Building Your Own Website: Is this a good idea and what else is needed?

Feb 25, 2012

Let’s face it. There are a plethora of choices when you are considering a new website design. Ads are everywhere promising anything and everything. It can get pretty daunting when it comes to making an informed decision. Talking to clients every day, I find that many people buy software thinking they can easily do their own site, only to find they have wasted the money and cannot use the software purchased.  Once the software is downloaded, our clients find that the software is very confusing and they are unable to perform the programming needed for set up.
For a programmer or a designer who uses software everyday, it is easy to set up the site. However, without any prior knowledge of software use, etc., many clients end up calling our team to see if we can set up the software for them that they have just purchased. Many of these so called “easy to build your own site” companies provide no technical support at all, leaving our clients to fend for themselves and pocketing their money.
The best and most cost effective way to start down the road to website ownership is to do the research and find a reputable designer who will offer you a great product while at the same time leaving at least one or two areas of the new site that the client can add content (CMS) Content Managed areas.  Our answer to this is to always add a WordPress area to each website.  By doing this our clients will have access to the area to make new pages (in a verticle menu) and they can take part in building their online presence. They can also add images, YouTube Video and links to other sites of interest.
This is only the first step of the journey however.  A smart website owner will go one step further and hire a professional marketing strategist to assist them with writing tasks and blogging.  To get optimum results, the client and this SEO Professional will partner and (together) they will build a great online presence.
The SEO Individual hired will understand how to get to and target those clients looking for the client’s unique brand of items. They understand the importance of blogging regularly and are able to re-write pages of the site as needed.
Finding an SEO Professional who is a Free lance writer is always a plus. Creativity will always get a higher rank in the search engines than a “same as usual” blog post. The internet was created as a marketing tool to provide new and interesting content to viewers. Writers have the experience, the talent and the skill to tap into this new online criteria. Depend upon them to add that needed edge to stay on top of the competition. They are also more likely to be involved in continuing education to stay on top of the latest search engine rules (which change constantly).
You should be willing to pay for a good SEO individual. The person or company you hire should provide you with a writing and/or blogging agreement with a break down of each service and the cost for each. As another option they should also let you know if they are available to create email newsletters. Ask your professional how often he or she would suggest you send this out to your viewers. Developing an online email newsletter relationship with your current customers will pay off with big dividends as you stay in contact with them regularly.
While the goal of course is to give you a high ranking in the top search engines, no one can realistically promise you a number “one” ranking. Run away as fast as you can if someone offers this guarantee. None of us control the ranking criteria of thousands of search engines. We simply program our sites, keep the content rich and current, and hope for a slot at the top. It could happen but it normally takes at least six months to start seeing the results of any SEO Email Newsletter Campaign or SEO Blogging Campaign. Ask the SEO Professional to provide a list of other clients he or she is working for now so that you can share their experiences. Be fair, be patient and be consistent in your efforts to reach the top.
Please hurry back for more savvy suggestions from our team of design wizards. Step InsideDesignOrlando.com and be wowed.
Jean Holland-Rose (Chief Creative Officer) Orlando Website Design

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