Increasingly, more and more consumers are turning to the Internet for all their needs, including identifying companies for services, products, and information they need.
Why have a site?
I know that I always do a Google search online when I’m looking for something – a local plumber, glass store, vitamin shop, or a professional like a doctor or lawyer. If the company or individual I’m looking for has a website, my decision-making is much easier.
- I always search for products online to assess pricing levels, features, quality and availability before I make a decision of what and where to buy.
- I really appreciate having a company website I can check, even if I’m only looking for location or hours of operation and holidays.
- I want to inform myself as much as I can before I spend money.
- I always educate myself online before I choose a professional.
I also love reading online – I read blogs about the latest technology, changes in the real estate situation, news articles, and travel blogs (particularly blogs from those who have traveled the geographical areas we’re heading into). If I need to check calories on a food, I go online. If I need to find out how bankruptcy affects foreclosure, or how to reduce fleas on my roommate’s dog, I go online. If I want to find out how to do a particular gym workout, I go online.
If you have a product, a blog, or information and you want to get the word out, having a website that is search optimized is one of the smartest and most efficient moves you can make.
Remember:
- More and more people check the web to find services.
- People will read your website before deciding to get in touch.
- You can educate your clients in advance; it will save you time and energy.
- A quality website is a great marketing tool.
- A quality website will increase your exposure and your credibility.
Our experience
Getting a website up and running is an often daunting task, however – no matter what the web design ads say.
We started designing our own website back in early 2003, and we’ve come a long way since then. We’ve worked with nearly a dozen programmers, had three different hosting companies, maintained at least eight domain names, worked with at least three different platforms, designed six of our own sites, designed and created another site, and worked on design and function on yet another large, complicated site. We’ve learned a lot along the way.
We now have a site that has over two hundred travel journal entries posted (over six hundred pages), nearly two hundred photo galleries (over six thousand photos), dozens of resources and links, dozens of pages on our trip (schedule, route map, media, etc.), over a dozen educational articles (nearly fifty pages), and a shopping cart. We have designed it ourselves and we maintain it ourselves (Chelsea is our technician).
Do we set up other sites?
We’ve been asked a number of times if we’d set up websites for others, and Chelsea has finally agreed to say yes. She’ll work with you to create a new website, and if you have an existing site that isn’t what you want, she will update it for you.
Being such heavy Internet users over so many years, we’ve become very clear on what makes a good site. Chelsea will focus on several main areas: appearance, functionality, and content.
Appearance – Does your site have a clear company identity?
Functionality – Does your site load quickly? Is it well organized? Is it easy to find the most important things quickly? Do all your links work?
Content – Is the content written in a clear, easy to understand style with proper grammar, proper spelling, and proper punctuation? What pages will you need? Is your content up-to-date?
Creating the website
Chelsea will also walk you through choosing and registering a domain name; choosing a hosting provider, and setting up a hosting plan.
Chelsea has set reasonable fees, and her turnaround is great (you don’t need to worry about your site getting lost in her workload).
If you are interested in finally getting your own site or updating your current website (retail, informational, or blog), contact Chelsea and get going now.
websites@travelingroses.com