Choosing a Web Site Developer for Small and Medium Size Businesses

Summary:
Small and medium size business owners know they need an Internet presence.  Customers are increasingly demanding it.  With 1000's of "Web Site Designers" out there - how can you choose the right one for your business?  Certified Internet Business Consultant, Rose Marie Davidson lists questions that business owners should ask before investing in their Internet presence.






Article Body:
You need a website, but how can you tell the professional business web site developers from the college kid in his basement?  The answer is fairly simple if you know what kinds of questions to ask.  Professional web site developers are just that - professionals.  They have college degrees and/or experience related to web site development.  They understand small and medium size businesses for it is likely they are one too.  Most importantly, they speak to you in your language, not theirs.

Purchasing a web site is a form of advertisement for your business.  Would you pay for the development of a radio or television commercial if you were not sure you would get a return on your investment?  Why risk your professional reputation by trying to get the cheapest site possible just so you can put the www.yourbusinessname.com on your business card?  If you have seen the work of a web site developer and the pages look great, do they contain keywords, titles, and descriptions to help search engines like Google and Yahoo find them?

These are some of the basic questions a professional business web site developer should be able to answer:

1. How will you measure my ROI (Return on Investment)?

2. What information will be included in my monthly web site analytical reports?  The reports should answer these questions at a minimum:

..a. What time of the day do most people visit?

..b. What search engines are they using to go to my site?

..c. How long does someone stay on my site?

..d. Which pages do they visit?

..e. Where do they go when they leave?

..f. What are the demographics of my typical online customer?

..g. Has my search engine ranking changed?

3. Will my site be monitored 24/7 with guaranteed 99.8% reliability?

..a. Are all links checked every day?

..b. Are broken links corrected?

4. What is my conversion rate (how many potential online customers have turned into actual customers)? Also,

..a. Why did they visit my business online?

..b. Were they happy with their purchasing experience?

..c. What would they change about my site?

5. How will you help me increase my business over time?

If you are having trouble finding a web site designer, visit the sites of your competitors or other local businesses.  Most reputable web site developers list themselves and include a link in the small print at the bottom of the sites they have created.  Call the businesses whose sites you like and ask the owners if they are satisfied with their Internet presence.  Consider using a web site developer who is not local.  They should be able to gather the information they need over the phone or through a web conference.  Finally, ask for proposals with price quotes from more than one web site developer.  The quality of the proposal will be a good indicator of the professionalism of the business.

Ms. Davidson is a Certified Internet Business Consultant with WSI Advanced Internet Solutions.  She specializes in developing Internet Business Strategies for small and medium size business owners with the objective of providing a positive return on their Internet investment.  Contact Ms. Davidson at rmdavidson@premierwsiwebmarketing.net or visit her website at www.premierwsiwebmarketing.net.

8 Important Elements for Small Business Web Sites

Summary:
Advice to help small business owners check code in their web site design.

Key visitors to your commercial pages include web robots that crawl the internet and catalog your content. Having proper HTML source code, plus the right combination of text and graphic presentation, is just one secret to success. Proper code may mean higher robot ratings, and the "look" is equally important. Once a new prospect finds your web site, you have 5 seconds to get them to stay.

As a small business web site owner, you may have asked "Why don't we get any hits?". Did you know web pages can load and appear correct with improper or deprecated HTML code? A browser may ignore your mistakes, and display what it thinks you meant, and it may look great. Web robots may not be as forgiving.

Following is a list of 8 basic elements for good search engine placement that need to be considered in your design and web site promotion. For details on code issues from the worldwide authority, visit the World Wide Web Consortium to view DOCTYPE and other quality standards.

1. DOCTYPE Statement

2. Page Title

3. Proper HTML Code

4. META Description

5. META Key Words

6. First Paragraph of the Home Page

7. An Extra Page of Just LINKS

8. Backlinks (Links to your pages)

These 8 key items are either missing or poorly designed in 85% of all web sites. Some search engines may only list the other 15% in their directories. In other words, as few as 15% of the 6 billion web pages online ever make it into some search engines. Even worse, there are mistakes that may result in your page being blacklisted, and the search engine web crawlers may never come back to see if it's corrected. This could explain why you "never get any hits".

Web sites can be simple and professional without using fancy software to create your pages. Veteran programmers hand code and many create the HTML in NotePad. Web authors who choose to use flash, frames, or the latest software may be losing a significant portion of new visitors (customers) because the visitor may lack the technology or newest version of browsers. If they are turned off and leave without giving your site a fair viewing, it could mean lost profits.

Most designers use prepackaged software to create web pages. If the software leaves out any of the key elements, the code is hidden, and you'll never know your site was not optimized for search engines. The designer may not know, or care, about these items as long as the page looks attractive. Note: Search engine algorithms vary by company, so some elements such as "an extra page of links" may not be as important today with some search robots.  Backlinks refer to marketing your site and getting other web sites to link to yours.

Finally, business visitors want information. They do not visit your home page to be entertained. Most have a need (problem) and want a fast answer (solution), so designs should be created to minimize the use of music or video unless that's your core business.  Anything that distracts from a positive first impression may violate my "5 Second Rule".