Question Four: Have you established a realistic budget (and timeline) for the development of your Web site? Since this is a hard dollars investment, do your homework and spend your money wisely. Additionally, as with most things, web sites typically take far more time than you anticipate. In a perfect world, you should allocate at least eight to ten weeks for the site to go live.

Like other marketing initiatives, priorities need to be set as few small businesses have the financial resources to get exactly what they want, exactly how they want it. You have to ask yourself the question – given limited marketing resources, will a web site have more impact on my business than other marketing strategies. If the answer is yes, you have to decide how much you are going to invest in your site development. Think of it this way, you can fill your (or your customer’s stomach with fast food or fine cuisine – both accomplish the same thing, but they do it completely differently and with different experiential results. Which do you choose? Better yet, which will keep them coming back for more?

Question Five: Finally, let’s assume that you have decided already that the person you are hiring to build your Web site is not your Aunt Martha’s 14 year-old son who knows “a ton about the Internet.” I personally believe that you should do only what you can do, meaning that it’s better to enlist an expert than to try to muddle through it yourself. This safety measure not only saves time and limits headaches, but should also result in a better product.

To that end, take time to research and ask around for reputable, experienced Web development firms. Or consider buying a pre-designed and pre-built “stock” Web site. These types of sites allow you to customize the content and some of the appearance features. These sites typically are a bit more cookie-cutter but they may be right for your business. (To find resources, do a Google search for “Web site templates” or check out companies such as TemplateMonster.com.

If you decide to hire your own design and programming team, before you choose one, ask for examples of previous design work. For comparative purposes, make sure to get plenty of estimates.

One last note – when you give your programmer approval to write the code for your Web site, know that any additional changes after he or she has started will cost you more money. Using the house analogy again – if you’ve approved the blueprint, give your contractor the go-ahead to start building the room according to the plans, and then you decide you don’t like it, it’s going to cost you to have him tear out what he has already done. Therefore make sure your “yeses” are indeed yeses – it will save you money in the long run.

Most startup and small companies don’t have a lot of time and financial capital to create a sleek, content-rich-but-user-friendly Web site that will help promote their brand, while serving the information needs of current and potential customers. However, by setting priorities, showing creativity and ingenuity, and committing to work within the parameters of a pre-determined marketing strategy, getting a premium Web site is entirely feasible.

In turn, a superior Web site can help you stand out from the competition in a business environment with increasingly technologically savvy consumers. It’s definitely worth the effort.

« Previous page | 1 | 2