by Michelle Burke- Courtesy Xemion.com
Professional web design companies seem almost outnumbered these days. The market is flooded by freelancers, “garage” companies and Johnny next door, all offering a solution to your web design problems. Many of these smaller companies, on the face of it, offer very competitive rates and may even sound very professional, using the right web related jargon like “search engine optimization”, “e-commerce” and “meta tags”! They do seem to have all the answers, don’t they?
You may be attracted to the low rates these individuals charge for their web design skills but do you really know what you are paying for? Even a little money needs to get a return on that investment and you may not actually get what you pay for. However, a scenario where you may get “exactly what you paid for” is even more frightening!
The last thing your company needs is a badly designed website, with poor use of internet marketing tools and bad search engine rankings. Does your nephew really know how to get your business to the top of the Google listings?
You may be asking. “What’s in a Name?” and we agree, names, aren’t everything, but would you really buy your computer from the guy next door? Treat your website with a similar ethic or it could be the downfall of your small business.
So, what can a professional, experienced web design company offer you that you won’t get from your cousin or roommate’s sister.
To set the tone for this article compare the cost benefit analysis of a full page advertisement in the New York Times with a full page advertisement in the Ohio Farmer’s Weekly. Are you starting to see where I am going with this?
Listed here are some things to look out for that will highlight the benefits available to you if you do decide to go the route of a professional web designer with a good industry reputation.
Website Design – Looks Good, But What Does It Mean?
* Your nephew may be a graphic art student, well versed in attracting attention using a graphical interface. In fact, he may build very eye-catching sites, but he may be missing a very important concept of internet marketing.
* If a potential customer lands on your website, he probably already wants to be there. Search engine optimization tools (discussed below) may get him to arrive at your site, but the real trick is getting him to stay there.
* Your professional, marketing savvy web design company knows the difference between useful and attractive graphical features and fussy and obnoxious ones. Not getting the balance right between your initial “look” and useful features of the site will probably lose potential customers.
Programming Geeks Don’t Equal Web Design Know How!
* If your web designer tells you he is a whiz at Java or C this should raise an immediate red flag. Today many websites do use a lot of programming and database, this, at least, is true.
* However, simply being able to program doesn’t make an effective web designer. There are many aspects of programming a website and it takes years of experience to learn them all.
* A professional web designer will make sure your website looks professional, yet still remain functional.
Search Engine Optimization Techniques – Are You a Google “Player”
* Building a website is one thing, marketing it, is quite another. Think about your local, much utilized bookstore. For a start, the reason you know about it at all is probably due to its central location, in a popular mall for example.
* Secondly, what attracted you to it? It probably had a professional looking outside display stand featuring a selection of new books on popular topics. If you weren’t really book shopping, how much time did you spend looking at the hundreds of books inside the store? How often do you visit a rival bookstore in a dingy part of town?
* Search engine optimization techniques do the same with your website, pushing you to the top of the page when a user types a request into his Google interface. How well versed is your freelancer in maximizing your web marketing opportunities via the search engines?
* If you don’t know, ask him. Then ask your professional web design company to explain their techniques. I am guessing your mind will be made up right then and there!
By now you are probably starting to get an idea of the questions to ask your “expert” web designer. We recommend you do further research and make sure you know the risks involved when your local “expert” really isn’t one.
Professional, experienced web design companies are old hands at making your website work for you. Costs may initially be higher but the benefits of hiring an expert are probably well worth it. Global competition is staggering and your business needs to implement ways to stay ahead.
The primary point of this article is that a professional designer should have many, many different capabilities and lots of experience. There’s more that goes into a website than just design, programming or marketing. It must be a balance combination of all three.
Michelle Burke is a freelance writer based in South Africa.