Simplify the Web

So, you have a business and/or idea and you need a website to get up and running in the technical world! That's great, but there are some things that have probably come to mind that you need answers to...one that we almost always get from clients when we first talk with them: How does this thing work? Where do we start?

We start with some simple questions that you should ask yourself when working on a site and it will help to lead your site through the design and improvement phases. Knowing the answers to these quesitons will help you to feel more prepared when working with someone who is designing your site and not feel like you don't have control over the situation.

1. What do you want your site to do for you?
Websites are ultimately a tool. Each tool has a purpose and each tool will do something for you...and yes, for those that have hit your fingers with a hammer while hammering a nail; each tool can hurt you if you don't know what you're doing. Designers and developers don't expect you to know how to make a site, that's why they do what they do. However; it's a good idea to know what you want your website to do for you, or you may get a site that looks nice but doesn't add to the presence of your company online.

A couple good things to think about are:

• Do you want leads from the site?
• Do you want to sell on the site?
• Do you just want your site to legitimize who you are?

2. Who's your demographic?
Another way to say this is who is your perfect customer? If you had a customer walk up to you looking for your services, what would they need to know or have to be perfect for you? The advantages to the web is that you tend to get away from the standard demographics that traditional media types have, like race, age, etc.

You should know who you are looking for. Knowing who you are looking for and what you want your site to do for you will help to keep control of the situation of your site development and help to make sure you get what you are looking for not and a So-So site.

3.What's your marketing plan?
Let's face it; as much as we would love to tell you that Internet is the way to go...that's not always the case. Analyzing what your marketing has been like in the past, and taking in suggestions from others in your market may help you to see if building a site and then spending thousand of dollars in online marketing is worth it.

Many people run out and get a google adwords campaign the moment they get a site up. You should step back and see if your site is ready for that. Sure, you could probably spend a lot of money and get a lot of traffic; however, if you don't have a clear call to action on the landing pages then the effort to drive traffic to your site would be a waste, as no one would know what to do on that page.

Step back assess the situation; are you trying to reach a target market of people that may not be technically inclined; then perhaps mailers and direct email marketing would work fo you better than link building on technical websites that they wouldn't know how to get to.

In conclusion:
Ultimately it is your call and your site. Don't feel like you're turning your site and online presence over to someone who knows how to make a site. They may know how to make a site, but you know how to reach your clientele and should have a strategy going into things. Take a few minutes answer some of the questions above and you will be miles ahead of your competition!