These days, trying to conduct business without a website is like trying to conduct business without a phone. Your website reflects who you are just like your company brochure, your business cards and your letterhead, But unlike your brochure, business cards and letterhead, your website can be updated easily and quickly at minimal cost. But by far, the biggest impact a website can have is its ability to make your products and services known to a much wider audience, both nationally and internationally at a fraction of the cost of distribution of brochures, business cards and listings in telephone directories — a significant return on your investment in developing your website. (Top)
In a study conducted recently by the National
Telecommunications and Information, U.S. Department of Congress,
(to see the whole report, click
here.) statistics showed that "online users are connecting
to the Internet in large numbers to search for information, whether
it is product/services, health, or government services." The use
of the Internet to buy products or services is reported as being
"fairly strong and growing."
This is a chart showing Internet usage in the United States, taken from the study. Click on the graphic for an enlarged version. 
A website provides you with a great opportunity for making an effective, lasting impression on your potential customers. And for providing excellent customer service, no matter what medium you're using to interact with your customers. For an example of a customer interaction online, click here. (Top)
We can discuss various levels of website development, starting off perhaps with what I call a "brochure website" and gradually (as time and money permit), growing your website. Or we can develop the whole website and make it very customized to your business and customers.
The first thing you can do while you're in the thinking stage about a website, would be to go online and search for websites of companies which are very similar to yours. Make yourself a chart or use this one and mark down what you like and don't like about each website.
Think about your experience while visiting each website. How would you like your website visitors to feel while they are visiting your website? Think about your customers and potential customers. Who are they? How might they use your website? Are they used to using the Internet? What would you like them to be able to do at your website? When you've got a pretty good idea of what you would like to do, give me a call and let's talk. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have after you've done this initial thinking and research.
Click here for my price list. (Top)
You've taken the first step -- reviewing this website. I mentioned another step - checking out websites of companies in the same business as yours. In addition, review any marketing materials (brochures, business cards, advertizing, yellow page listings etc.)that you may already have. If you're happy with those materials, they will serve as reference items in building your website.
If you're just starting your business and don't have these kinds of materials, you may want to spend some time reading a very helpful marketing manual available at this website (http://www.actionplan.com) from Robert Middleton.
And of course, you can give me a call or email me and we can talk about how to get started. I've created a document which contains the kinds of questions I would ask you either on the phone or when we meet. You can work on this on your own or we can do this together.
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Of course, you can design your own website. If you have the types of skills required to do this, you may find it a very exciting and creative process. Most people who aren't professional website developers, use what are known as WYSIWYG products such as FRONTPAGE. You will find it necessary to know how to use products like PHOTOSHOP to develop graphics for use on the web. You should have a good understanding of what works in which browsers. You may also find it very helpful -- even if you're using FRONTPAGE -- to know some HTML and CSS.
I would be happy to consult with you about this process and what would be involved. If you would like to learn about website design and development, I can provide one-on-one training. Give me a call and let's talk about it.
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This is a very important question. In the early days of the Internet, this wasn't much of a problem. You put up a website, registered it with one of the 2 or 3 Search Engines and someone searching for your product, would find you. That's not the case today. There are billions of websites, and almost that many search engines. It requires a great deal of effort to be found.
So what can we do? Together we will identify keywords and summary statements which will be coded into your website so your site will be found by Search Engines. We'll register your site with Search Engines and in the appropriate directories. But in addition to what we can do on the Internet to get the word out about your site, you should consider developing a promotion plan. Check out my Resources section for some helpful websites and books on marketing on the web and search engine strategies and information.
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Why do people develop websites? The reasons are as varied as there are people. They may feel pressured to have a website, simply because everyone else in their business has one. They may want to attract larger audiences. They may have information that they want to provide to potential customers. They may understand how useful a website can be in marketing their products/services.
Whatever your reason, you must be very clear about what you hope to accomplish with your website. You must be able to clearly articulate your expectations of your website. You must also understand the level of commitment required of you - both time and financial.
I've found in working with some of my clients, that this process has a side benefit. In thinking through why they want a website and what they expect from a website, they often find themselves redefining or defining for the first time, what their business is all about, who their real customer is and what products and services they actually provide. This would never become a spoken reason for developing a website, but it certainly can be a significant outcome of all the effort required in putting together a website which will attract new customers, keep old customers, and make money.
To read about the benefits of having a website, click here
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We'll meet to discuss your business, your customers/clients, what you would like your website to look like, look at any graphics etc. that you already have, discuss your budget and your timeframe.
Prototype
I'll develop a prototype, If I'm doing a custom website, I'll present 3 designs for your review. You will be able to access the prototype from your computer. We will then meet again or talk over the phone. When the design is set, we'll begin phase 1 of the production stage.
Production
Phase 1: Detail Design
We will develop the website structure and navigation based on your content,
develop keywords and short page descriptions. We'll be talking quite a bit during
this phase. At this point we will lock in the final design and structure of the
website.
Phase 2: Programming
During this phase, I'll make sections of your website available so you can review it for functionality.
Testing
Phase 1: Test on Argonauta website
I will make the entire website available from Argonauta for testing. The testing will be done by you and any other people who represent your target audience. Any problems with the functionality will be corrected at this time.
Phase 2: Deploy to your ISP and test
The testing will be done by you and any other people who represent your target audience. Any problems with the functionality will be corrected at this time. This is also where we will make sure that the website functions in major browsers.
Go Live
This is when your site is complete and ready for your site vistors. At this point,
I wil recommend someone who can help you begin tosubmit your website to search
engines and appropriate directories so people can find you on the Internet.
Maintenance
This involves any minor changes to your website content, registering on additional search engines,and adding links.
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The answer to this question is "It depends." And what does it depend on? Primarily it depends on how complex your site will be. And how much customization you want.
To give you an estimate: if we use an Argonauta template (which is a set of pages that I've designed which includes graphics, buttons etc.) and we just plug in your content (which we have already written in a format which matches the template) it should only take us about 40 hours. It will take more time if we have to do any customization i.e. add a page, work on the content etc. To develop a totally customized website with custom graphics, navigation etc. would take us about 1 month.
Once we've talked and determined what you're looking for, we will have a better idea of how long everything will take. .
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