Web Blog
There are so many different schools of thought when it comes to web design that it is often very difficult to choose the best one for your organization. It is virtually impossible to please everyone as each visitor will have their own eye for what looks good and what does not. Moreover, with so many people now au courant with the latest technology your job as a designer becomes that more difficult. The ability to use an iPad or to post on Facebook has given several persons a mistaken sense that they are a Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg in their own right.
Content has and will always be King when it comes to websites. Sticking to this simple truth will ensure that your website is more than just eye-candy and that it actually does its job in converting visitors to customers. It is a basic web design tenet that has eluded many persons who have the oversight of their company’s web presence. They often get caught up trying to satisfy their own design cravings and forget about their customers. Many times you visit a site and think “Wow this is nice” but how many persons actually return just because your site looks good? Lovely white spaces and large fading images are no good if the most relevant content is three clicks away or down to the bottom of the page. No design is that awesome if someone is unable able to learn about your organization in two minutes or less.
Social Media websites provide wonderful examples of why content is King and design is the Princess (still important but not as important as King Content). From a design aspect there is nothing heart-stopping about the look and feel of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In fact Facebook is constantly ignoring the barrage of complaints about its design. However, they have always kept easy access to the most relevant posts to you at the forefront and that is why most of you readers of this blog would have visited or are going to visit your Social Media profile at some point during the course of today.
How Can I ensure that Content is indeed King on my website?
Evaluate how people use your website: Google offers a wonderful free tool called Google Analytics to help you decipher what is most important to your visitors. Below are some terms that you should become familiar with:
Page Load Time: Evaluate how long it takes for your pages to load completely. Large images and videos are great but pointless if persons leave your website before it finishes loading. Persons may be willing to wait a bit for the home page. However, navigation to relevant content thereafter should be painless.
Bounce Rate: The percentage of persons who enter and leave your website without clicking on a thing. It is a good indicator of how well your site is performing. If your Bounce Rate is high or increasing it means something drastically needs to be done.
Real Time Analytics: Use of this fantastic tool gives you a breakdown in real time of which links on your website are the most visited. Based on this you can alter your design to ensure that the most important ones are given prominence.
Ask for Feedback!
User surveys and feedback are also critical. You could use a simple Survey Monkey questionnaire and embed it on your website. In fact there is a Website Feedback template that could be quite telling if used as is.
Keep Your Content Up-to-Date
One of the most difficult things to do is to keep your website’s content fresh and up-to-date after its launch. It is one of the most underestimated tasks. Gathering sufficient content for the launch is tough enough and so many organizations fail to keep up that effort in keeping the site up-to-date. Many times sites keep the same content on the Home Page for months. The main slider should be updated regularly with the latest news and offerings. It is usually best to have someone assigned to this task and there should be a defined process for getting new content. Do not leave this to chance.
Once Content remains King on your website you can rest assured that your website is indeed working for you.
Uncategorised, Web Blog
Over the next few months and years Marketing Professionals are going to be asked to work miracles with the smallest of budgets. It is therefore imperative that organisations maximize the use of their online presence and word-of-mouth initiatives. It is amazing how much these can outperform traditional forms of advertising at a fraction of the cost. It is no longer enough to say “We have a website”. Your online marketing strategy must take the lead in order for your business/organisation to survive these trying financial times.
The chart below demonstrates the the power of online marketing over traditional forms of marketing.
Surprisingly, despite all the data to back you up, your most difficult task will be to convince the powers-that-be that a TT$2,000 Facebook ad is going to be move effective than a TT$8,000 Newspaper ad or even a $100,000 TV ad. The power of online advertising has yet to overcome the mindset of many in leadership positions. Traditional forms of advertising seem to have an indelible place in their hearts regardless of the cost.
Web Blog
If it is one thing made clear with the recent shopping frenzies is that local companies must have an e-presence in order to compete with the Amazons, Belks and Macys of the world. A large number of consumers have changed shopping tactics and have gone totally online resulting in frustrated proprietors. Shoppers basically go to the stores to see what is available and then order what they want online.
There is good news for Business owners.
In the past setting up an e-commerce website was quite costly. Moreover, there were very few merchant gateway options available for locals. However, a number of options are now available and anyone with a Visa card could easily set up an online merchant account. Moreover, there are also several online out-of-the-box solutions that can eliminate expensive developmental costs. Business owners can also start marketing and selling their products directly on social media almost immediately and do so at a fraction of the cost of leasing a physical store.
Feel free to contact me for more details on how you can get your business online.
Web Blog
A number of local entrepreneurs and organisations have been launching Mobile Apps and Online ideas. This is really a step in the right direction for online technology in this country. Perhaps you too have an idea that you wish you could or are planning execute.
Here are a few thoughts on why some ideas work and others don’t:
Trying to do too much:
Some persons have app ideas that try to do too much. They want it to be able to give you traffic reports, restaurant reviews and at the same time perform health diagnosis. The most popular apps do one or two things and do it well. For example Instagram simply allows you to share photos. Twitter, simply allows you to share mini messages and a photo and Whatsapp just allows you to chat. Unless your app is informational in nature it should do one or two things well.
Already being done:
A number of apps simply try to replicate what is being done by another app that is already widely distributed. For example, any organization trying to come out with an app that provides traffic reports is doomed to failure because of the already well known and used, WAZE. Thinking about launching an app with learning videos? Hello, Youtube and Khan Academy already exist. It is ok to duplicate efforts but don’t go head to head with a worldwide existing brand. Your app will FAIL.
Too Expensive:
One of the reasons people love Android over iPhone is the availability of more free apps. Charging someone for your app is not a good idea. Downloads will remain in the 0-10 user range. In-app advertising is the better way to go.
Making an app for Blackberry only:
No need to write anything here. The phrase “Beating a dead horse” comes to mind.
Web Blog
One of the most difficult aspects to freelancing is deciding how much to charge your clients. There are a number of factors that you must consider when pricing your work. It is literally a balancing act. If you charge too little, people think your product is rubbish. On the other hand if your price is too high you run the risk of scaring off good potential clients. Here are a couple pointers that may help.
What is the client’s budget?
There is nothing wrong with charging a client based on their budget or their financial position. You shouldn’t feel obligated to charge a small business man the same as you would a large corporation. Building relationships is an important aspect of being a good entrepreneur. Over time you may soon realize that the small business man has given you more work and leads than the large corporation. However, be mindful of some who will try to milk you by beating your price down to a pulp. This may be a sign of a bad client (see previous post).
What is the going rate?
With so many developers charging ridiculously low fees and winning work one should adjust accordingly to stay viable. Of course you should price commensurate with your standard and quality of work but in order to survive you must take stock of what is happening to the market around you.
Have a pricing guide.
Have you ever seen these on a website “Call for pricing.” Or “Complete our form for a free estimate.”? I don’t know about you but from the time I see that I think “I can’t afford this” or “let me check around”. In fact I could count on one hand the number of times I have actually written to get a quote. Most of the times I surf around until I find a website with at least some base pricing that I could work with.
Web Blog
There are a number of factors that should determine what kind of hosting you should procure when developing your website. The fact that you could get hosting for as low as US$3.99 a month should not be your main reason. I have had clients come to me saying that they already have the hosting aspect sorted. However, their site requirements exceeded what their hosting package offered. I always recommend, therefore, that you consult with your web developer first before rushing out to get the best bargain.
Factors such as number of email accounts required, programming language, number of expected concurrent visits are critical in determining the type of hosting you should go for. How easy would it be to transfer your site, has the hosting company been hacked previously and how accessible is site support are some questions that should be answered during your decision making process.
My recommendation is to allow your web developer to handle this aspect for you as part of your web development support package. It would be a major headache, for example, if you have to run your business and at the same time worry about why your website is no longer working because the cheapo webhosting package you arranged all on your own. If this is not already included in your support arrangement with your developer then, trust me, it will cost you much more in the long run.
