Get your site up and running
Getting your website set up and running can seem like a mind boggling tasks, there are so many offers and different styles it can be hard to tell what is what. You may consider doing it yourself or getting it done professionally.
If you want visitors to your site to take your business seriously, you should make sure that it’s as well designed as possible. Your website should be as strong as possible, if it looks good, it will instil faith in your company. The website is the shop window of your business, and first impressions last. It could be worth your while to get a bit of expert advice: one error that companies often make is starting off with a budget that’s too low.
It is possible to go online and get templates, put copy up and get pictures off the internet, but its full of pitfalls, there are a lot of copyright issues and you don’t want to get in trouble for innocently using an image you shouldn’t have.
Start-ups should start small and work within their budget, choose a local agency, a small one where you can maybe get a little more value for money and who will guide you through the process. The big corporates can afford to go to the big city firms.
At the end of the day, a web designer is an investment rather than a luxury, you can build your own site, but templates and DIY websites that you buy online are quite impersonal. If you don’t have a site designed for your company, you run the risk of being one of a crowd.
Here are some guidelines to follow to make the whole thing seem a bit less confusing:
If at all possible, don’t go down the DIY route: it’s a good idea to get expert advice on design and build, if you don’t know much about building a website and you try and build it yourself, it will most probably look like you have done it yourself and not give off the high-end professional look that you are going for.
Over budget, yes you will get quotes, but your website will change and evolve, you will add bits to it and take away, the bill for a website build always goes up in the end and it’s always at least double what you think it’ll be.
Keep lines of communication open and work closely with your web development teams, ensure you know what they are doing at all times, and it is your vision for the website coming to life.
When you have sufficient funds, bring web developers in-house, this will save you a lot of money.
Try to bring in good technical people, and don’t be afraid to reward them with equity and good salaries: a good developer can do the work of three average ones
Whoever understands what needs to be built and whoever understands the user – whether it’s the client or the product person – will drive the idea. They need to be working very closely with the team that is building your site.