Raw 03 - November 2008 - (Page 45)

TWDS RAW How long has the webdesigner been trading? The longer a design company has been in business, the more likely that they have stability and track record of satisfied clients due to the vast competition. Visit the web designer / developers’ sites Research a little and check out their previously made websites. Most web designers would have a portfolio ask to have a look or to perhaps email some examples over to you. What work was carried out, how long they took, what they wanted to achieve etc… Don’t necessarily go for the lowest quote! The lowest does not always mean the best. There are many ways to cut corners and achieve lower end poorly created websites use the other pointers mentioned then think about the pricing then that way you can get the best of both? Maintenance? Ask the Designer / Developer if they would do maintenance to your website as many large and small companies do not offer the service of maintenance once you have your website made and the money has been passed over that may be the end of the line and you may have to search for somebody else to update your website. This may be where you discuss rough prices for updating a page on your website in the future and how much it may cost or it could incorporate ability to have a cms as discussed below where if you would frequently update your site this method may be the choose for you. Know what you need for YOUR website… Who is your audience? Who are you trying to attract? What kind of website do I want for my business? Informational or graphical based website. An online shop or an animated movie. How many pages does you website need? List all the pages that you think you would require you can discuss this with your web designer. Who will find me? Ask the company how users will be able to find your website. Do they have a marketing plan? Free website submission to search engines? Search engine optimization plan? Do you know the difference between a premade template and unique website design? Choosing a website to suit your budget especially when you are a start-up company can be difficult. So choosing a new design or using an existing good template design could be a hard decision when every penny counts. Website templates are pre-made website designs that you do have the ability to personalize to suit your company’s image but this template may possibly be used by hundreds of people and might in some cases require extensive work to completely change to a fresh unique design. Having a unique design puts your stamp in the marketplace for the right image that you want to get across to you client / consumer. Functionality? Simple or complicated functionality between your site and its user can be a key success to a websites function, navigation and user experience. Make sure you know what features you might like to use on your website. This can include anything like how a form on your website might be emailed to you or your user. With an online shop it may be features a product can contain such as quantity, title, colour and size. Other functions could include calendars, calculators, image galleries, newsletter sign-ups and news items. Functions may be extremely complex but make sure they look and work simple for your user. Updatable Content? If you intend to update your website regularly you may wish to consider using a cms – content management system. These are generally needed in large paged or ecommerce websites. At TWDS we can offer Content Managements Systems without any tie in contracts and you can have the ability to update your own website when asking for this option. Getting a visual. One of the most important factors even when dealing with a low budget start-up website is seeing a visual if you cannot see how your website might look who knows what the end result will be. Could you be blowing money away in the wind? I know many clients who have come to me after falling into a trap where money is handed over to a so called web design company with disastrous results as nothing but the final poor result has been shown to the client with no communication inbetween. It may be worth holding some money back or negotiating the fees and paying in stages as you see the progress. Good Luck!!! The Web Design Shop – TWDS “Making the web look more professional” For more information visit www.twds.co.uk or call 0800 335 7777 / 020 8551 2934 or email us at design@twds.co.uk. millionimpossible.com 45 http://www.twds.co.uk http://www.millionimpossible.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Raw 03 - November 2008

Raw 03 - November 2008 Contents Bradley Chapman Rachael Elnaugh Linda Klassen-Brown Heidi Weir Mark Asquith Emma Thompson Chris Wright

Raw 03 - November 2008

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