There are dozens of steps to achieving a successful website, and forming a good relationship with a web design and internet marketing professional is one which will create a successful outcome. Many people who approach us wanting a website designed are unsure of what they want or need. There is an expectation that once they have a lovely looking website, their business will rocket ahead of their competitors and all they have to do is pay over some money to us to achieve it. However, developing a trusting relationship where advice is freely given by the professional - and received and promptly acted upon by the client - is central to an awesome result.
Sadly, we've created some great looking websites which sit dead in the water because the truth is that the hard work is only just beginning when your web site is done. Usually our job as the designer or developer is over, and unless we've been employed or contracted to provide ongoing support so that the website is properly managed and marketed, the website often sits there un-visited and purposeless.
We spend many a long phone call explaining this to clients and suggesting plans and targets to promote their new website and generate traffic to it and therefore potential for new business, but many times our words are falling on deaf ears. It's a lot of information to take in.
For many new or potential clients, all they want to know is what the cost will be - and this before we know anything about their business, their market, their competition, the website functionality requirements, the necessary structure etc, etc. Every website will have unique requirements and needs to be developed to work for the business it is representing, so a web designer will need to know quite a bit about your business before they can offer a quote. If they provide a quote before knowing anything, they may be either inexperienced or overcharging at the outset.
We understand that you can't know all there is to know about internet marketing and website ownership. Especially when you've been busy running your business and probably lying awake at night worrying about paying bills.
We believe there is no web designer who can know all there is to know about the huge world of the internet - we're all busy designing websites and trying to keep pace with the galloping changes in technology, search engine optimisation and internet developments ourselves. However, professional web designers will have a much better idea of how to source solutions and achieve them on their clients behalf.
This list is a very basic idea of what every business owner wanting a website has to do:
What if you have a website and it's not working? As yourself these questions:
Developing a relationship based on trust with your web designer could be the most important step you make. A professional will want you to succeed in business and offer them ongoing business. Of course, this is assuming that you, the client, has grasped the principle that owning a website doesn't end with it's going live on the internet.
A web designer with your best interests at heart will offer advice and strategies for success, because they have a professional interest in seeing your website succeed. They will work hard to help you market your business successfully if given the opportunity to do so, but of course they can't do unpaid work for you.
Call us today on 07 5345 6011 or 0418 723 886 for more information.
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