"How to generate fantastic leads and sales
from an affordable website"
Why it's easy for new companies to take advantage of the Internet
By Dr Jason Steele, Owner of SeyeneCo Web Design
The following article will help remove those worries you have about developing a website, never mind trying to find a website design company.
Before proceeding please answer yes or no to the following questions:
1) |
A website is a priority for my business success? |
Yes No |
2) |
I want to learn what makes a great website? |
Yes No |
3) |
I need to know what makes a great website designer? |
Yes No |
Whether you're new to the world of the Internet, have a little experience of surfing the net, or are a computer whiz the following article will provide you with the route to online business success.
In the next 4 minutes as you read this entire article you realize how straight-forward it is to generate leads and sales from a fantastic website. You'll also learn how to:
- Start by thinking about who the website is targeted at
- Design the structure of your website
- Design the look and feel of your website
- Get a great website address and hosting
- Know the cost of development
- Choose the right web site designer
So where do you start?
The successful path that you should travel to develop a great website is:
- Think about what the objectives of your website are?
- Determine who the website is targeted at?
- Design the structure of your website
- Design the look and feel of your website
- Get a great website address and hosting
Now that's much easier than you thought isn't it? So let's start with the first one
What are your objectives for the website?
Example Objectives |
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I know this seems like a strange place to start a website design process because everyone just wants to make money! Granted there are lots of websites out there whos sole purpose it to make money for their owners, yet there are other reasons for having a website. Some websites show people how to save money, and others purely exist as hobby sites.
Decide on your objectives.Who's your target audience?
As with any new business you need to start by identifying your target audience and their needs and wants - then supply it to them. If you can start with that simple step then you're truly on your way to website success. Seriously, the way to make your business never mind your website the launch pad to better things is to identify a niche and conquer it.
Identify your target audience and their needs.- People starting new businesses
- Established companies
- People who have websites that aren't contributing to sales
The vast majority of people starting new businesses know that one of their first steps is developing a fantastic website to advertise their products and services. As such this group doesn't need to be convinced about the benefits of getting online: they are more interested in the things they have to do to prepare for a website, and the ways to minimise its overall cost.
Group needs:
- Information required for website
- Development process
- How to minimise development cost
Established companies want to know what benefits the Internet and their website will bring them. They also want to know the process of developing and launching a website.
Group needs:
- Benefits of having a website
- Development process
Companies with websites that aren't generating sales or leads want to know why. After the various problems have been identified the options for turning things around is required.
Group needs:
- Reasons for their websites failure
- Information on how to actually generate sales and leads
Design the structure of your website
The core pages in any website are:
- Homepage
- About Us
- Contact Us
- Terms & Conditions
- Privacy Policy
Other pages to consider are:
- News
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Enquiry
- Links
With the core of the site completed, you next need to list all the products and/or services that your company is providing.
If
you're starting a service company then devote one page to each of the services
you provide.
If you're starting a company that sells products then devote one page to each category of product.
There will be exceptions to these rather basic rules, but hopefully you get the spirit of what I mean.
You should now have a list of all the pages you'll need in your website. At this stage I like to draw a site map so that I can visualize how all the pages will link together.
Sketch the site structure.Design the look and feel of your website
This is probably where you thought designing a website starts. The look of your website should match the look of your current advertising and marketing material. This probably seems obvious, yet the number of companies we've come across who simply don't understand this basic principle would amaze you.
Imagine meeting someone at a networking lunch, getting their business card, and then viewing their website later. If the website doesn't share the same styles as the business card i.e. logo, colours, fonts etc then this would only confuse you.
Ensure your website looks like your marketing/ advertising material.If you don't have any business cards, marketing material or even a logo yet then don't worry, this just means that you have more opportunities!
Your company logo should be positioned in the top left or right of each page.
Decide whether the main navigation links in your web pages will be at the left or top of each page. This website uses left-hand navigation links, and Amazon uses top navigation links.
Decide on the standard layout of the web pages.Getting a great website address and website hosting
The main website address for your company should probably be your company name .co.uk. You could of course choose a .com address, but I think the .co.uk shows people where your focus is. If you're targeting the international marketplace then a .com could be more suitable. It's only an extra £10 to buy another url, so this shouldn't break the bank.
You can check whether the website address you're interested in is actually available by visiting Compila Ltd. Simply type the url into the domain name registration box.
The web host is the computer that holds all the pages, images and files that make-up your website. When a web address is typed into the browser i.e. Internet Explorer or FireFox the relevant page, images and files are then provided by the host.
Web hosting companies like Compila Ltd can provide you with a web address, Email address and 50Mb of space for your website for £20 per year.
Decide on a website address.Remember to advertise your website!
Once your website is up and running there are two ways that people will discover it:
- Search engines
- Traditional marketing
Search engines will generate the bulk of the website traffic over time, but it can take months for them to start doing this. So what do you do in the meantime you ask ? well you use traditional marketing to let people know about your website.
Simply include your URL in all the company stationary, cards and literature - best leave off the http:// part as most people know what www. means.
Advertise your urlCosting the development of your website
The development cost depends upon several factors such as:
- The number of page in the site
- The amount of text and graphics in the site
- Whether you supply graphics and text or whether the designer has to do this
As a ball park figure each page on your website will cost between £75 and £150 to develop. Obviously there are companies and individuals who will charge much less and much more than this.
Get an idea of the cost.Choosing a website design company
The worst way to decide which web site design company to choose is through looking for the cheapest quote. Obviously you want to develop a great website without having to invest more than you can afford, yet the expression "pay nuts, get monkeys" should be foremost in your mind.
Some things to definitely consider when deciding on a website design company are:
- Have they created websites that you like the look of?
- Do their clients actually appear in the search engines?
- Will you meet with representatives of the company or is everything conducted via emails and phone calls?
A great website should:
- Look fantastic
- Appear in a high position in the search engines
- Persuade people to actually contact or buy from you
You probably knew that a website should look great, but did you realize that the majority of people who should find your site will do so via search engines i.e. Google, Yahoo, MSN & AOL?
Put simply, this means that when somebody types a product or service that you provide you ideally want to appear on the first few pages of the results. If you don't appear in the search engines then you won't be generating any new business. The process of getting a website to appear in the search engines is referred to as search engine optimisation.
Once the visitor has landed on your site you have to convince them that you can provide the product or service that they're after. This is known as writing copy for the web.
When choosing a website design company ensure that they:
- Develop great looking websites
- Can optimise a website for search engines
- Convince people to contact or purchase from the site owners
You can get the cheapest company to generate a website for you that results in no sales, or you can spent a little bit more and actually make money online.
Look beyond the cheapest designer when building your site.You're the owner of a
property letting company
based in Glasgow, where you have several properties on offer. You want
a website
to generate leads and provide potential contact
details of interested parties.
After doing some Internet based research you know that there are 121 people a month looking for property to rent in Glasgow. Each property you manage to rent earns you £100 commission per month.
If your website is sitting at the top of the search engines for the phrase "property letting Glasgow" then there's a very good chance you'll get all 121 people to visit your site. Taking a conservative conversion rate of 5% then this means you'll get an extra 6 sales per month.
Six extra sales per month at £100 each means that you'll quickly recover the initial investment in the website.
However, and this is the catch, if your website isn't sitting in a high position in the search engines for your targeted phrase then the number of people visiting your site will be lower, the sales will be lower, and the commission will be lower.
So when evaluating quotes from potential website designer simply choosing the cheapest could be an expensive long term mistake. You need to ensure that the designer you choose has the ability to get your site rated near the top of the search engines.
So now what?
You now know how to create the groundwork for a great website. I talked you through:
- Deciding on the objectives of your website
- Determining who your website is targeted at
- Outlining the structure of your website
- Designing the look and feel of your website
- Getting a great website address and website hosting
- Costing the website development
- Choosing a website design company
Provided you follow each of these steps you'll be a successful online entrepreneur in no time at all.
If you're based in Scotland and desperate for that great website then phone SeyeneCo on 01698 292 296 - we're here to help you.
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Read what some of our clients have said about us:
I would feel confident in recommending SeyeneCo to any company considering setting up a website.
Elaine Mackinnon, Director, Research Resource, Glasgow, Scotland.
SeyeneCo helped us to actually generate sales from our website.
Gilbert Grossett, Managing Director, Grossett's Butchers, Dundee, Scotland.
I can honestly say that SeyeneCo offered me a thorough and professional website design service, from the consultation stage through to the actual website launch. I would advise anyone who is considering obtaining a website for their business to contact SeyeneCo Web Design.
Linda Grace Gemmell, Original Scottish Landscape Paintings, Scotland.
Seyeneco web design have the professional skills and knowledge to cater to their clients needs and specifications.
Our business has new clients and business leads thanks to them.
We have trust and confidence in Seyeneco and without hesitation would recommend their services.
Charmaine Gittens, Director, Liki Importation, Spain.
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