Web Myths
Many businesses think that they cannot afford professional web development, as well as the associated upfront and ongoing fees that come with having a website. However – when taking into account the benefits that a website delivers the cost of producing and maintaining it becomes proportionally small.
Advantages of having a website include:
- ease of contact
- potential for previously untapped sources of new business
- product/service descriptions
- the potential for online transactions
- streamlining of processes such as bookings etc.
The costs savings and revenue generating potential this entails quickly surpasses the financial outlay of a website’s establishment.
Just because your site looks fine on your computer, don't assume it looks good everywhere. Remember that different browsers display the HTML code slightly differently. Not everyone's size and resolution is set to the same value either. A website is not like a print document or static image, text and layouts need to be changeable with different screen sizes and amounts of content. Herein lies the challenge in designing for web rather than traditional media.
At Netactive we have a strict quality control process which ensures that your site will look good on all popular web browsers and screen resolutions for the most professional presentation of your website.
If you have a site that is really working for you, then there is very likely quite a bit going on behind the scenes. You probably have a CMS (content management system) that you use to make updates, there is a systems administrator at work somewhere making sure your site stays up 24/7, and, if the host is really good, someone you know and trust is available to answer your questions. All of those things cost money. Filling those roles with talent is quite expensive.
While there are companies that offer cheap web hosting it almost certainly comes at the cost of system size, reliability and service. Website hosting and support is more in line with the average household utility bill than the average Sky TV bill.
Netactive offers a range of full-quality hosting options as well as domain name registration for our clients.
Many business owners also think that a person needs to be technologically savvy in order to maintain the website after it has been launched. However, this is not the case. Most websites are built on content management systems (CMS) which allow the owner to easily edit content without any advanced skills. If you're familiar using Microsoft Word, then you will be able to use most content management systems.
Read more about the Drupal CMS.
eCommerce websites are sites that sell products online. At Netactive we use the open source software, which allows us to build high quality e-commerce sites for a relatively low cost (compared to a proprietary system). Doing business online is becoming more and more popular due to its ease, efficiency and lack of peripheral costs (transport, time etc).
Your business can have an eCommerce website that allows you to sell your products or services online, opening up an important and increasing new revenue stream for a non-prohibitive cost.
The alternatives are to lose customers to other web sites who do offer eCommerce, or pay high monthly subscription fees for outsourcing your eCommerce, and lose control and profits either way. Never ask your web visitors to "call us" or "fax your order" where your competition says "buy now".
Many small businesses still rely heavily on traditional methods of advertising such as placing ads in the local newspaper or Yellow Pages. But if potential customers are moving online, you really need to be online too.
There are an abundance of statistics that show the declining rate of advertising in print media and the rise in online forms of marketing. With a website:
- you can reach more people
- your website works 24/7
- a website is cost-effective and sustainable
- a website is viewable on mobile devices, allowing you to be found anywhere
- an online presence shows your business as modern, progressive and dynamic
The question is – ‘can you afford not to be online?”
SEO – On-page search engine optimisation is the art of optimising each page on a website so that search engines display a website in the search results for relevant phrases.
There are a number of crucial elements where a webmaster should place their keywords, such as the Meta Title Tag. However, search engines primary aim is to deliver high quality relevant content to searchers, therefore if a webmaster adds high quality, unique and fresh content to their website regularly they will already be half way there.
Flash is a common animation software which is often used as an enhancing feature in websites. Having moving images is a definite attraction in a web page however the drawback is that Flash is extremely bandwidth hungry.
Keep in mind that not every person is surfing with a high speed connection. Some people may still be crawling at 56 or even 28K, so this means the animation may take some time to load. This poses the risk that people will become impatient and hit the back button before they even see your key message. Additionally, some people or organisations may not have the Flash plug-in installed on their PC so before they can view your site, they must wait for it to download.
This feature should enhance the visit, not hinder it, therefore must be used efficiently and sparingly.
So why would local customers look for your business' website? A large, and increasing number of people have completely replaced traditional finder services such as the Yellow Pages with the internet. Even if a business is next door, many people will still use the internet as the first resource for finding information such as:
- opening hours
- additional information about your products and/or services
- exact location and directions
- contact information such as phone number, email
- pricing information and available stock
In short – the internet is not going to get any smaller, in fact its rate of increase in size is dramatic. Percentage of population online: 2009 - New Zealand – 83.4%; Australia – 71.8%; UK - 83.2 %. Businesses not using this essential resource will find themselves more and more excluded from the modern economy.
When building a site that includes high functionality, doing so without a written specification can be like building a house without a plan or blueprint. You take a huge risk that you will end up with something very different than you envisioned, and can waste funds in the process.
A written specification is necessary so both you and the web developer are envisioning that same "house".
At Netactive we pride ourselves in the robustness of our process to ensure that your website meets or exceeds your expectations and delivers all the salient elements of its purpose.