How to do or get a good website for my company? What's the cost?

The other day I was at a café to meet a prospect. He had some difficulties with his marketing and did not know where to start. It’s prevalent to feel overwhelmed and not know the first step to growing your business. As I drank my coffee, he explained his business-model and the areas where he taught he needed improvement. He also shared his goals and critical metrics he wanted to reach.

As the conversation progressed, we briefly analyzed his current branding, digital footprint, and everyday marketing activities. We noticed his website was not up to today’s standards, and it was not well designed.

Websites are the core marketing piece of any company. All traffic, either offline or online, will direct the customer or prospect to the company’s website. It is incredible that in 2019, based on a report by Smart Insights, only 64% of small businesses had a website. It does not mean these websites were functional or well-designed; a portion of those might be. What is even more surprising is that some businesses today don’t have a website at all (SmartInsights).

I was asked by my prospect (at the time), “How do I build a good website for my company? How do I know if I am getting the best possible website from someone that I hire?” He then continued asking, “Can I do it on my own?”. Questions like these are widespread amongst business owners and are a great starting point for digital marketing.

How do I build a great website?

Websites are HTML documents interpreted by web browsers and displayed to you on different devices like your phone, laptop, desktop, or tablet. Think of websites like a Word document. Every time you type an address is like telling your device to open that file at that specific location. When the file is retrieved, we expect the browser to display a structured document with media, text, effects, and other elements that might make up that document (or file) interesting.

As technology advances, so do our expectations; websites from 10-years ago are way different from those we see today. They will continue to evolve. Many programming languages have emerged, and new ones are coming up. So, how do you build a great website? There are a few options today.

Option one, you learn to code and design; this is the most challenging solution. You will have to dedicate time to learn CSS and HTML at the very least for an essential website. How fast you acquire the skill depends on you. Taking this route will be lengthy and time-consuming, especially if you need your website to be up in no-time.

Option two, you can sign-up to a DIY website platform like Weebly, Squarespace, or Wix. Building your site with the tools mentioned above is an excellent choice for many business owners, as you won’t have to learn how to code.

The downside is that you are limited to their platform and its capabilities. Another limitation is the designs are very generic, and they offer to all their other customers. You have to customize the template provided, or you will end up with the same website design as another company; this is no ‘bueno.’ The main concern here is design. If you don’t know how to make a website appealing and make it flow, it will be a nightmare for web visitors.

Option three, you hire an agency, just like us, MoreKeting. We will create a website that not only looks good and keeps consumer attention, but it is also functional. We have a process in which we investigate trends, your competition, and available solutions that you must provide value to your customers. We align with your needs, your customers’ needs, and your goals.

What did our customer do?

After answering all of these questions, my prospect sipped down a glass of water and I asked him, “What would you like to do?”. He replied with a smile, “You are right, if I wanted to do it by myself and do it good, I will have to learn first and that is not an option at the moment. I don’t have time to sign-up and use a DIY platform maybe still do it wrong, or maybe if I do it right the company grows but then expanding the website’s capabilities will be an issue.” I nodded my head as I listened to him and he continued. “I believe the best choice is to go with someone who knows what they are doing and will allow me to focus on my day-to-day responsibilities while the development of my website tailored to my needs is being built.” We can take care of the design and the programming, that is a given. Most importantly, we sit with our clients to understand their business, their market, and their customers. We also get a bit more technical and do market research, compare what the competition is doing, and analyze the competitive landscape to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. We develop a plan that aligns with your goals and expectations. We can adapt different technologies depending on your needs and create tailored solutions that comprehend and enhance your business model. We manage any size project, ranging from a regular brochure website to creating a custom platform. We can integrate your other solutions into a product you need to conceive. We have experience creating artificial intelligence that allows you to optimize tasks.

The question remains, how do you make sure you get the best possible vendor for this job? Let me guide you through to answer this question below.

How do I know if I am getting the best possible website from someone that I hire?

Picking the right consultant, agency, or developer for this role can be tricky, especially if you don’t have any technical knowledge or experience. Hiring the right talent for the first-time is crucial. Otherwise, you risk hurting your business, as well as wasting time and money seeking a replacement. Cheaper is not better. Here are our tips for hiring the right candidate for the job:

Check websites you like and write down what you want about the site.

Check out some websites and narrow down the ones you like the most. Write down what you want about these websites and get an understanding as to why you like them. After you gather this intel, seek what type of technology was this platform built on, what features are necessary for the website you want to create for your company. Gathering all of these details and visualizing your company needs will help you determine your site’s specs. The developer will be eternally grateful for your groundwork, as this facilitates scoping the project.

Start with a small project

Nobody wants to burn cash unnecessarily; therefore, give the vendor a try with a smaller project. See how they take care of your business. Look for excellent communication between you two, periodic updates, and status meetings. Evaluate the quality of the job presented and your experience with the firm. If this project is successful and you like how it went, it is more than safe to proceed with the big project.

Build the scope of the project

Now you are ready to go all for it! Now you feel better at ease to choose the right vendor for your job.

When you have a project like this, you must seek and request RFPs (Request For Proposal). An RFP document is a document that outlines the requirements of the project. This document provides a clear and comprehensive detail of what the project entails and protects both parties. An experienced firm will create one for you (usually not free) as it is labor-intensive. Once the RFP document is ready, you can work with the firm of your choice or request a quote from other firms; like this you will be comparing apples to apples.

We suggest that you marry the firm that handled well your smaller project. The firm that earned your trust with proven work and that speaks for itself, even if the cost is a bit more. Remember that in most cases, as it is cliché, you get what you pay for.

Nonetheless, we are here to help you start your small project and build to bigger things.

Reach us today to get started!

[email protected]; 786–273–9349

Visit our website: https://moreketing.us/

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