There are three reasons you need a website:
You need to promote your business.
The world turns to the web to find businesses. They go to central sources like Yelp. They also go to Google and search by key phrases. Directories will list your business, but you’re at the mercy of their constraints– how much space they make available, where you rank in their lists, what they do with your listing. Having your own website gives your business the freedom to market as you choose and stand out from the crowd.
You need to provide detailed information.
Listen to your phone calls, customer questions and emails. After a while, frequent questions will emerge. Your customers are waiting to ask those questions. Off-loading that information onto a website will allow customers to get your information 24×7. That gives them immediate answers. It frees up staff from answering questions.
You need to execute a process through digital tools.
Before the Web, everything was manual. People came into shops with cash in hand. That cash was walked to the bank. Bank statements were mailed. Invoices were generated and mailed. There were so many points where a transaction paused for a real world process. The Web makes so many opportunities into nearly instantaneous interactions: notifications, digital product, e-commerce, online order-taking. Best of all, once set-up the digital parts of those interactions require no staff time.
That’s it: promotion, information moving and digital processing. It’s as simple as that. If it’s so simple, why is this so complex?
Here’s what wrecked the party:
Security. There are two sides wherein security is a headache. Applications (web servers, web applications, web browsers) have a lot of code. Some of it is exploitable and that’s a battle best fought by experts. The other side of security is the lock down. Are passwords strict? Are your important assets (e.g. digital products, user information) secure?
Updates. Code gets better with time. Keeping up to date is key. In part, those updates close off security holes (see above).
Messaging and clarity. A good message needs to come from a place of knowledge and authority. That message needs to be delivered to the potential customers with a message crafted for them. Our clients know their services and products. It’s critical to know how to engage with their audiences via the web. Creating clarity is key.
Code problems. Code is written to fulfill a job. It takes input and creates useful output. Sometimes, an application isn’t written to anticipate all types of input. We understand that and work to account for code problems as they arise.
Keeping track of it all. There’s an economy to all this. With unlimited labour, a web presence could contain thousands of pages of content. Every audience could be satisfied. Every little piece of a web page could be made in something dynamic backed by lots of processing. That’s never possible. All of the assets in play are finite: processing, content, maintenance, audience size. Keeping track of the assets is critical. The careful balance of creating engaging content while still keeping your content creation process affordable; keeping the right elements of the web page; attracting the right audience; and keeping it all running. Who’s going to manage all that?
Web presence management amounts to this:
- Getting a domain and keeping it in good standing.
- Developing a website that caters to the intended audience.
- Getting and keeping good web hosting: hosting that performs well and is affordable.
- Connecting the site to other sites to increase the likelihood of discovery.
- Finding opportunities to grow online influence.
- Addressing issues as soon as they appear.
- Fostering the good reputation of an enterprise as it appears online.
- Popularizing client sites to the right audiences through careful marketing and advertising.
What It Takes To Manage A Website
Experience. We are a group of developers, marketers and designers. Our senior people have upwards of 25 years of experience in the digital realm. We know what works. We have more than just old dogs: we also have fresh energetic people. We set the tempo for our team: we develop sound strategies and our team executes them on your behalf.
Good Decisions. Our experience informs us in what works and what doesn’t. We have a suite of tools, vendors and approaches that work. Our decisions let us run lean mean web vehicles to drive the success of your business. Our technology stack is easy to use, easy to control and easy to create results.
Skill. Our experience and approaches are combined with our knowledge of the tools we use. We deploy efficient and effective solutions for our clients.
Smarts. We like to take all of the solid practice and technical know-how and add in something extra: street smarts. We combine the real world experience of our clients with what we know and what is technically possible. We try to come up with an approach that is a little more savvy.
How Does This Help Our Clients?
In an era of smartphones, websites are still key to a business’ ability to prosper via their online position. Our experience, processes and technology decisions set the stage for our clients to succeed.
An online presence has to be findable 24×7. It has to be accessible from any location and any device. Our work to first give you a presence that follows tried and true tactics to attract and engage your customers for you. That’s followed by keeping your web presence findable, maintained and groomed for success.
With everything on your site being digital, we can evolve your web presence and even tailor it for specific audiences throughout the lifespan of your website. We have a slate of best practices in design and implementation. We continually improve our sites through easier navigation, greater functionality, and fresh content. We will assess and reassess your position to find opportunities for improvement: ways to increase your market share, and make the online part of your business more effective.
Having a website for your business isn’t just a good idea, it’s become an essential marketing tool. Whether you’re a traditional retailer, providing a service, or are looking to operate exclusively online, how you approach your business website takes careful planning and consideration. Are you ready to take your online presence to the next level? Let our website experts help you optimize your site for conversion and generate the revenue you need for your small business in a one-on-one consultation. This service is suitable for clients planning a website or looking to improve upon their existing website.
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