an easy to use interface to update their own websites. IF YOU CAN WRITE AND SEND AND EMAIL YOU CAN UPDATE YOUR OWN (theideagirl) WEBSITE.

There are no excuses anymore. By updating your own website you not only save money but you can stay on top of things quicker. I am fast and website updates usually only take me a few minutes but imagine updating your own website in your OWN TIME. IE: when the kids go to bed.. or over morning coffee.

Taking 10 minutes 3 times a week to add a little something to your website will keep customers coming back to see whats new can mean a huge increase in sales! More traffic usually equals more sales.

Business owners with aggressive marketing plans spend thousands of dollars on print marketing, phone book marketing, etc. in hopes of becoming more recognizable to the public. The "public" includes and is being DOMINATED by online shoppers. If you do not have a decent online presence for your business you WILL be left out in the cold no matter how many brochures you send out.

If you would like to UPGRADE your website package or simply need a NEW WEBSITE to keep up with the ever changing marketing trends contact me. I will be happy to talk about what would be the best way to accomplish YOUR GOALS. There are several new ADD-ON components I will be offering soon. Keep checking back.

Should You Hire Me? & A word about WEBSITE DESIGN

I have been doing extra advertising recently because there are just TOO MANY Pennsylvania businesses that STILL do not have a website. Since my car is often on the road I put up a car sign. Incidentally this is a great way to promote your own website! You can get one from vistaprint.com

While I welcome ANY and ALL critiques of my work when contacting me please remember to list your name, telephone and / or email and business. If you have the extra time to critique my work I will make time to do the same for you.

Here is a comment I received recently:

"Nice car. Your webby isn't the greatest. Might invest in better graphic design software. Or perhaps invest in some proper design education. Using paint isn't really what paying customers expect."

Some may think I am crazy to put such a negative comment on my website but let me explain why.

"Your webby isn't the greatest." Hiring a website designer is like hiring a home decorator or wedding planner. You have to find the right one for your taste.

Shop around and see WHO is the best fit for you. Look at my gallery of work.. I may not have produced any designs you like. That is OK. I treat each client as an individual. I take your ideas and try to create something you will like but most importantly I try to create designs your customers will USE and keep using in the best way I know how to bring your company more business from the Internet. If I am not the best "fit" for your company DON'T GIVE UP! Try someone else.

I make a living doing what I do but would rather you HAVE a website you love than none at all.

You DO NOT need to hire locally. I have been designing websites for 13+ years and have never met most of my clients face-to-face. We get things done via phone, fax, email and IM.

"Might invest in better graphic design software." - I use a variety of programs to create my designs. I start with Corel 12 or Adobe Photoshop which are graphics design programs, slice it up with paint and hand code most of the rest. IE:html, JavaScript, CSS, php, asp, etc..

There are designers out there who simply put up pictures and call it a website but I am not one of them.

Your website needs to be functional, Search Engine friendly and user friendly. A website has many layers and a website design professional will make sure all of them work in harmony. You as a business owner will probably not know what goes into creating a good website so ASK your designer what they will do to make sure your website is the best it can be. Take that information and GOOGLE it to find out if they are knowledgeable.

Or perhaps invest in some proper design education. - I do have a BFA but do not pretend to be the very BEST designer out there. This is the main reason I offer FREE MOCKUP DESIGN. You can SEE what I can do before you decide to use my services. If my designs do not please you then you can go to someone else without spending the money. I want your business but ultimately want you to be happy spending the money.

Whoever you choose to hire as your designer, make sure they do the same. Several clients of mine have spent hundreds sometimes thousands of dollars on a website then never got anything from the company they hired. BEWARE. If you are shelling out money up front GET A CONTRACT and have your lawyer look it over first!

As mentioned above.. you need to find who works best for YOU. It's YOUR business.I will do everything I can to make sure you are completely happy with your website and that your website will work FOR you when it is made live.

GETTING NOTICED -

Most of my websites will have first page rank on the major search engines within 20 days which is almost unheard of. I do not guarantee placement on the search engines but will do everything I know how to do to make sure your site gets noticed! Customers need to be able to FIND your website online for it to do you any good.

WHAT?!@#!

Most frequently used excuses for NOT having a professional website: (The following is a little bit of tough love from The Idea Girl. It may sound mean but please keep in mind that I am only trying to HELP you and your business. When you are ready to see what I can do for your website please complete my website design questionnaire and I will create a mockup completely free of charge and without obligation.)

#1 - My daughter-in-law does it and it looks just great. This one I get a LOT! Oh it might not be your daughter-in-law, son-in-law, or your uncles friend at work who knows a guy who did your website but something like it.

Time for some tough love from The Idea Girl. Yes, I am in the business of building websites for a living but I also CARE about how that website will improve your business. If I didn't my business would not survive and I would have to resort to selling newspapers on a street corner.

PLEASE take a moment and look at your existing website.

Compare it to others in your field.
Think about how much business you are getting from it. I have been to websites which had a counter that read 452 visitors and the site was built in 2006! I get that much traffic to one site in 2 days!
Does it represent you and your company well or does it look like a train wreck? I have spoken to lots of people who are either blind or just don't care about how their website reflects their business. It baffles me. Do they really think it looks good or are they copping out due to other circumstances? Is it Money? They just can't be bothered? They have too much business as it is? Whatever the excuse is I URGE you to evaluate it and reconsider having your website designed by a professional. No one can afford to have a website that looks as if a third grader did it in their IT class and today if you do not have a professional website your business may as well not even exist. You are loosing clients and customers by the masses.

#2 - My business is mostly word of mouth and we've done well without a website so far.

Beware people. Very soon if it hasn't happened already you will be loosing your client base to the competition. People don't last forever and the new generation are almost ALL shopping or looking online for their next purchase. Do you really want to loose out to your competitor or WORSE loose out to a large company? SAVE THE MOM & POP BUSINESSES and get with the program.

#3 - I can't afford a website right now.

If you cannot afford $350 for a professionally designed brochure type website your business is in more serious trouble than you think. Hosting and domain name registration per year is about $80. That's it!

#4 - I already have a website. BUT THE WEBSITE IS NON EXISTENT and business owners don't even know it! If you think you already have a website do me a favor and just check in on it to see if you actually do have one. Then refer to #1.

Drop me an email and I will look at your website and give you a FREE evaluation. Every website could use some improvement but I will not try to talk you into anything you don't really need.