Why You Need a Website

Many successful businesses & people still have not launched a website for their business. I find, that this is usually because of a lack of information about websites. Many people get very frustrated when undertaking the building of a new website. The unanswered questions keep them from taking action. Questions such as; where do I find a web designer, does a web designer have to be local, how much do websites cost, and so on.

The first thing we’re going to tackle is why it is important to have a website. Having a website is basically free advertising 24 hours a day seven days a week. A website will represent your business, save you and your employees time by answering basic questions that you would usually get via phone calls if you did not have a website a website. Your customers, or clients can find out your mission statement, your location, many times they can see photographs of your employees, and in the about section they can learn more about your personally. All of these factors are timesaving elements, and ways to increase your business.

Having a bad website, and ugly website, or a dysfunctional website on the other hand, is not a good representation of your business, or of your self if you’re a business, freelancer, an artist, or blogger. I love improving and giving a makeover to ugly websites. Especially when there is a good business or a good person behind the website who just happened to have a bad experience with a previous web designer.

Selling online

E-commerce (as its called) is basically taking your products-selling business online. If you believe that people will go online to purchase your product, and you do not have a website now is the time to get one. Having a website for your business if you sell products is a great idea. You can sell your product 24 hours a day seven days a week. If you have good copy on your website it will be like your online sales person. This is one less employee that you have to employ selling your product. Customers can find all the information that they are looking for about your product right there on your website even at two in the morning.

The Cost of a Website

The cost of a website varies from as little as a 500 dollars to 10,000+ dollars. At Realm we’ve done the research and like to think of ourselves as being in the middle price-wise. For example an e-commerce website that we created with a blog integrated was quoted at five times the price that we charged our client, by a very large web design firm.

A good website is an excellent investment for business. And it is really time in this day and age that business owners view it in this way. More and more businesses are taking out business loans for their websites. Nowadays if you have a business and you don’t have a website many of your customers and clients in this internet savvy generation will think that your business is not up to par, and will likely go to your competitor’s website if they have one to get the products or the information they require.

Websites to Connect with Visitors

The amount of information about your company or business that you can cram into your website is really endless. Having a website is also important to individual self-employed types. Artists are a great example. A musician can have a calendar on their website which will list all of their upcoming tour dates, a link to their myspace, a link to their facebook, a way to contact them, and a place where record and industry reps can download a press kit. This is a great way to promote yourself. If you are an artist or in a band and you have myspace, and you feel that you don’t need a website now, think again. People are always going to be searching for you or your band on the Internet in the ways of looking for a direct website. In speaking of which, it is a good idea to grab your domain while it is still available. You do not want to have to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to buy your domain from someone who has already purchased it. Often times we help our clients choose a domain name or address that will generate the most traffic for them. It is not uncommon that once we start working with the client who has an existing website that we’ll have them change their domain name. This can have a considerable impact on your traffic, to the extent that you will be having visitors to your site and new customers that you’ve never been able to reach before.

Websites for Blogging

If you’re a blogger you obviously you know the importance of having a website because that is your business. But, many times the website is dysfunctional, ad spaces are not utilized, or not performing well, and SEO is lacking or incorrect. So if you already have a website for your business, your blog, or a personal website, and you’re not getting the kind of traffic, or customers that you want it is always a good idea to contact a reputable web designer to check things out for you. I do a lot of onsite SEO work and are constantly making small tweaks that have a substantial impact on traffic, sales, and advertising earnings. You can also get an estimate for these kind of little tweaks by using our online quote form.

Finding the Right Web Designer

Finding a web designer does not have to be complicated. If a friend of yours has a website that you’d like, and they had a good experience with a web designer go with them. Choosing a web designer on referral basis is a good idea. At Realm, a lot of our business is based on referrals. A business that generates a lot of referral clientele is a very good sign of what the business will do for you and your own business. The first step towards finding the right web designer would be to look at their portfolio and see if you like their basic designs. Then, contact the Web designer or web design company for a price estimate.

I usually guarantee that we will give a price estimate within 1-4 hours. You can use our online quote form to make it a little easier for you, and easier for us to give you a more accurate estimate. Something we run into a lot with our clients is people who have had bad experiences with the web designer, or their current webmaster and they are have trouble letting them go. It’s a strange thing, but even though they are not getting the results they want, and are having communication problems with their web designer, and just plain dissatisfied with the service that they are getting for one reason or another, they tend to stick with this person. Loyalty can only go so far especially when your business is suffering as a result of it. We feel that honesty is the best policy, and it is best to nicely cut off the old ties that aren’t giving you the results that you want.

Beware of Bad Web Designers

Which brings me to another point. If you’ve been burned by a Web designer in the past please don’t count is all out. You can have a smooth, fun, and exciting experience building or redesigning your website. That’s how we like to do it here at Realm. We like to keep things positive, fun, and to brainstorm new ways to increase your traffic, your sales, and your revenue. This is another great reason to have a website, even if you do not have a business or company right now. There are thousands of ways to earn passive income online these days. Many people are subsidizing their income by starting a blog, becoming an affiliate for product, and so on.

Look no further

If you need a website, but you’re still on the fence shoot me an e-mail or give me a call, I am friendly and want to help you win on the web.

Beware of Bad Web Designers

Many people never get started on their website project because they can’t seem to find the perfect web designer. They have heard a lot of horror stories from friends and coworkers who got ripped off by their web designer, or who have a website that isn’t performing, or worse not working, and they are just plain freaked out about the whole website process, yet their business really requires a website.

There are a few websites that give tips as to how to find the perfect web designer. What to look for in a web designer, and what to beware of. That’s cool with me as long as the advice is good. Well, we didn’t feel that people were getting sound advice out there so here are our top 10 lists.

10 Things to Beware of in a Web Designer

1. Poor communication. I feel that you should probably be hearing from your web designer every few days or so. If they don’t keep you updated, that’s just not good customer service.
2. A bad attitude. That’s just not fun or helpful.
3. A bad portfolio, or no portfolio.
4. Really high prices, and really low prices. Both can make you raise an eyebrow.
5. No references. All of my clients are happy, and glad to be a reference for Realm. That’s what you’re looking for.
6. A really short time frame. If they can get it done in 2 hours, well, let’s just hope you didn’t pay too much.
7. A really long time frame. If you are having a basic blog designed, and the designer says it will take 3 months, this doesn’t mean they are a bad designer, but they might be too busy to get your project done in a timely manner.
8. An ugly website. A web designer who has an ugly website, well.. Enough said.
9. A web designer who seems like they are all talk. They say they can do SEO, and get you on the first page in Google, but doesn’t have any proof that they have done this with other websites probably can’t pull it off for you.
10. Sign up for everything. Some web designers want you to sign up for a bunch of crap that promises to get you in the top spot on Google, and to get tons of traffic etc. This is all b.s, a scam! The real ways to win on the internet are organic, they aren’t things you can buy.

10 Things to Look for in a Web Designer

1. Good communication. You shouldn’t feel like you are bugging your designer to get progress reports. A good designer will keep you in the loop.
2. A good attitude. Who doesn’t want to work with someone who is upbeat and positive. This website is probably part of a goal of yours or your passion. You don’t want a negative nelly designing your website.
3. A decent time frame that works with your goals.
4. They welcome your input, ideas, and example websites.
5. A web designer who is willing to adjust their design a few times to make you happy is key. You don’t want to be stuck with a website you hate.
6. A reasonable price, or one within your budget. You might have to pay more for a good designer, but if everything check out, and you want them to do your website, then fork out the money, it will be worth it.
7. A solid portfolio. You like their work, design, creativity, function and layout of their websites.
8. A good looking website. If you love your designers personal, or business website, this is good.
9. Knowledge in the areas you require. If you need an e-commerce website, you want a designer who has done e-commerce websites before.
10. Honesty. You want a designer who will say, look, I am not comfortable doing that, but I can ask a programmer friend of mine to do it. Or you know I really can’t get your website done in your desired time frame, but if you are cool with it taking a week longer I would love to do it.

10 Ways you can Make Your Website Design Experience a Good One

1. Figure out what you goals are for your website.
2. Get an idea of your budget.
3. Find a few websites that you really like. Some designers are put off by this, but hey, I think that it makes it easier for the client to get their vision across, and it also shows the client’s taste.
4. Go through a referral or find a web designer on a web design directory, or on Craigslist, and of course pick me
5. Look at the web designer’s portfolio.
6. Get a free quote from the web designer.
7. Talk to the web designer, and make sure you get all of your questions answered. Things to discuss with your web designer, price, time frame, their experience, and just feel them out to see if there is a good rapport between you.
8. Give your web designer the example websites that you like, and any color preferences that you have. Also, tell them what color you don’t like.
9. Get all of your content ready in a timely fashion, this will speed things up for the web designer, and being organized is really helpful when you are creating a website.
10. Be kind, and patient with your web designer.

Look no further

If you need an affordable & creative website, but you’re still on the fence shoot me an e-mail or give me a call (213) 595-4275, I am friendly and want to help you win on the web.