How To Choose a Web Design Company

Written By: Susan Murphy, June 3rd, 2010, 2 Comments

At least a couple of times a week, I am contacted by someone who is in dire straits with their web site. They have fallen victim to a web designer who has turned their online presence into a downright mess. They are stuck with low quality design, obsolete technology and a ton of extra, hidden expenses.

Now, I know plenty of great web site designers and developers. Jester Creative is proud to work regularly with many very talented and highly skilled web professionals. But I’m astounded at how many so-called “Web Design Companies” are still getting away with shilling out high priced, substandard web services.

If you’re in the market for a new web site, or you’re looking for someone to help you freshen up your online presence, then I hope the following guidelines will be useful to you in choosing the right web professional for the job.

Always get an estimate in writing. Any reputable web company will offer you a free initial consultation (by phone or in person) and a complete estimate. Be wary of companies who try to sell you on a fixed price without understanding your full requirements or worse, tell you that they work on a “per page” rate. Every web site is different, and it’s important that you work with your web designer from the beginning to create a comprehensive set of requirements and features for your site.

Watch for Hidden Costs. There is nothing wrong with paying your web company to perform maintenance and update content on your site. It can save you plenty of time and worry, and be worth every penny. But be wary of companies that want to charge you every time you need to update your site. I’ve even heard of companies charging up to $100 per update, just to update simple text! A proper maintenance package should be based on a monthly fee that allows up to a certain number of hours of the web company’s time for maintenance and content updates. Be wary of anyone who wants to charge you per update.

These days, there are lots of terrific tools that enable you to have a really great web site that you can update yourself. These tools are called Content Management Systems (CMS). Many CMS systems are free, like Wordpress and Drupal, and once your web designer has programmed your site on a CMS, you can easily go in and update content yourself, without having to be a web site programming expert. This is a great option for business owners who want to be able make simple updates on their own, like adding a blog post, updating contact information, or even adding a new page to the site. You should have the option to modify your own content when you want to. Be sure to ask any web company you’re considering if they have experience with industry standard Content Management Systems like Wordpress and Drupal. If they don’t, then you may want to look elsewhere.

Search Engine Optimization is part of the deal. Sometimes I get in trouble for this one, because there are a lot of self-proclaimed “SEO Experts” out there. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a set of techniques that assist in getting your web site to rank higher in search engines like Google, when people search on related keywords. It’s important to the success of your site, but it isn’t some big expensive mystery.

For the average small to medium sized business, doing SEO goes with the territory of producing good web site content. If you are paying your web site design company to develop content for you too, then SEO should be included in their service. If they are trying to pitch it as an “add on” service that costs a lot more, then be sure to ask lots of questions about specifically what they will be doing for your SEO. If it seems at all gimmicky or overpriced, use caution. It never hurts to get a second opinion, either.

Have a budget in mind. Web site prices are extremely wide-ranging, from a couple or few thousand dollars for a simple site right up to tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for a large scale site. Don’t let that big price range scare you, but do put some thought into what you can afford before you start calling for quotes. We tell our clients that a web site is always a work in progress. We like to take a phased approach to web projects, to get you up and running for what you can afford now, and then look at what features we can add down the road once the site starts to pay off for you. Most reputable web companies will do the same. A phased approach not only allows you to budget more easily, but it also keeps your site fresh for your customers – adding new, exciting features and content over time.

The bottom line. A web site is a big investment, so it’s important to feel comfortable that you are getting your money’s worth. If you’re looking around for a good web design company, start by talking to people you know whose web sites you like. Get referrals. Go to the company’s web site and look at some of their past projects. Is their style in line with your vision? Contact the company and ask questions about their specific development process – what will be the steps involved in putting together your site? Ask for a written estimate, and always ask for references. Work with a web company that you can establish a long-term relationship with, one that you can work with to grow, expand and manage your online presence as your company grows. That will ultimately benefit your bottom line AND your customers.

[photo credit: lastquest on Flickr]

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in web design

5 Simple Ways to Get Started with Web Video

Written By: Susan Murphy, April 13th, 2010, 1 Comment

There was a time when in order to create worthwhile video content, you had to invest in complex equipment, tie up resources for days on end, and then find ways to distribute the content by buying ad or informercial time on a TV network or making thousands of DVD and videotape copies. Video was cost prohibitive and time consuming, and it was difficult to gauge response or ROI.

The Web has changed all of that. Now, anyone with a camera and an Internet connection can post video online in just a few minutes, and distribute it to a worldwide audience. The cost, time and level of expertise required has plummeted. This is very good news for small businesses with limited resources.

Video is one of the most engaging ways to tell your story. The use of moving images, music, narration and text can inspire, inform and enlighten. There are lots of ways to get started with video, and we wanted to share some basic tips that you can use to get you up and running, experimenting with video as a storytelling medium for your business.

Tip #1: Finding the Right Camera
A good camera is the best place to start. We recommend buying the best quality camera you can afford, but you still want to keep things simple. There’s no reason to run out and buy a $5,000 camera with more features than you need if all you’re doing is simple webcasts.

Consider what you’ll be using the camera for and how quickly you want to go from the videography stage to final product. There are many small cameras that are designed specifically for being super-portable, with point and shoot ease and one-or-two-click uploading. Our personal favourites are the Flip Ultra and the Kodak Zi8. Both offer high definition quality (albeit consumer-level high definition, but still very good), and point and shoot usability. For a couple hundred dollars you can have all you need to start making web videos.

But, even if you don’t have the money to get a video camera, making a video can be as simple as talking into your laptop web cam or cell phone camera!

Tip #2: Consider Your Story
Before you start rolling, take some time and really consider what you want your video to be about. You don’t need to script it entirely, but do think about how you want to present things. If you’re the CEO and are giving a daily update to your customers, take some time to make some notes on your key messages. Don’t be afraid to try it a few times – it’s not live TV, so it’s okay if you make a mistake – you can just do it over and over till you get it right. What’s most important is that you’re communicating your message well. Preparing ahead of time will help your story to be clear.

Tip #3: Quality Matters
It’s all fine and well to have a great story to tell, but if nobody can see or hear it, it’s not going to fly. Presenting a substandard quality video could reflect poorly on your company, so you want to make sure that you’re presenting something technically sound. You don’t have to have the fanciest equipment in the world to make it look and sound good. Make sure you’re shooting in a well-lit location. Be careful that you don’t have any windows or bright lights directly behind you, or you’ll look like a silhouette. Try to limit background noise, like people talking, or phones ringing. Of course, if you’re outside on the street, this will be more difficult. In this case, do a test recording to make sure you can be heard over the background noise.

Tip #4: Put it all Together
If your video is just you talking straight to the camera for a few minutes, then minimal editing will be required. However, if you want to get a bit more fancy, by putting in an opening title, some graphics, music, or different visuals, then you’ll need to do some editing. There are free tools available, such as iMovie for Mac and Windows Movie Maker, and for simple stuff, this is all you’ll need. If you want to get more fancy, you can check tools like Adobe Premiere Elements or Corel VideoStudio. The pro tools, like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro are expensive and probably overkill for simple web videos, and have a steeper learning curve, so there’s no real reason to consider those.

Be warned…editing can take time. You have to decide if it’s worth it for you or someone in your office to spend time in their day editing videos. If you do, then rest assured that you can get up and running pretty simply using the consumer level tools mentioned here.

Tip #5: Ask an Expert
There are lots of people who do just fine putting together their own web videos. They have been able to invest a bit of money and a few resources into it, and it’s paying off.

In some cases, you may decide that it would be a more effective use of resources to bring in the pros. Hiring a video production company that specializes in corporate web video is a good option, if you are looking to produce a one-off special or series, or to do multiple projects over a longer period.

A professional production company can help you refine your stories, hire professional on-air talent, and has access to better quality equipment. The videographers and editors are capable of making your finished product polished and professional, and this can reflect well on your customers and ultimately on your sales.

No matter whether you choose to be an in-house video crew or hire a pro, one thing is clear…video is the way of the future. If you don’t already have plans to incorporate video into your online efforts, now is the time.

Good luck!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in video, web design

Extreme Makeover: Website Edition? Not Always!

Written By: Susan Murphy, January 29th, 2010, No Comments

Often, we are so busy going about our business, trying to find time to do everything we need to do, that before we know it, we’ve started to let ourselves go a bit. We get a little rough around the edges, unkempt. We are so busy that we put up with the status quo until it starts to become a real issue. Then finally, when we can’t take it anymore, we get back on the treadmill, get our hair cut, and go shopping for some new clothes.

The same can be said for web sites. We’ve all been there – we launch a great new design, with spectacular new content, and then poof! Two or three years have gone by and not a stitch of it has been updated. The colours are bland. The technology is outdated. You are almost embarrassed to have the web site address on your business cards.

The solution? Start again and build a new site, of course! But building an updated site doesn’t always mean starting over. In many cases, our clients come to us because they’ve been told by someone that in order to do a proper update to their site, they have to start over from scratch, basically throwing away all the work they did before and spending exorbitant amounts of time and money to rebuild. We believe there’s a different way.

Sometimes a little TLC is all that’s required. There’s a good chance that you’ve got more going for you than you may think in terms of your web site. Many of our clients come to us with web sites that look circa 1997, but more often than not, they’ve got some great content lurking in the corners. We help them dig out the hidden gems, and explore other sources of content too. Almost everyone has brochures, ads, white papers, and presentations that they’ve been creating all along, even while the web site went ignored. All of that content is valuable. When we perform a content audit as a first step, we uncover the true stories, waiting to be told. With some close review and revision, we create a foundation. And with a foundation, there’s inspiration to find new ways to present the existing content in fresh, clean, clear new way. Think of it as cleaning house, putting a fresh coat of paint and some new pictures on the wall. After that, we do re-vamp of the look and feel and our clients are back in business, without the need to start from scratch.

A web site is ALWAYS a work in progress. With a fresh new look and feel and a message that sticks, you’re well on your way to regaining pride in your online presence. But it doesn’t stop there. Remember, the road to stagnant web sites is paved with good intentions. The last thing you want to do, after investing time and money into a freshened up site is let it go stale again. We tell our clients that building and maintaining a great web presence is about having a strategy in place to ensure its long term success and their positive return on investment. This means understanding their audience, understanding their lines of business, and understanding how they’re going to use online tools and techniques to connect with people and build lasting relationships that help their businesses to flourish. Businesses that succeed online do so because they have mastered the two-way human interaction that is fundamental and unique to online marketing, and because they are continually providing fresh, relevant content.

Ultimately, it comes down to your goals. It’s about understanding what you need to achieve with your web presence and then implementing a plan that is going to yield results. Keeping these things in mind, you’ll be well on your way to unveiling a new world of online opportunities that can only stand to benefit your business and your customers.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized, web design

The Evolution of the Website

Written By: Susan Murphy, October 6th, 2009, 1 Comment

I’ve been at this whole web thing a while – pretty well since the beginning actually (well at least the beginning of the popular “Web”). I remember the first time I saw the Internet – It was 1996, and my brother called to me from his computer room. “I want to show you something that will blow your mind!” he shouted. I went into the room and sat down beside him. The computer screen was displaying nothing more than a murky grey background and some black text. A few of the words were blue and underlined. “It’s an ugly page of text. So what?” I said, and got up to leave. “That ugly page of text is coming from a computer on the other side of the world.”

I sat back down.

In that instant, I knew that things were about to change in a big way. I’d been working in television for about 6 years at that point and was pretty savvy about all kinds of media. But this…this was different. I realized that if people had the ability to post information that anyone in the world could see, then this could have a significant impact on the way people communicate.

Fast-forward a few years and the Web had become mainstream. By the late 90’s and early 2000’s, there were millions and millions of web sites. Many of these sites were basically online business cards – text and images on a screen, that in large part, displayed company descriptions and contact information, and not much more. There were some nifty new languages and tools appearing on the market that let you have some amount of interactivity and animation…but they weren’t the norm yet. Video was a bit of a pipe dream, as connection speeds simply weren’t fast enough to handle it. But companies were really starting to see the value in having a web presence.

Today, the Web is ubiquitous, to the point where companies that don’t have a web presence are perceived as lacking credibility. And it’s no longer just about having an online business card. Sure, it’s vitally important to ensure that your contact information appears, and that your site tells visitors something about your company. But there’s so much more to it now.

The Web has evolved from a relatively passive viewing experience (like TV) to a dynamic, two-way conversation. Social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs have revolutionized the way that companies interact with their customers.

But perhaps one of the biggest progressions on the Web has been online video. YouTube went online for the first time in 2005, and changed the way we perceived video. Video used to be mysterious and expensive. Now, anyone with a web cam and an idea can make a video. Bring some professional video people into the mix, and you can do something truly remarkable.

There’s no question nowadays that having a solid web presence is an integral part of marketing your business or organization. Using the amazing tools we have at our disposal to craft compelling stories and create real, engaging, two-way conversations is a key step in the process. The Web is a powerful medium, and it’s within reach of anyone.

So what are you waiting for?

Tags: , , ,
Posted in video, web design