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Thread: Websites

  1. #1
    Email problem Dastan Kieton's Avatar
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    Question Websites

    I have seen Wix offers free websites but is it rather just worth it to spend R15000 to get a web desginer?
    What is the best way to go about creating a website.

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    Gold Member Mark Atkinson's Avatar
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    It really all depends on the quality of the website you're looking for, what you want the site to achieve, as well as how you intend to drive traffic to the website.

    What a good web designer should do, in addition to making a website that looks pretty, is design the site in such a way that it will achieve specific client goals in an efficient manner.

    If you want to receive visitors to your site through the search results (natural visitors) careful attention will need to be paid to developing your site with search engine optimisation in mind.

    Can you make your own website for free? Of course you can. Will it do what you need it to do? Maybe, maybe not. It depends how much time and effort you're willing to devote to the cause.

    Perhaps you want a simple business-card-like website just as a reference for people who are searching for your name. Or a single landing page, to which you will drive visitors using paid advertising or offline advertising. In cases such as these, you may be able to get away with not having a professional web designer as there are many services that can help you do this cheaply/for free.

    On the other hand, if you're looking for a big online shop with all the bells and whistles... Well, good luck.

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    Diamond Member Blurock's Avatar
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    Mark, So it depends on the type of business you are in and whether you want people to window shop or buy?

    Let's say I am a manufacturer who wants to display my products or expertise. I am not selling to the public, but depend on direct selling to my target market with limited number of customers. Some of these customers may also be in the export market in neighbouring states or the rest of Africa. (the rest of the world very unlikely).

    What would you suggest - business card or functional web site?
    Excellence is not a skill; its an attitude...

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    Email problem solweb's Avatar
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    Recently I was asked to quote on fixing two Web Site created free. Aside from the fact that the appearnce was very amatuer, the Web Sites were "invisable".
    Fixing the appearnce was really a matter of changing the backgroud and adding more info. But a Web Site that cannot be found by your potential clients is waste of time and money. Unless it appears on the first page of a Google Search for your chosen keywords, it is invsible. most people will not search beyond the first page of search results unless they are looking for somthing very specific.

    Google handles 90% of all search traffic, so you need them to find you - they even give you the tools free to help you (Google Plus/Analytics/Webmaster Tools) so ther is no excuse. Yahoo has merged with Bing and you will find that they aslo provide you will tools to help you get found.

    But a professional will automatically do this for you, because if they do not provide you with a finished product that activily promotes your business and add to you income, they have wasted your money.
    Michael Vella
    Web Presence Solutions - www.solutionsweb.co.za

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    Gold Member Mark Atkinson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blurock View Post
    Mark, So it depends on the type of business you are in and whether you want people to window shop or buy?

    Let's say I am a manufacturer who wants to display my products or expertise. I am not selling to the public, but depend on direct selling to my target market with limited number of customers. Some of these customers may also be in the export market in neighbouring states or the rest of Africa. (the rest of the world very unlikely).

    What would you suggest - business card or functional web site?
    It would really all depend on your target market's behaviour on the Internet, as well as their expectations. Would they be searching for you or your products on the internet? If they looked you up on the internet, would they expect a professional online appearance?

    If yes to both the above questions, then I would suggest that a professionally designed website is necessary.

    Some businesses deal exclusively offline in a very small niche and don't feel they need a fully functional website. They merely want a "space" on the internet where they can display their contact details and a brief intro to those people who are searching for their names specifically. That's the sort of business who might not require a professional web design.

    It's a very subjective decision, really.

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    Gold Member Mark Atkinson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by solweb View Post
    Recently I was asked to quote on fixing two Web Site created free. Aside from the fact that the appearnce was very amatuer, the Web Sites were "invisable".
    Fixing the appearnce was really a matter of changing the backgroud and adding more info. But a Web Site that cannot be found by your potential clients is waste of time and money. Unless it appears on the first page of a Google Search for your chosen keywords, it is invsible. most people will not search beyond the first page of search results unless they are looking for somthing very specific.
    I'm not sure I agree here. While ranking for keywords is a primary goal for 90% of businesses who trade/advertise via the internet, certain businesses simply don't require that. We designed a website for a blue chip company who was only interested in providing a professional facade to the people who searched their name specifically. They weren't interested whatsoever in ranking in Google for any specific keywords.

    I firmly believe that a "free" site is good enough to rank 1st for your name. If that's all you need, then go for it. It's not like there aren't hundreds of reasonably professional looking templates around on the net.

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