Getting A Website: How To Get A Better Price From Your Web Designer

So you have decided you need a website. What next?

Before you contact some web designers to get a quote, you will save yourself time, money and trouble by first sitting down and thinking about what you actually need. The more you can “nail down” your requirements, the more likely you are to get a better price, and not be surprised by getting a bill for extras at the end of the project.

First, think about what you want from your website:

• Do you want to sell products online, using a shopping cart and some method of accepting payments?
• Do you want your site to be a “static” online brochure, showcasing your products or services?
• Do you want your site to generate leads & enquiries for you to follow up directly?
• Is your site primarily aimed at providing information for existing customers?
• Is your site going to be a useable, interactive service e.g. searchable property database?

Now consider how many pages you will need. Web designers will use this as an important factor when quoting you; if you initially ask for too few, you may get a bill for extras. Ask for too many and you may be paying more than you need to.

Think about the titles of the pages you need (as they appear in the site navigation) As a minimum, you will probably need “Home”, “About Us” and “Contact Us”.

Now give some consideration to the design of the site. Do you have a colour scheme in mind? Do you want some Flash animation? What sort of imagery do you want used? TO get some ideas, surf the Net and note down any websites you find that you like the look of, and give the URL to web designers. This will help them get an idea of what you like.

You should also consider which technical issues are important to you.

Does you site need to be:

• * Fast Loading? If your target market are home users, a large proportion may still be on slower dial up internet connections.
• * Graphically Intensive? Perhaps you need to appeal to corporate users, by employing a strong, professional design.
• * Optimised for a particular screen resolution? Do you want the site to look best on 1024 x 768 resolution screens, or perhaps your target market is more likely to have older PC’s with screen settings such as 800x600.
• * Updated yourself? If you regularly need to change the text/images of your site, you may need to ask for a quote for a Content Management System (CMS). Ask fort his to be identified as an optional cost, so you can judge if it is cost effective for you. Alternatively, you could purchase web editing software (such as Macromedia Contribute) though you will need to make your web designer aware that this is what you will be doing.
• * Aimed at specific end users? Perhaps your target market are printers or music industry professionals, who tend to use Apple Mac computers. If so, make your web designer aware of it – many designers do not pay much attention to checking web sites run correctly on Macs.

By taking a little time to consider the needs of your website, you will help your web designer immensely, getting the site you want at a cost effective price.

Getting Listed In Directories

The rules for being listed well in directories are completely different from the rules about getting listed in the search engines. Your web site needs to be in the most appropriate category, and directories do NOT have the same categories. Plus, some directories allow a 15-word description. Some allow 30 words. Some allow 200 words. Directory submission is very time consuming because you need to have a strategy for different directories. Link popularity goes hand in hand with search engine optimization. Link popularity affects rankings in many major search engines such as FAST Search, Google, and Inktomi.

Research each directory and the directory categories individually

One of the biggest mistakes people make during directory submission is not doing the necessary research. In order to be listed in a directory (which will be approved by another human being), you must prove that you belong in that directory in the category that you have selected.

The best way to do this is to select the most appropriate category and to write a concise, accurate description that already resembles descriptions in the targeted directory. Reason? Make it easy for the directory editor to approve your submission. If you are able to imitate the editor's style when describing your web site, you can increase the chance that your site will be accepted and your site description will be unaltered

Determine the best description for your web site for each directory

Go to a directory and type in your most important keywords in the search box. Study the different categories and descriptions. Base your site-description style on web sites that were already accepted in that directory.

If a directory does not have a category for your type of business, suggest a category that is similar to categories already in the directory

Make sure your unique selling proposition (USP) is also in your directory description

Even though your description should resemble the description style of other sites listed in your targeted category, your description should be unique. So if your company specializes in 3 types of services, mention those 3 types of services in your description. If your company targets a particular audience, mention that in your description as well. Just be sure that your description is not identical to other descriptions in your category.

Write descriptions of varying lengths and keep in a text file to cut-and-paste in the submission form

Directories vary in the number of words they will accept in a description. Thus, when you write your descriptions, write 7-, 10-, 15-, 20, 25-, 30- and 50-word descriptions.

Make sure you’re most important keywords are in every description, but do not try and stuff too many keywords into the description. Directory editors do not want to read a list of keywords.

Whenever possible, use the paid/expedited submission programs

Since most of the major search services measure link popularity, the faster your site can be listed in the directories, the faster your site can receive referrals from the major search services.

We rarely use site submission software for directory submission. Submission software rarely accounts for the variables in the different directories.

Check your site statistics software regularly to see when you have been added to a directory

If your site has not been added to a directory within the lead time, then resubmit to the directory after 4 weeks. Keep track of your dates of submission, categories, descriptions, and titles.

In the event that your site is not accepted into a directory after 3 submissions, then it is safe to contact a directory representative directly.

Add your home page to the directory first, and then submit specialized topics within your web site

If your web site has been approved for admission into a directory, then your specialized topic web page stands a better chance of being selected for a different category

How directories rank sites

If your title, description, and category contain keywords, then your site might appear toward the top of directory queries. However, if your company name does NOT have keywords in them, do not add those keywords in the submission. Directory editors will remove them anyway, and you do not want them to suspect you for spamming.

Always choose directory listings carefully, both the general directories and the industry-specific ones. Make sure your content is good enough to clearly belong in the categories you have selected, which means that your web site must contain unique information. The keywords should always be in the right frequency and the right places for the search engines, but good content should always be on your site for the best directory placement.

10 Ways of Getting Content For Your Site

Content is really important for webmasters. Why? When people surf the web, they are looking for information. They aren't looking for you specifically, unless you're well-known. If they visit your site and don't what they're looking for, they will leave quickly. And they probably won't return to your site. Well, they might stumble back onto your site, but not on purpose.

Content For Your Site

Quality sites provide quality content. Quality content helps you retain visitors. Visitors may spread the word about your site and thus attract new visitors.

Adding new high quality content to your site regularly is also beneficial. With more content, you will have more pages indexed by the search engines. More pages indexed means you will have more opportunities for people to find you via search engines.

So how exactly do you get content for your site?

1. Your unique knowledge

Everybody knows something others don't. Use your own unique insight and knowledge to provide content. Think of what activities you've participated in the past. Think of what you've learned through past experiences. Any experiences can help, whether at home, school, work, or anywhere else. Of course, providing your own content regularly can be very difficult.

2. Personal stories

Personal stories are the basis of some sites and blogs. Want to connect with your audience and let them know more about you? Use personal stories. However, if you don't want to be too personal, make sure you inject your personality into your writing. Personality differentiates you from the rest and can keep visitors coming back.

3. How-to guides

People have problems and like to figure out how to solve them. Had some problem you struggled with for a while? Did you eventually solve it? The way you solved it could be written into a how-to guide. Or write a how-to guide about your expert area. For example, if you're a technical computer whiz, you could write a how-to guide for fixing computers.

4. Do research

Do some research on the web. Use search engines, search directories, and follow links to find relevant sites. Do some research at your local library. Grab some books about your site's topic and start digging through them. Find local experts, teachers, and professors and ask them questions about your site's topic. When you research, note down interesting ideas and you'll undoubtedly learn more. You'll have more unique knowledge that you can turn into content. You might even discover something earth-shattering!

5. Subscribe to newsletters

Good newsletters are a great way to keep informed about a particular topic. They can keep you informed of offers that you may be able to provide on your own site. As well, they can keep you on top of what's happening in your area by providing time-sensitive content.