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(originally published in The
Jerusalem Post, September 2003)
Dollars & Sense: Investing in an Effective Web Site
Although you know you need a Web site for your company,
the economy stinks and funds are tight. Really tight.
So I'm going to advise you to do something that may seem
illogical: spend money.
Use a qualified, experienced pro to design your business
site; this will immediately save you time and effort. More
importantly, in the not-so-long run it's also going to save
you money. An effective site pays for itself within a very
short time, even if it costs more upfront. A poorly-designed
one will simply eat up your money, and then virtually die.
One example: A site I proposed for a Jerusalem orthodontist
was more expensive than other bids. But shortly after launch,
the completed site already had good rankings in search engines.
And visitors directed to the site were greeted with credible,
easy-to-navigate. The result? Within weeks of getting online,
the clinic acquired a new patient -- who found out about
it only because its site ranked well on Google. It doesn't
take many new patients to completely reimburse the owners
for the cost of their site; and then the site continues to
work "for free".
Be aware that, willy-nilly, a site powerfully brands its
organization or company. Sites that look amateur send a clear
message: "This company, which can't afford professional
design, has serious cash-flow issues." Probably not
the image you're trying to project to potential customers,
clients or members.
For a credible site that will quickly "earn its keep",
contract an experienced designer with a good portfolio and
impeccable references. Make sure that the designer is proficient
in:
- Optimization for good ranking in search engines
- Accessibility for a wide variety of browsers and computers
- Branding
- Site promotion, and, if required
- Logo design (for print as well as Web applications)
Also, ask the references about their experience with the
designer's development process. Was it:
- Efficient?
- Pleasant?
- Completed on schedule and within the proposed budget?
- Did the designer offer constructive advice about aspects
that might not have been originally considered?
A designer who meets all these qualifications will not have
bargain-basement prices. So what? An effective site is among
the most cost-effective methods of business promotion. Compare
the price to that of print ads, Yellow Pages listings, or
a direct-mail campaign. A quality site can accomplish far
more over a longer period of time while reaching a much wider
sector of your target audience.
Also, calculate how much a hard-working site can immediately
save you in terms of wasted expenditures and time. Do you
constantly field phone calls requesting the same basic information?
Put this info online. Do you mail out reams of documents?
Think of the savings on printing, postage and time that could
be obtained by offering these as downloads from your site.
What about site maintenance? Should you try to economize
there by doing updates yourself? Well, let me offer an analogy:
I'm probably capable of doing routine car tune-ups by myself.
I have access to Auto Depot, and am not mentally or physically
handicapped. So why do I contract a mechanic to do the work?
Laziness? Fear of getting STP oil in my hair? I have too
much money and want to waste some?
No. I delegate this work -- to a qualified, experienced
professional -- because doing so saves me time and money.
He completes the work in a fraction of the amount of time,
due to his experience and state-of-the-art equipment and
space. Even more importantly, while he attends to routine
matters he also trouble-shoots.
Example: During the last tune-up, he noticed an electronic
problem that would have prevented the airbag in the passenger
seat from inflating on impact. I would not have identified
this problem myself, and certainly wouldn't have been able
to solve it. Yes, this added to the cost of the tune-up;
but it was a vital, lifesaving service, which was dealt with
immediately and competently. Excellent value for money.
In a similar way, letting your designer update your site
can be worthwhile. Okay, maintaining the site professionally
is unlikely to save any lives...but it can help prevent
some common complications:
- "Breaking" the existing site
- Ruining the site's search engine rating via uninformed
submission practices
- Investing so much time in mastering software that you
neglect your primary responsibility to the site, which
you can't delegate to a designer: continually writing
additional content that will benefit the site's visitors,
and maintain (or improve) the site's search engine
rating
But if you're determined to do it yourself, here are
a few tips:
- For sites that don't include Hebrew text, Macromedia's
new program called "Contribute" makes editing
existing pages virtually foolproof, and it costs less than
$100.
- Exercise caution before using FrontPage to edit a site,
unless that is the program which was used to create it.
Simply opening a page in FrontPage can add to and alter
the existing code, with unpredictable results.
- Back up the existing site on your own computer before
attempting to edit it!
- Err on the side of caution when trying to improve your
search engine rankings. Over-zealousness can work against
you or even result in having your site banned.
Bottom line, you need to budget wisely. So ensure that your
hard-earned money and valuable time are invested in a site
that will really benefit -- and certainly not harm! -- your
company or organization.
Resources:
Do you have any questions? Contact
me and I'll try to answer them in upcoming articles. Also,
you may subscribe for
free to the AtarTec newsletter, which consists of new
articles as well as notifications of critical Windows
updates and relevant virus information.
Request a free
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