What YOU should know before starting a web site!Written by ©2005 Samantha Olea , http://getwrappedup.com
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4.How long will it take to design my site? There are a lot of different factors that determine just how long a site takes to be completed, including you. If you take longer to get your information (or your words for each page and pictures) it will of course take longer for your site to be up and running. Also, more complicated your site, longer it can take-though I’ve not seen a site construction take longer than 8 weeks. To speed design process, have a clear idea of what it is you want ahead of time. Make lists, and write out your ‘blurbs’ (text) for each page. Your text is your responsibility, and a lot of designers will not consider creating it for you with out charging you for creative writing (which can cost $35-75 per hour). I only suggest leaving creative writing up to someone else if you are positive that you simply can not do it. If your designer does not offer writing as a service (ask), you can hire a creative writer online and sometimes you can even barter (trade your products for their services) with creative writers looking to build their portfolio. One other way that you can speed up design process is to make sure you and your designer are on same page as far as design. You do not want to keep changing your design idea, especially after they have started working. A lot of work goes into web site design, and so what seems like a minor change in design plans to you may actually be a major change in overall design, and some designers will charge you for this because your initial quote is based on their expected design hours. I wouldn’t suggest doubling it out of blue. 5.How long before public discovers my site? They won’t. What I mean by that is, there is more to getting people to your site than just putting it on web. Like any other store, you have to market your site. One great tool is search engines. Now, how do you get listed on search engines? You want to give your designer a two sentence description for each category or page, and a list of 20 words you think some one would use to find your site for each category. Your designer may be willing to do some of this for you, so ask. Also, there are some search engine submission services out there that are great, and there are some that aren’t. I suggest you ask your designer if they submit your site to search engines automatically or if there is a small fee for this? Is their submission once or repeated over a period of time? Simply submitting will not guarantee you top spot on search engines; especially if you are in an already crowded field-even if you pay $300 fees some search engines charge. You can also market your site by putting web site address on everything-return address labels, business cards, t-shirts, your car, your email signature; put it in your signature on message boards, etc. There are many ways to get word out, but don’t think for one second that just because you built it, they will come-this is by far biggest misconception in web site building! 6.Who will update my site in future? Most designers have policies about updates, from a monthly update fee only for months you require updates, to an hourly fee per update. Talk to your designer, and make sure that they understand not only how often you expect to need updates, but nature of your updates. If it is something like switching a picture, or changing a phone number, there may be no charge so ask.After answering these questions, you are ready to talk to your designer about fun stuff-the design. Write down a list of sites that possess feel or style that you are looking for so your designer can get a better picture of your ultimate goal, and two of you go from there!
Samantha Olea is the owner and designer for http://GetWrappedUp.com –All Wrapped Up Business Solutions. She specializes in visual design and web design for the small to large businesses. Not a tied to a particular style of design, Samantha Olea is able to create your vision and really make it your own. To discuss your site, contact her at designs@getwrappedup.com today.
| | How To Survive With Your Online BusinessWritten by Jordan Williams
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2) Add More Value To Your Product or Service There are so many websites offering same thing in same cookie cutter fashion that you really need to set yourself apart from crowd and be unique. Just go extra mile and increase value of your product or service. It really doesn’t even have to be that hard. Just take some extra time to offer something that your competitors aren’t willing to offer. For example if you sell ebooks, why not offer your customers option of receiving it as a physical product. Such as in a DVD, CD, CD-R, or even Audio Format. By making your ebook a physical product you will drastically improve value and you can also charge more for it. This idea is not just for people who sell ebooks though. You can add value to just about any product or service that you have. For example, why not make some joint ventures and offer a huge discount for a service or product that compliments what your offering. I’m sure that if you put some thought into it, you can think of something yourself. 3) Maximize Your Web Sites Profit Potential Most people are so focused on making money with their own product that they often forget about other income streams that they can profit from on their website. For example, have you thought about publishing ads on your site? I’m sure that you have noticed that all big websites on Net publish ads, but even small websites can easily increase their revenue by 20 or 30 percent by publishing ads on their site. It’s not hard to implement either. Usually you just copy and paste a code to your website and you can start delivering targeted ads to your visitors within a few minutes. How about exit strategies? Are you making any money from people leaving your site? Its just a fact of life that eventually everyone leaves your website. Why not add an exit popup to your site that directs them to an affiliate program or even better a web page where they can opt in to your email list. Also a lot of people just want to find what they’re looking for quickly without any hassles. So why not add a search box to your site where people can instantly find what they’re looking for by typing in a word. There are several sites that you can earn money by placing a search box on your site. I know that these suggestions might seem obvious but if you actually utilize everything I talked about here you will be ahead of 90% of websites out there.
Jordan Williams, Owner of www.WebCashLink.com. Giving you the resources, software, and tools to maximize your online profits. WebCashLink.com
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