Dwight M. Scott

Now-a-days websites are used for all sorts of different purposes. However, when it comes to a company profile on a website you want to make sure you are getting the most bang for your buck. When obtaining a website if you do not have one already, be sure to be descriptive of the services that you offer and you market your services towards the right audience. Ensuring that your market gets a understanding of what exactly you do is vital.

Another important aspect of your website if functionality and usability. Take your website to the next step by eliminating a commonly faced problem by your users. It may be something as simple as a contact form. I know of many instances of information that is too hard to find or contact information is not present. Saving users the time of opening their email client because your website has a mail contact form on your site just increased your usability and functionality of your website. Save your users the time and show you care by making their experience on your website more pleasant and worthwhile.

Keeping your content fresh and up to date will bring users and clients back to your site. Be sure to take advantage of a news or announcement system that you can implement on your site, even if it is manually updated. The landing or home page should be filled with the latest and freshest content with happenings, events, and/or promotions within the company. Static websites are becoming outdated. The web is evolving do not be left behind!

I have ran across a few companies that want to make their website do more for them but do not have the resources to do so. I always give the same reply, “it doesn’t always take what you may think in order to achieve your company’s goals.” The web is packed full of useful and helpful information that will leverage your website.

One of my favorite tools to use is Google Analytics. This tool will allow you to track the stats of your website. With this analysis you and your web expert can devise of a plan that fits your needs and budget. Therefore, allowing you to find the market that is appropriate for your company. This will help gain awareness which brings leads and leads bring new clients.

Another way to ensure your website is achieving greatness is by placing your domain name on as many free online web directories as possible. This technique will give you more impressions on the web which will allow search engines to find you and/or your company easier. This may take some researching on to which directory to place your website on and will it be beneficial for you. However, this is a wonderful guerrilla marketing technique, which will cost you absolutely nothing but your time. Not to mention you will be able to apply this technique at your leisure.

Create a LinkedIn profile - This is another superb way to get noticed and gain valuable contacts for you and your company. LinkedIn is one of the largest FREE professional social networks. Do not just create a profile and not be active. Answer questions, ask questions and invite others to join your professional network. Take a peek at my LinkedIn profile. While you are there send me an invite and I’ll be sure to accept!

Now that you understand the basics of design and development, you are prepared to get your project started. I just want to do a quick re-cap on some important things you might be faced with during this process.

Never supplement design for development - especially when your site will be mainly dynamically driven. The functionality will more than likely be how you get your ROI. So weigh your options and consult with your web expert to get a course of action.

It’s usually less expensive to re-design than to re-develop. When you get your site re-developed there may be a chance that some additional design may be included to properly execute the development. Make sure you allocate enough in your budget to achieve the necessary steps to reach your goals.

This may be a lot of information to retain, but I can assure you it will do MORE good than harm. I can’t stress enough the importance of being prepared. This will eliminate headaches and make the project go more smoothly for you and the web company (hopefully me!).