FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) What will a website do for me? 11 Reasons Not to Have a Website The foremost question on everyone's mind - How much will it cost? What is the production process for creating a website? Do I have to come to your location? What are some other considerations for developing a website? What will a website do for me? Target and reach new customers and markets with your products/services. Sell your products/services to those new customers and markets. Sell more products/services to your existing customers and markets. Be open 24 hours a day/7 days a week/52 weeks per year. Be convenient and interactive. Customers love to help themselves anytime, anywhere. Prequalify customers, saving time for you and your staff. Generate awareness and credibility in the new online world. Build stronger relationships with your customers than ever before. Get regular, guaranteed reading of your offers by customers who are already interested in them. Allow you to tailor content and update immediately. Utilize rapid communication between you and your customers. Personalise all communications for higher impact. Allow you to stand out and be remembered if you are consistent and creative. See "11 Reasons Not to Have a Website" below. Top of Page 11 Reasons Not to Have a website by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson [Web Marketing Today, Issue 30, March 6, 1997] WITHIN THE NEXT 60 DAYS you will be asked, "Henry, when is Acme going to get a Website?" The question could come at a party or mixer or over the telephone, and I want you to be prepared to answer without hesitation or apparent lack of confidence. You probably have a couple of good reasons already. Now you can stock your arsenal with eleven reasons, each of which is fairly believable and contains a good bit of truth. Master them! Too much e-mail. (Get this one down cold. It sounds very sophisticated.) A Web site might generate too much e-mail from existing customers and prospects for our company to handle. We might have to hire personnel to service these increased inquiries, as well as develop new internal systems. A website is just too much work. It could happen. Some large businesses have been overwhelmed with floods of e-mail for which they were not staffed. I've had prospective clients who didn't want any way for people to send them e-mail for just such a reason. But e-mail is not some evil vampire, it's merely another means of communication. If your existing clients find this means convenient for them it just means they'll use the telephone less, requiring you to shift and retrain some of your customer support staff. Design your response forms to discourage trivial comments, and develop some stock replies to common questions. If new clients come to you via e-mail, feed the prospects to your sales staff and rejoice. Face it. The real issue isn't e-mail overload at all. You just don't really want to go through the pain of growing your company. My experience is that for businesses without a large national marketshare, e-mail volume grows gradually, giving you plenty of time to adjust to it. The Internet is in its infancy. (Say this one with an air of assurance.) We don't want to jump in to something which is untried. We'll let someone else make the mistakes, and enter the marketplace when the path is clearer. Every new technology has early adopters and later adopters. The problem with adopting a business method (think of the Web as a business method rather than a technology) long after its adoption is that it takes time to learn how to make it work in your business. Early adopters who are persistent waste some time -- yes -- but they often come out with a competitive advantage which can be difficult to overcome by latecomers. The Internet is just a fad. This too shall pass. No, I don't think it will pass. Evolve? Yes. Change? Oh, yes. But not pass. Already 40 million Americans have access to the Web, with the number increasing by several per cent each month. No, this isn't a fad. (Don't use this excuse in public for risk of embarrassment.) Our industry just isn't there yet. None of our competitors are on the Internet yet, so there's no big hurry. Wonderful! What an opportunity for you to get there first and make such a big splash that they'll be struggling to catch up! Your competitors won't always be behind the times, however. My mother always reminded my about the early bird getting the worm, etc. The technology is immature and keeps changing. We'll jump in when things settle down. The rate of change doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Sometimes people resist purchasing a new desktop computer because it will be obsolete a few weeks after they purchase it. They're right, it will be. But it is much more powerful than no computer or the old clunker they currently have. You just have to begin somewhere, despite the moving target. But remember, don't mistake the Internet for technology. We are talking about a business and advertising arena, a method, a place for doing business. Don't let the technology scare you away, it's not the real issue. People just aren't purchasing many products over the Internet. We're relying on traditional channels to sell our products, and doing just fine, thank you. You're right again. Purchases over the Web for the most part have been slow. But they are increasing at a huge rate each year. In a few years, purchases over the Internet will be a significant slice of all the commerce done in the US, especially in certain industries. When Visa and MasterCard finally get the SET standards (or SET II) worked out -- and this has been delayed repeatedly -- I expect to see a fast growth of customer confidence in Web commerce. Companies positioned to take advantage of this flood of buying will prosper. Those that aren't will find it difficult to play catch-up. We tried a website and it bombed. We're not going to waste any more money. The Internet is just a lot of hype. (Work on this until you can deliver it with a superior sneer. Practice in front of a mirror to get the casual wave of your right hand just right.) You're right about one thing: the Internet is swimming in hype. And the make-a-fast-buck Internet speakers who blow through town don't help much. You may have tried it -- sort of. You may have had one of those awful looking do-it-yourself sites that turn the stomach, or one so overloaded with graphics that your visitors get impatient and leave. More likely you never aggressively promoted your website; you just built it and they didn't come. Like conventional businesses, you need to get a number of things right up front in order to succeed. Business plan, sign, store layout, customer service, literature, advertising mix, staffing. Fail to implement some elements correctly and the business can falter. Building an business website without counsel from those who have done it before sets you up for failure. Of course, however, in this case you can blame "the Internet" rather than your own ignorance or ineptitude. Of course, some types of businesses by their very nature just don't do well on the Internet. Or the competition has such a lock on that area already that it's prohibitively expensive to break in. But don't blame the Internet. Remember, this isn't about technology, but about a business arena, a business method. We can't compete with big business. With huge companies pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into websites, there's no way a small business can compete or be noticed. (This argument will be particularly well-received by business people who have been failures most of their lives. Work on it and you'll see listeners nod their heads knowingly.) You're right: some businesses are pouring outrageous sums of money into an Internet presence. But small businesses can effectively compete on the Web in many industries. (a) Large businesses tend to be conservative, committee-driven, and slow on their feet. You "guerrilla marketers" who can move fast, learn quickly from your mistakes, and reposition are able to run rings around your elephant-size competitors on the Web. (b) Smaller businesses can spend thousands to tens of thousands of dollars to produce a website every bit as good as their large uncles' sites. You may not be able to compete in real estate or size of your workforce, but the look and functionality of a top quality website just aren't that expensive. Your Web customers don't know what your physical storefront looks like, and don't care. (c) Web search engines that millions of Internet citizens use to shop for goods and services don't favor larger companies. (d) Considering the national and international marketplace the Internet opens up, all you need is a thin slice of the market share to make a huge difference in your company, while a large company needs large results to see a noticeable difference. What would a 10% to 15% increase in your business mean? Count the dollars! Other means are successful. Our business has done quite well with direct mail and small display ads in magazines. We don't think the Web will bring us a significant increase in business. Let me disagree. First, the same products and services which can be sold successfully via national direct mail campaigns and display ads in national periodicals are very likely to do well on the Internet. Thus the Internet opens a whole new arena in which you can do business. Second, think of your website as an adjunct to your traditional advertising. When you give your Web address in an ad or mailer you have just put an on-line brochure into the hands of your prospects at pennies on the dollar compared to printed media. You pique their interest with the ad, then send them to your website to get more information and make a response or purchase. Give them the old one-two punch! It's too expensive. Advertising on the Internet is just too expensive. Where have you been lately? Yes, there are still a few people trying to charge you a fortune for a website, but look again. Prices are stabilizing. A six-page website will cost you in the range of $1,000 plus monthly Web hosting fees of perhaps $30, bringing the first-year costs to $1,500 or so. Now compare what that $1,500 will do for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks out of the year compared to a single display ad. Astute business people don't measure advertising by how much it costs, but by what it costs per sale. How many new sales would you have to make over the next 12 months to cover the $1,500? To make a profit? Do the numbers and become astute. Local business limitations. Our ability to provide services to customers is limited by their driving distance. The Web just doesn't reach enough people in our area. I agree. If you have a donut shop or church in Des Plaines, Illinois, don't waste your money on a website to promote it. Right now websites are most successful for companies which aren't limited by geography. Get on the Web and you'll get customers from all over the world. However, even if you put the Web on your business's back burner, don't take it off the stove entirely. With the rate of growth of people who have Internet access and use the Web regularly, the barber shop in Des Plaines may one day find that a Web site is indeed cost-effective advertising. You need to thank me -- I've done you a favor. You now have eleven reasons not to build a website, where once you had only one or two. Now refine your phrasing and practice so you can deliver them flawlessly at the next party. Or, maybe -- just maybe -- you'll bypass parties for a while, giving you time to develop the website which will take your business to the next level. Top of Page The foremost question on everyone's mind - How much will it cost? Websites can vary in price considerably just like automobiles, you can buy a Cadillac or a Chevy. It all depends on the needs, wants and your budget. A good estimate is that a website will cost between $50 and $150 per page depending on the complexity and functionality desired. An additional cost is Hosting (monthly rent for server space), a good estimate is from $35 per month to over $150 per month with e-commerce involved. Top of Page What is the production process for creating a website? The general production process is broken down into three main areas; 1-Pre-Production, 2-Production,3-Post Production. Pre-Production Register Domain Name Based On Availablity (www.yourcompany.com). Create the flowchart of the proposed website. Design the overall look and feel of the website. Determine the number and names of email accounts required. Production Create the design - graphics, pictures, buttons, etc. Create the html shell pages - layout, navigation. Add content to pages - supplied by client. Beta test before going live - make sure the website is complete and everything is working correctly. Launch Website - it's live to the world. Congratulations! Post Production Online marketing - search engine submissions, link exchange programs, etc. Offline marketing - announce the grand opening of new website (post cards, ads, etc), add website information to all business identity materials. Maintenace - website content updates. Top of Page Do I have to come to your location? No, the advantge of the internet is that there is no geographic limitation. All work can be done by phone, email and snail mail. Although an initial meeting is usually helpful. Top of Page What are some other considerations for developing a website? Download Speed - how fast the pages load for the viewer. Most people in will not wait more than 20 to 30 seconds for a page to load. Have you ever been waiting and waiting for a web page to load and then just gave up? Navigation - the way you travel through the website. It should be easy for the surfer to navigate their way around the website and they should be able to find the information easily. (Note: "3 click rule" - You should be able to find what you are looking for in 3 clicks.) Have you ever been on a website and ended up on a dead end page? Content & Company Information - the information contained in the website and your company contact information. Fresh content is what the surfer is looking for. Also, your company and contact information should be listed on every page. Have you ever been on a website and it was last updated in 1999? Have you ever wanted to contact the company and couldn't find their phone number or address? Graphics - the pictures, buttons and images on the website. The images should be clean and professional consistant with your company printed materials (business cards, flyers, etc). The graphics should be kept to small file sizes, because the larger the file size - the longer the download time. (see above) Have you been on a page where the graphics are really obnoxious - flashing and blinking or overwhelming? Readability - the ease of reading the content on the page. The content should be easy on the eyes using contrast appropriately. Have you even been to a site where the text and the background combination just made it impossible to read? Too Much Content - the length of the content on the page. The content should be broken into digestable pages that are easy to scan. (Note: Billboard Rule - think about the information being presented in a billboard format. Next time you see a billboard take a look at how it is designed for quick reading.) However, there is an exception to the Billboard Rule when you must present a lot of content for the reader. The way around this is to create subpage navigation or anchors, that take the viewer to the individual sections on the page. (example: this page)     Top of Page Home | FAQs | Gallery | Links | Contact Us | Site Index Guardian Dragon Web Web Development 602 S. Ridgeway Ave. • Champaign, IL 61821 217-355-5676 sholy@guardiandragonweb.com www.GuardianDragonWeb.com Webmaster Site Development: Guardian Dragon Web