The
Website Weaver

"Why?"

That's the very first thing you should ask yourself when commissioning a website.

If your answer is because everyone else has one, then think again.

True, in business, if your competitors have well designed websites and you don't, or your website design is looking tired or unprofessional when compared to their's, then you can be at a disadvantage. Although, funnily enough, it doesn't follow that this is detrimental to your business. If your business is solid and trading well, not having a website does not necessarily reduce sales. But it will most definitely restrict new business.

As more and more people come online, and new generations grow up with the Internet, potential new customers are highly likely to be Internet "savvy", and will either shop or trade online, or decide who to shop or trade with by searching online.

So, your answer should be "to increase profits". Your website should make you money, it is an investment in marketing which should yield a return.

"But I don't want to sell online."

That doesn't matter. A well designed website will generate enquiries. It is then up to you to convert those enquiries into sales. Similarly a well designed e-commerce site will generate visitors to stay and browse, but to buy they must like the product and the price.

The same philosophy applies to sports clubs and organisations. Just like a well designed website for business, sports clubs and organisations should use their websites to the maximum. Not only full of intersting information for their members, but enticing new members to join. In all situations the key is good website design.

Searching for the answer.

The Internet is rapidly becoming full of websites of every shape and size, and the clamour to get to the top of search engine ranking is turning into a frenzy of huge proportions. And, of course, the frenzy is generating "SEO specialists" crawling out from the woodwork everywhere and who guarantee first page listing within days. We are constantly bombarded with messages which begin "We've had a look at your website and we see that you are not on the first three pages of Google" followed by "We can get you to the top of page one by tomorrow"?

Of course they can achieve this with a sponsored listing. Truth is, anyone can do it - even you. It's really quite easy. Sign up for a Google Adwords account (it's free), throw some money into the pot, select some keywords or phrases, decide on how much you want to pay per click, create your ad and bingo (or not). The only difference between you and them is that you pay them a commission for the privilege. And you will be restricted to probably 5 keywords and phrases (which you will more than likely choose anyway) and you will have no control over the campaign whatsoever.

This is actually not true of all of them - some are very good and well worth considering. It's just a sinical view of an industry being overloaded with spotty faced kids straight out of darkened bedrooms looking to make a fast buck.

The reality is this: true SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) consists firstly of a website design which is carefully put together in a search engine friendly way. It is full of interesting and relevant content, properly ordered and styled using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), structured links (internal and external), properly constructed metatags, and everything else that the search engine robots like. Once built, the site is then submitted to all the relevant search engines (there's more than just Google out there) and free online directories. Then it's a waiting game, with tweeks and adjustments and a few nudges here and there along the way to try and get pages indexed and ranked highly. How long you have to wait is impossible to measure, but even well built sites can take several years to climb the charts - organically (naturally) that is.

Then there are the paid directories, such as Yell, the online equivalent to Yellow Pages, which will require an annual fee for which they will list your website within their pages according to chosen keywords.

But, like everything else in life, there is a fast track. It's called Google Adwords and as with most fast tracks, it costs. Paid for campaigns guarantee regular impressions (a listing of your website) on the first three pages of Google, either at the top of the page, or in the right hand column. Paid for listings can be identified by a grey tinted background. The number of times your listing appears, and its position, is directly related to the price per click you are willing to pay. The more the better, so they say. The secret (if there is one) is to select the correct keywords and test them across different campaigns, and keep testing and changing and testing and changing until a winning formula is found.

Love at first sight.

However, in all of this, one thing remains true: if a visitor clicks through to your site they must like what they see.

Research has proven that a visitor to a website will decide whether to stay or go within 5 seconds of arriving. It really is a case of first impressions count. As I have said before, the key is good website design.

Doesn't being on the World Wide Web cost the Earth?

How much you will have to spend on your website design is pretty much directly related to its size. Unfortunately, there is no set formula because other factors can affect price dramatically. A straightforward, brochure-style website is easy to cost, since it will consist of fairly static items which won't change much - pictures, words, contact form and maybe some updatable information such as a latest news section.

E-commerce websites again, although more expensive, consist of fairly static pages: information, product, shopping cart and enquiry form. Factors which add cost include animation and movies, interactivity and data collection, newsletter and email facilities, and, of course, design.

Photography and copywriting can also affect price - even supplied website copy can need extensive rewriting to be search engine friendly and website images need to be of good quality.

What's the first move?

The Website Weaver offers a full and comprehensive service which includes all aspects of website design, including all the unobvious stuff such as domain registration, website hosting and email configuration. Get in touch now and let's talk about your website design over an informal, no obligation consultation.