Here’s a few things you should consider when you’re comissioning a website:
1. The site should be in html, not flash. search engines cannot read flash web sites, so you won’t be found on google etc if the site is all flash. That said, it’s fine to have flash elements on the pages (banners, video, images, widgets etc).
2. The site should have an easy to use Content Management System (CMS). A CMS allows you to update the site yourself without having to pay any more money to the web design company. this is important, as often companies charge lots of money for updates, or don’t give it the same priority as their bigger fee projects.
3. Work with a WEB designer. Note the emphasis on the WEB bit. Not all designers are the same. It’s rare to find a brochure designer who can build a professional web site. I recently saw a web site designed by someone with great design skills but no web experience which was essentially a series of linked images. Looked amazing, but completely inacessible to search engines and therefore hidden to the world. Additionally, web designers know about web colours (smaller spectrum than print) and web friendly fonts (ditto).
4. Start small if you have to. Even with 3 or 4 gites, you still only need a 10 – 15 page web site. If your budget is limited, just get a single page up and build from there. One of the factors search engines consider is longevity, so the longer your sites been around, the higher you’ll rank. So don’t sit saving the budget for your dream web site for months, crack on with something basic and improve when you can.
5. Get a fixed cost. Insist on seeing previous projects, and take references before engaging the web designer. Anyone can show you an end result, but it’s only by speaking to previous clients you’ll know how easy or painful the journey was.
6. Establish who’s doing what. Ensure there’s a clear definition of responsibilities a timeline for delivery and a defined end date.Who will be supplying photography (what format, file size), writing copy, deciding on the information architecture (what goes where on the site), sorting the domain name, hosting, populating the content on the site, updating the web site post launch etc. Stagger payments according to the schedule and agree what will happen if the deadline is missed (will you incur penalties if it’s your fault?).
7. Think about how the site can really work for you as a business. Many sites end up just being web ‘brochure-ware’ but your site could be so much more than that (see my post on ‘do i need a web site‘ for inspiration). What ideas do you have, and does your web designer know your business well enough to be able to suggest other potential routes?
So that’s my 7 golden rules, but given that 7 isn’t a very catchy number, does anyone have any nuggets to add? Any experiences that you can share that everyone else could learn from? Post in the comments below!
Tips for building a Gite website
Here’s a few things you should consider when you’re comissioning a website:
1. The site should be in html, not flash. search engines cannot read flash web sites, so you won’t be found on google etc if the site is all flash. That said, it’s fine to have flash elements on the pages (banners, video, images, widgets etc).
2. The site should have an easy to use Content Management System (CMS). A CMS allows you to update the site yourself without having to pay any more money to the web design company. this is important, as often companies charge lots of money for updates, or don’t give it the same priority as their bigger fee projects.
3. Work with a WEB designer. Note the emphasis on the WEB bit. Not all designers are the same. It’s rare to find a brochure designer who can build a professional web site. I recently saw a web site designed by someone with great design skills but no web experience which was essentially a series of linked images. Looked amazing, but completely inacessible to search engines and therefore hidden to the world. Additionally, web designers know about web colours (smaller spectrum than print) and web friendly fonts (ditto).
4. Start small if you have to. Even with 3 or 4 gites, you still only need a 10 – 15 page web site. If your budget is limited, just get a single page up and build from there. One of the factors search engines consider is longevity, so the longer your sites been around, the higher you’ll rank. So don’t sit saving the budget for your dream web site for months, crack on with something basic and improve when you can.
5. Get a fixed cost. Insist on seeing previous projects, and take references before engaging the web designer. Anyone can show you an end result, but it’s only by speaking to previous clients you’ll know how easy or painful the journey was.
6. Establish who’s doing what. Ensure there’s a clear definition of responsibilities a timeline for delivery and a defined end date. Who will be supplying photography (what format, file size), writing copy, deciding on the information architecture (what goes where on the site), sorting the domain name, hosting, populating the content on the site, updating the web site post launch etc. Stagger payments according to the schedule and agree what will happen if the deadline is missed (will you incur penalties if it’s your fault?).
7. Think about how the site can really work for you as a business. Many sites end up just being web ‘brochure-ware’ but your site could be so much more than that (see my post on ‘do i need a web site‘ for inspiration). What ideas do you have, and does your web designer know your business well enough to be able to suggest other potential routes?
So that’s my 7 golden rules, but given that 7 isn’t a very catchy number, does anyone have any nuggets to add? Any experiences that you can share that everyone else could learn from? Post in the comments below!
A bientot!
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