Simply put you have to have something to say. You have to either have information people are searching for or at least a marketing message that you want to make clear.
Your viewers can't read your mind - nor can they always imagine what you are saying. So you need to have pictures and graphics that illustrate your message clearly.
Finally you have to understand the technical complexities of the web and how they effect your website and its success. There is no point in having a site that can not be used.
1. I come to your business (if appropriate) and discuss your needs.
2. Together we determine subjects to be covered in your website eg: products, services, about etc.
3. I will quote you a price at this stage. If acceptable then:
4. We choose and register a domain (your .com or .ca).
5. We set a day to create your site.
6. 50% of the agreed upon price is due now.
1. I will arrive at your business on the appointed day having done my homework to ensure that I know what your competitors are doing.
2. Depending on the subject* I may have written general information to be included in the site.
3. I will use web modelling software to create in real time the structure of the site.
I will take pictures in and around your business (if applicable) or search for available stock photography.
4. I will create the site model based on the preceeding and present it to you on the spot for approval.
5. Once approved I will go back to my office to start production.
Over the next few days I will work on the model that I presented to you creating a working online site that meets industry standards and metrics.
As site design is pre-approved I will make the site live on my server.
At this point you can view your site online using various devices, your laptop, your smartphone, a tablet etc to better see how your content responds to different hardware.
This is your final chance to make a few changes if necessary and you are online live!
Final payment of the initial agreed amount is due now.
1. Determine which sections are subject to regular change.
2. Add a control panel with options to make such changes.
1. If you anticipate regular changes sign up for a monthly plan.
2. If you will make occasional changes these can be ordered on an as-needed basis at $29 per hour.
DOMAIN REGISTRATION
When asking "What's in a Name" if that name is the domain name that you will be developing and promoting for the rest of your business life, quite a bit and your choice now is important for the future. Your choice of domain name should take into consideration:
a) choosing a domain name that includes keywords or a keyphrase that reflects your business and the type of internet search that you wish to be found under or alternatively your company name if it is widely know and would likely be the subject of searches. The later is particulary relevant if you are part of a larger entity such as a franchise.
b) the possibility of trademark infingement. Avoid using a name that is part of another company's trading name even if they havent registered it as a domain. Also be sure that in the case of using trademarked names or slogans that you are entitled to use them. Failure to observe these basic legal limitations can result in unwanted litigation and ultimate loss of your online identity.
c) memorability which is most likely to work best for you if the name you choose is short and relevant. Consider using TLDs other than .com - if the name you have in mind is taken as a .com it may be available as a .biz. More companies are taking all versions of a name when they find one they want so this is not always an option. However remember that .com is still the best known TLD.
d) the use of a Canadian registration, .CA if you wish to associate your company and product with Canada. This can be used for some purposes where there is a nationalistic focus, but may not be advisable when your site is aimed at an international audience.
WEBSITE HOSTING
Every website needs to be hosted. A web server (or host) is a computer, some especially designed for the purpose, others very similar to your desktop computer, that is connected to the internet and runs 24/7. These computers usually reside within datacentres which are large complexes located in areas throughout the world where there are multiple or redundant connections to the main backbone lines of the internet. Datacentres are built where several of these large internet backbones intersect, thus if one internet route becomes inoperable there are alternative ways to continue moving data in and out. What this means to you is that your website remains available to the world. Datacentres also employ other features to ensure that your webserver and therefore your website remain operational including climate control, security and power generation and backup for use during power outages.
Most web hosting companies co-locate their servers to datacentres and our server is located in a datacentre in Montreal. There is a staff on hand at these locations to swap out and physically repair servers that develop problems. Most web hosts will "guarantee" 99.9% uptime. The primary difference between hosting with any of the larger web hosts and having your web site hosted with us is that we host only our own web design clients. We have a few hundred client's sites on our server while most web hosts have thousands. This means that you have greater server resources available to your site and this means faster loading times. If your website doesn't load fast many visitors will simply leave. Additionally although we do use cPanel and can supply cPanel to those customers who are comfortable doing some of their own configuration, we generally keep a closer control on what happens on our server. By hosting with your webmaster and web designer you are creating a seamless support network, ie. you can call us for any and all your web related issues.
Web hosting plans are usually built into the cost and fees associated with your website. Our plans all feature:
Unlimited disk/storage space
Unlimited data transfer
Unlimited email addresses, autoresponders, email forwarding etc
Unlimited FTP accounts and online file manager
Regular backups
Logs and statistics
Full security
Unlimited Databases
SEO/SEM
It is pointless to have a website that no one ever visits. While high ranking on search engines is not a priority for some businesses due to the local nature of their business and the fact that they are well known and would be searched for by name, for at least 50% of all companies having their website rank high on search engines such as (and especially) Google can be make-or-break for their business.
SEO stands for "Search Engine Optimization" and it can be divided into 2 distinct parts. The first aspect of SEO is performed onsite. When a site is first developed it is usually written entirely for those people we imagine will be the site's visitors ie your clients and customers. Later when we are re-writing for the purposes of SEO we write copy based on relevant keywords. We first determine those keywords that you believe will bring potential buyers to your site. There are a number of online tools to help us determine those keywords that are both relevant and often searched. We use these keywords in the new revised text of our website, attempting to integrate the words in various forms while still keeping the integrity of the message. That is why SEO requires the use of skilled copyrighters.
The second and equally important aspect of SEO is the creation of link campaigns to bring links into (or leading to) your website. Not only can these bring traffic but they are used by most search engines almost as "votes" for your site. In general the more relevant (and I stress relevant) links that are incoming to your site, the higher your site is likely to rank in your desired searches, providing you do not fall into the many traps that can lead your site to becoming blacklisted. That is where experienced SEO technicians come into play. We get you links in "good neighbourhoods" so that you don't get a bad online reputation with search providers.
A third area of SEO that is becoming more important is social media. This can include Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites as well as bookmarking sites like Digg and Del.icio.us. Google has launched its own social media site and this is likely to become important considering it is part of the largest and most popular search engine.
In addition to SEO we offer SEM or "Search Engine Marketing" services that make use of the pay-per-click programs offered most notably by Google through their AdWords program but also by Facebook and other major search engines and social media sites. These programs are designed to target your audience and tweak your message to suit the viewer and his/her interest. A primary advantage of this type of advertsing is that unlike newspapers, radio and TV you pay only when a viewer clicks on your link and visits your website. This is the only type of advertising I know where you pay only for success.
How you spend your internet advertising and development dollars is important. We can assist you in a number of ways to apportion your budget and strike a balance between building your site reputation and ranking including reciprocal and one-way link campaigns, on-site optimization and social media management which is a long-term investment in your sites value with pay-per-click and other SEM opportunities which are more immediate. Give us a call and setup a meeting and we will be happy to go over your site and make recommendations.
UPDATING YOUR WEBSITE!
It is important to keep the content of your website new and relevant. Stale, dedundant content and information will not create interest with your viewers and search engines do not index sites regularly if they find that nothing changes.
We provide change for your website in terms of fresh content using information gleaned through researching what's new in your industry, by you telling us what is new in your business and by re-aranging and refreshing the appearance of your content. Depending on your business this can be a once a month process, 2 or 3 times a year or perhaps just once every year. Whatever schedule of updating is decided it should be maintained and the "who, what, when" should form a part of your online business policy.
We can provide the mechanics of change for you ie. we will make all the changes as suggested by you alone or a combination of your input and regular updating of content through research on your subject or we can provide programming in the original website development that allows you to update and change information yourself.
WEB DESIGN
Your website must meet the expectations and needs of those who are or would be your customers and clients. Further your website should meet at least the basic requirements for indexing and ranking with the major search engines.
What is a website?
A website is a collection of computer files that include text descriptions of your business and what you do (what you want to say) as well as scripts and markup language that are used by your computer to interpret how you want the information displayed on the visitor's screen and graphic and picture files that contain the photographs you want to display plus all the peripheral graphics that make the website appealing. These files are then uploaded to a web server, which is a computer that is attached to the internet and operated 24/7 thus giving the world access to these files. Lastly in order to make finding your website easier there is a domain name program eg: peiwebdesign.com, that means that rather than having to remember a series of numbers called an IP address eg 234.45.76.142, you can create a user-friendly name in any of the top level domain registries such as .com, .net, .org etc and these registries forward visitors to your site ie they list your domain name against your IP address and seamlessly redirect visitors.
It is the job of your web designer to help you find a design that you like, using the information on your business that you supply create the copy that will become the content of your site and the message to your visitors as well as integrate both client supplied photography and stock photography to create a pleasing and appealing website that people will want to visit. Additionally your web developer will integrate third-party programs for specific functionality eg. Paypal, if you are wish to take credit card payments online, or to create such programming if it is not otherwise available.
In this way your web developer creates a site that is pleasing to view, easy to use and navigate, full of relevant useful information, as well as functional.
Just drop the blocks into the page, edit content inline and publish - no technical skills required.
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