The Reasonable Test

I was just chatting to a colleague (hi Michael *waves*) and we got discussing what I call the “reasonable test” and I figured it would be a good blog post.

We’ve all heard of job creep, whether it be through additional features and functionality or due to having to do numerous mock-ups for a client. Doing too much of this will cost you in both time and money, however you probably want to keep your client happy as you work tgether.

When this happens I apply what I call a reasonable test. Is it reasonable that I do the additional work for no additional fee? Is it reasonable that the client should be billed extra? What is a reasonable solution to this?

This litmus test has stood me in good stead over the years and ensured that everybody is happy and knows where they stand.

Choosing the Right Web Designer

When deciding to set-up a website for your business one of the first steps you’ll need to take is find a web design company who can help with your project. With so many web design firms available the biggest problem will not be finding one but making sure that you find the right one for you.

The right web designer will not only make a website that looks good but will understand your site is a business tool that needs to perform for you. In order to find the best web designer for your project you’ll need to spend some time researching the market, looking for potential design firms and talking with them to make sure you are a good they understand your needs and can deliver a successful solution.

As well as reviewing portfolios and testimonials making sure the web design companies you talk to have knowledge in the following areas will help you make sure you make the right choice.

Clear Communication

To the uninitiated internet lingo can sound like a foreign language. A good web designer will talk to you in a language you understand. So you should hear less of the acronyms and more of the details.

When talking to potential web designers be prepared to stop them when you don’t understand what they are saying and ask them to explain, in a manner that you do. This is nothing to feel bad about. Everyone is knowledgeable in their industry – I have no idea how to fix a broken toilet and I wouldn’t expect a plumber to know what CSS is.

You’re hiring a professional web designer to help you navigate the online world so use their expertise to help you understand.

Designing With Web Standards

Many industries have a set of standards that people should comply with, and the internet is no different. Designing with web standards ensures that a website is accessible to more people and more types of internet devices, such as a web browser (think Internet Explorer or Firefox), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or a mobile phone. Designing a website to meet web standards also ensures that your website continues to function correctly as technology evolves saving costly re-designs.

When talking to potential web designers ask them their feelings on web standards and whether they work to them.

Understanding Usability

An often overlooked part of building a website is usability. Put plainly, usability is the ease of which a website can be used. You want the visitors to your website to be able to quickly and easily move around your website and complete the tasks they are there for, eg buy your products online or make an enquiry. If a visitor is not able to find what they are looking for they will most likely leave and go elsewhere, causing you to loose a sale. In the offline world you’d make sure your shop door is open and your phone on the hook, online you need to make sure you do the same.

As well as talking to web designers about usability take a moment to go through their site and sites they’ve done for other businesses. Are they easy to use? Can you find what you are looking for? Is it usable?

Knowledge of Search Engines

I’ve talked about search engines and search friendly websites in previous articles and I can’t emphasise enough, again, how important they are to your online presence. With search engines accounting for up to 70% of the visitors to your website it’s vital that you make sure your website is built in a search engine friendly manner from the ground up.

Your web designer needs to understand how search engines, crawl, index and rank pages and take that into account when building your website.

Focuses on Conversions

A pretty website is just that. Pretty. Sure you want your website to look good but more importantly you want it to achieve your online goals. The right developer will understand this and will work with you to develop and execute a strategy that will meet these goals and convert visitors into customers.

Converting a visitor into a customer involves creating a clear, professional easy to use website that talks to your visitors. These days you’ve got about 3 seconds to capture your visitor’s attention. That’s it. In that time they have to work out what your site is about and what’s in it for them. The more complicated your message the more difficult it is for them to work it out – and the easier it is for them to hit the back button.

Make sure your web designer understands the importance of building a website that focuses on conversions. Talk to them about creating Call to Actions (eg a Buy Now button), how they will approach the online ordering process, help you collect leads or achieve any other online goals you have.

Deciding to take the plunge and create an online presence is a big step. In order to do it right and come away with a successful website you need to make sure you choose the right web design business to be a part of your team. The more information you arm yourself with, and the more time you spend talking to potential designers, the better chance you will have of making the right choice for your business. Good luck!

Why A Website Budget is a Good Idea

I receive a lot of enquiries from people wanting a website. Unfortunately in many instances the prospect has no idea of their budget, or they don’t want to tell me what it is. I understand that they feel that if they give out a budget that’s what they will be quoted but they are so off the mark.

Giving the web designer an idea of how much you want to spend helps us suggest a solution that fits your requirements and your budget. I always use the car analogy – if I’m looking at buying a new car I give the car salesman an idea of what I am looking for and my price range. That way he knows whether to direct me to the Mercedes or the used car lot down the road. Without giving him that information he’s not able to make any professional recommendations He’s just flying around in the dark.

You don’t have to give an absolute figure, consider a ballpark or a price range. And remember the web designer you choose must be within your budget but it is just as important, if not more, to make sure the web designer you work with is one that has a good understanding of your requirements, can deliver a successful solution and is someone you’d want to work with.

FreelanceSwitch’s 12 Breeds of Client and How to Work with Them

I’ve just discovered FreelanceSwitch and boy am I glad I did.

Their post: 12 Breeds of Client and How to Work with Them provides great insight. Rather than just bagging out clients they describe 12 common types of client and give advice on how to work with them. Types include:

  • The Low-Tech Client
  • The Hands-On Client
  • The Appreciative Client
  • The I-Know-It -When-I-See-It Client
  • The Always-Urgent Client
  • The Budget Client

I’ve worked with a lot of clients in my time and can tell you the list is pretty spot on. For some rare insight into client types and how to make sure you work well with them the post is a must read.

Keeping Your Target Audience In Mind

When designing a website one of the most fundamental rules is ensuring that you’re designing with your target audience in mind. If the site doesn’t appeal to them it’s less than useless. The most obvious example of this is the Bunurong Memorial Park. As someone who has recently lost a loved one I can assure you: “NEW GRAVES SITES AVAILABLE PHONE 9788 9488 NOW!” in huge letters ain’t gonna get my business.

If I Build It Will They Come?

I’ve been building websites for a long time. Over 12 years in fact. In the early days it was relatively easy to put up a site, let a few search engines know about it and voila – success! This was at a time when the web was new and the competition was lacking. It was a great time but not one I expected to last. And it didn’t.

These days having a website is no guarantee of success. It takes blood, sweat and… yep you guess it marketing to make your online venture a success. Unfortunately too many people still think if they put a site online the masses will flock to them. And then wonder why they don’t. It’s also a myth that people like to perpetuate. Put a site online and you’ll be making millions within days.

In reality your website needs to be carefully planned, built and marketed just like any other business venture. Start by defining your strategy and determining how you want to make money from your website. Make sure you choose a web designer who understands good design principles, usability, SEO and internet marketing. And last but not least develop your marketing strategy.

I’ll go over some of these strategies in future posts but for now at least consider:

  • Web Design – build a website that focuses on calls to action and conversions. Pretty ain’t enough.
  • SEO – make sure you build a search engine friendly website from the get go.
  • Pay Per Click Advertising – look at PPC advertising. It is a great way to drive traffic while you are waiting for your SEO results to kick in and long term can be a useful way to drive additional, targeted traffic to your website.
  • Online Newsletter – send out a regular newsletter.
  • Blog – start a blog.
  • Network.
  • Write articles for both online and offline publications.
  • Get links to your website.
  • Join online forums.
  • Write e-books.

This list is by no means exhaustive but it’s a good start. By creating a marketing strategy and working on it steadily you’ll achieve the online success you’ve been searching for. Good luck!

Seven Sins of Website Design

Your website is one of your most important marketing tools. Unfortunately what many people don’t realise is that a badly executed website can let you down and cost you sales if it’s not built properly. I consult to a lot of people who approach me when they realise their website is not performing as they expected. When analysing these sites I find the following 7 website mistakes crop up time and time again.

1. Inconsistent Brand Image

This is perhaps more common with websites that were built over 3 years ago but so many websites have no connection with their company’s brand image. When building a website you need to make sure that your web designer has a good understanding of you business’s goals, brand and current marketing materials and can reflect them into the design of your website.

When starting work with a new client I always ensure they send me copies of their current logo and any marketing material they use. This includes, business cards, letterhead, brochures and any advertisements they run. I then use these to help ensure that the design we come up with is an accurate reflection of their company’s image and brand.

2. Not Including an About Us Page

People like to deal with other people not anonymous corporations. If I’m looking to buy a product or hire a company online one of the first things I do when I land on a website is check out their About Us page. I want to know who I am dealing with. If I can’t find one I wonder what that business has to hide. Worse is the boring bland About Us that makes me wonder whether the business is run by humans.

Use your About Us page to engage your prospects, tell them about your company and to encourage them to want to do business with you.

3. Not Including Contact Details

Many websites avoid including their contact details. A big no no in my book. Contact details can reassure your visitors that your business does exist and they are able to get in contact with you if they need to.

This is especially important to websites that are selling products online. If you’re wanting people to hand over their credit card details you need to let people know how they can get in touch with you. This is how you establish trust between your site and your prospects.

In the very least I would suggest including a phone number and postal address. A company with no physical contact details is generally not one you’d want to do business with.

4. Ignoring the KISS Principle

In the words of the renowned usability expert Steve Krug “Don’t Make Me Think”. You have about 3 seconds to capture a visitor’s attention. In that time you have to tell them who you are, what you do and what’s in it for them. If you don’t do this they’re out of there – hitting the back button to try their luck, and spend their dollars, elsewhere. Here are some simple ways to help your visitor’s experience:

  • Design each page to have one main objective. Tell your visits what the page is about and what you want them to do next.
  • Keep your navigation labels (Services, Contact Us etc) simple and self explanatory. It should also be consistent throughout your website. This is probably a little outdated these days (well I hope so) but don’t use obscure images in place of text. We call that mystery meat navigation.
  • Make it easy for your prospects by making sure clickable links look like clickable links. Online, an underlined word signifies a link. If it’s not a link don’t underline it.

5. Not Making Your Website Search Engine Friendly

I’m horrified at the number of websites I see that have not taken search engines into consideration at all. Search engines are one of the most common and popular ways for people to find your website. If your website has been designed and built in a way that is not search engine friendly you will have no chance of ranking in the search engines from the get go. Unfortunately there are many web design companies with no knowledge of how to build a search engine friendly website.

At the very least consider:

  • Incorporating targeted keywords into each page of your website. To do this you need to perform keyword research to select the most appropriate keywords related to your business and then assign one or two to each page of your site.
  • Make sure each page has a unique Page Title that incorporates your keywords and is compelling to encourage prospects to click on the link to your website.
  • Including unique Meta Description and Keywords on each page of your website. Again your meta description should be compelling and your keywords should be the same as those in your page title and body text.
  • Make sure your website includes a Site Map. A Site Map is a hierarchical tree linking to every page on your website. It is useful for visitors trying to find a particular page on your site and also helps the search engines crawl and index all of the pages on your website. You can see an example of a Site Map on our website.

See my list of resources at the end of the article for more information about search engine optimisation (SEO) and building a search engine friendly website.

6. Having Splash Pages

The vast majority of people visiting your website have a task in mind. They want to land on your website do what they need to do and then go. So why stop them with some fancy animation page before they can view your site. In a bricks and mortar store would you stop everyone at the entrance and make them view your commercial first? I thought not. So why put them through that on your website? I can’t think of a better, or quicker way to encourage someone to go elsewhere.

7. Websites That Lack Information

Website visitors are generally goal driven. Prospects visit your website with a goal in mind – whether that be purchasing a product, requesting more information or researching a future purchase. If your website does not provide them with the information they are seeking they will no doubt go elsewhere. Unlike many other mediums cost is not relative to space so you have much more opportunity to provide detailed information about your offerings. Use it. Or risk losing a sale.

I’ll give you an example. A while ago I was looking for a barbeque. I went to the website one of the most popular Australian barbeque brands. They listed everything about the barbeques except their prices. Being in a helpful mood I rang their customer number and explained how annoying it was to research their products but not to find prices. I was told they left off prices to stop their competitors seeing them. I kid you not. They figured they’d rather inconvenience their prospective customers than risk their competitors seeing their prices. Something a quick visit to a store or a phone call would fix. Not surprisingly I bought my barbeque elsewhere.

So there you have it, 7 of the most common website mistakes. If you already have a website it may be time to review the site and it’s performance and make changes where necessary. If you’re about to start a website design talk to your web designer about the points made in this article and be sure to address them. Online success is not guaranteed but with careful thought and planning you’ll go a long way in ensuring your website provides your visitors with a positive experience and performs as you expect.

Pricing Web Design Projects

There’s a great post over at Blue Favor on Pricing Web Design Projects. The post is excellent and definitely deserves a read. A couple of points I really like:

A crucial problem to accurately pricing projects is that proposals happen so early in the process, as the vendor we only have a couple of meetings, phone calls or a document to understand the project. We do our best to come up with a fair and accurate price, but it often feels like a shot in the dark.

This is something I have grappled with for years. To be able to give an accurate idea of price you need a clear idea of what the client is after. And to know this you need to spend time working with them to determine their goals, requirements and strategy. Which brings me to the next point in the post:

Though every book I’ve read on the topic of pricing says to never ever ballpark, I have a tendency to do so. If they can’t disclose the budget I typically try to start throwing a few numbers from previous projects to help gage the scope of what we are talking about, call it a good faith effort to start the discussion.

I too often do this, partially for the reasons above. Ideally I like to get a budget but that is not always possible. If not I try to do a rough scope of the project and give the client an idea of costs. If we’re on the same wavelength we take it from there.

The post also goes on to talk about determining hourly rates, quoting by the hour or project and tips for clients when pricing a web design project. Definitely worth a read, and an addition to my feed reader.

Chosing Clients Carefully

Miriam from SEOIgloo has written a great post – Being straight with potential web design clients. It’s definitely worth a read.

It also got me thinking about service provider/client relationships. I’m a big believer in only working with clients who I think are a good fit. And no, a decent budget doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a good fit. 😉 I see business relationships in a similar way as other relationships – of mutual benefit. It’s a two way street and if the connection isn’t there I’d prefer to pass on the job.

A lot of this comes down to instinct and over the years I’ve learnt to trust mine. In 99% of the jobs I’ve been unsure of, but taken anyway, I’ve regretted it. And for all those I turn down a better opportunity knocks.

My goal is to present my clients with the best possible web solution and implement it. This is not possible if the relationship is shaky to start with. So a few tips:

If you’re a web designer – pick your clients carefully. If your instinct says a client isn’t for you then listen to it. Don’t be afraid to turn down work. In my experience something better aways comes along. And more often than not the ones your instinct says to walk away from will be the most difficult, time consuming jobs you’ll ever have.

If you’re looking for a web designer – don’t just go with the cheapest designer. Go with the one you can relate to. The one who makes sense and seems to be on your wavelength. And understand that developing a website requires work – some of which you’ll need to do.

At the end of the day you’re a team working on the mutual goal of a successful website. The better you work together the more successful the outcome will be.

Design Deadlines and the Creative Process

I’m sure every web designer reading this knows what I’m talking about. You’ve a deadline for a web design concept and coming up with the design is taking longer than you expected. And the client, of course, is eagerly anticipating that mock-up.

I try to be generous when I first give my clients an expected date to see the mock-up. It’s always better to under promise and over deliver. If for some reason it’s still not enough time I just try to be honest. Luckily this doesn’t happen very often.

Sadly being creative doesn’t always work to a schedule. So how do you manage deadlines when the the design is taking longer than usual?