Every business owner knows that to be competitive in today’s market place they must have a website, regardless of how large or small their business. When consumers begin the buying process, the first stop they make is the internet. Consumers spend time online, researching the products or services that they are interested in purchasing long before they ever make the purchase. If you want to make that sale, you need to be the online source for the information the consumer is seeking.
Who Uses the Internet?
In several recent studies conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, they found some very interesting and important facts about how Americans are using the Internet.
- More than 75 percent of US adults use the internet on a regular basis.
- 81 percent of internet users use the internet to do research about a product or service they are thinking of purchasing.
- Fully 79 percent of internet users are confident that they will make the right purchasing decision as a result of the information they gathered online.
- 68 percent are eager to share their new knowledge with others.
- 82 percent of internet users now turn first to the internet to locate telephone numbers and away from the traditional Yellow Pages.
In short, most Americans now use the Internet on a daily basis to find what they need. If you don’t have a website that customers can find and that provides them with the information they are looking for, you’ll be trying to grow your business in the 21st century with 20th century tools. That’s like digging a trench with a shovel instead of a backhoe! You have to keep pace with the competition and a good, optimized website is the equivalent of your online backhoe.
So How Does a Business Owner Develop a Successful Internet Presence?
The first step is research. You are not an expert in web design, so begin by asking other business owners who have been through the web design process. Next, go to the website of the web design firms they recommended and examine their portfolio. Do they have a portfolio? Any reputable firm will list many of their recent projects with links to the finished sites. 123webconnect lists many of our completed projects online and encourage you to visit them.
Choose two or three of these finished sites and actually call them. Find out if they were satisfied with their experience. Was the development firm easy to work with? Did the firm return their telephone calls in a timely manner? Did the firm answer all of their questions or were they evasive? Did the firm have their customer’s interests at heart or their own? Would they hire them again?
Will Your Website be Unique or Will it be a Template?
Another major factor when deciding which web development firm to hire is the type of website they will be creating for you. Will it be a completely unique website or will it be site built from a generic template? A unique design is a website created from the ground up. A template website is one where your information is just plugged into an existing design. 123webconnect never uses premade templates. Every website we develop is a unique, one of a kind site. Our clients expect a professional website and that’s what we provide!
Search Engine Rankings
Most web development firms never give any thought to how the search engines will rank your web pages. Always ask a potential web development firm if they build sites with an eye toward Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Is your website going to be search engine friendly? Ongoing SEO can be a daunting and expensive task. It’s best to start working toward a high search engine ranking from the very beginning of the design process. 123webconnect always creates websites with an eye towards SEO. When we create a new website, it is made as search engine friendly as possible; SEO is a core element in our initial site construction and is part of our site building package. There are no additional fees for SEO with our design packages. Keeping your site on the front pages of the major search engines is an ongoing process and we have ongoing SEO services available at sensible rates.
What About Changes after Your Website is Published?
Ask prospective site builders if minor changes can be made to your new site within the first 90 days of publication – without charge. When our firm develops a website, we always provide for minor changes during the first 90 days. The reason we do this is simple, it is not uncommon for new sites to need minor changes in the beginning. I don’t mean removing an entire page and recreating it again, but simple changes, such as a tweaking a sentence here and there or replacing an old picture with a new one. These are minor changes and 123webconnect never charges extra to perform these changes within the first 90 days.
How Much Will All of This Cost?
Don’t expect to get something for nothing. If someone tells you they will develop a five page website for $299, run for the hills! A five page HTML website from a reputable firm should cost between $1000 and $2000 for a typical “brochure” site. Our fee for a five page website is generally $1000 – $1500 and that includes the first year of web hosting and up to 25 email boxes!
What about Payment?
Never pay for the full project up front. Reputable firms don’t insist on full payment before even beginning the project. You should expect to pay half when the project begins and the balance when the website is published. When 123webconnect takes on a new project, this is exactly how we work. If the project is large, the payment schedule is 1/3 when the project begins, 1/3 on proof and the balance at publication.
Conclusion
Choosing the right web development firm can seem like a difficult task, but if you follow these recommendations you will be able to find a reliable and professional web developer who is easy to work with and has your best interest at heart.
123webconnect would be happy to answer any questions you have about building your business through a professional web presence. You may contact us at info@123webconnect.com or call 1-845-877-0559 during normal business hours. There are no charges for an initial consultation.
Tags: web developer