What does it cost to build a Website?

• This is an easy question to ask, but not so easy to answer
• First determine what platform the site will be built on
• CMS – HTML – DreamWeaver, etc…
• Also, review the required functionality of the Website
• Secondly, determine the amount of design needed
• Third, review the actual components of the Website, content, graphics, photos, videos and other elements
• These elements drive your budgets, which are almost all based on staff hours
• Budgets and pricing have begun to stabilize with less variance

What are the various parts of a Website project and how do they get broken into budgets?

• Review the Intuitive Websites Four Step Process
• Strategic planning
• Design elements
• Technology platform
• Functionality
• eCommerce or catalog Website
• Written content
• Photography, video, audio and other media
• Marketing the site on an ongoing basis

What drives variations in Website budgets and pricing?

• Knowledge and skill base of the Web marketer/designer/developer
• ROI and expected results from the Website, see the Website ROI Calculator.
• Client’s understanding of Web marketing is critical to getting the budget right
• Project leadership and management
• Development schedules and meeting deadlines
• You pay what you get for…

We end each podcast with an action item plan. What are the key action items for the listener?

• Re-visit your goals and Web strategy
• Test ROI estimates and budget forecasts
• Visit the ROI calculator on our Website
• Get educated about Web technologies, design, marketing, content and all other Web issues and Website elements.
• Know what you are paying for!

This has been the Intuitive Websites Internet Marketing Podcast for more information and to see all the available podcasts and much more, visit IntuitiveWebsites.com.

Let's take a look at www.PlusMoreMedia.com

Website Audits Review Each of the Four Steps :  When looking at a site we review all four of the steps to a successful Website. 

1. Strategy:  
2. Design and Development
3. Driving Traffic
4. Website Performance

Strategy and Design

• Message is not direct enough to tell us what the site is about in 5-10 seconds.      Perhaps choose a tag-line that follows the navigation.  Focus on  Web graphic design and video production and show differentiation -what makes your company different. 
• Professional design, clear navigation and layout. 
• Suggested a rotator image to get across your message : a "big" image to communicate quickly what your business is offering.
• Simplify the home page and tell the rest of the story within the site.    Scale back on homepage content.
• Focus on conversion point- they are using "Deal of the Month" , this is a good offer and shows a good impression.    The offer should be duplicated throughout the site. 
• Banners are often hidden to a users.   Many graphics are often not seen. 

Driving Traffic:

• The site is using very competitive and generic keywords. They are missing 'where you live' in the title tag to narrow focus.   Use niche words. 
• Resource tab is missing – place for free stuff and more content.
• Blog link difficult to find, on the New navigation.    Did a good job putting the articles on separate pages.  Long scrolling page, it would be helpful to make all links blue and underline.     Brief description then lead to complete article. 
• There is a lot of good content on the site, work on the organization and accessibility of it. 

Performance:

• How many leads are coming to the site and how many are converted to customers?  Difficult to find the Contact information.    Recommend phone and Email on every page with prominent placement.    
• Form on contact page is great but could add area to find out what the potential client really needs or present them an offer for completing the form.      Add information when customer what time frame they will be contact. 
• An About Us page with photos and information about the people that make up the company/service is what users want to see.  People also want to see the client list and what you have done for them.   Present credibility as well as the people/personal side of your business.
• Avoid blocks of text.  Use bullets or at least headlines over the blocks of text. 

 Action plan

• Simplify and make content more direct.
• Make conversion points more visible and easily found. 
• Focus the graphic images.
• More local focus and niche categories/keywords/strategy to drive traffic – use stats to help make these decisions
• Change conversion points  to an "offer of the month" and reinforce that you have  service to offer.

If you'd like your site audited go to IntuitiveWebsites.com.

The good news is that we will soon be launching Webinars and an interactive slide presentation to educate Web marketing professionals on the four steps to success on the Internet.

In the meantime, keep listening to our Podcasts and look for a lot of new content coming soon about the four steps to online success.

Tom

Lisa

So, why all the fuss about design and technology?  The folks that work in the Internet community are usually design and technology professionals.  There influence is key to what happens online and the user can often be left out in the dark, or more likely left lost on the Web as they try to find that valuable piece of content on a Website.  Oftentimes, the needs of the users clash with the work of designers and technology people.

Now here is the catch, and it is a big catch.  If you are working on the Web you need to see your role as a designer or programmer to enhance the user experience.  It sounds like common sense right?  But it does not work that way.  The designer’s and technology people’s ego thinks it is all about their work and what they do.  It is not unusual for clients or company managers to promote this by focusing too much on design elements and technology, rather than what the user wants.

The user wants to experience a pleasant looking site with nice graphics and images, that do not get in the way of their real goals, which is the pursuit of Web content that meets their needs.  Think like a user and design sites with their needs first.

Tom Wood-Young

Obviously, making technology simple has been a challenge for years.  We would love to hear your ideas for making the complex simple and making the Web easier to use and therefore provide more benefit to businesses and consumers.

Take advantage of the Web’s biggest benefit to business and society and add your comments to help communicate this knowledge.

Enjoy the Intuitive Websites Blog!

Thomas Wood-Young, CEO

Intuitive Websites, LLC