developing websites updating content

February 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

 

Managing your website and how you can develop better content. 

 

These days, just about everyone has a website, but how effective are those fly by night $4 buck websites anyway?  I mean, if you do not really have a domain name and you just have this sort of odd subdomain for 4 bucks how much is that really worth anyway?

Creating a website is often more about what you want to do than what that website looks like.

You can own and operate an affordable website with just a few hours work.

When you first begin to consider creating a website, what is the first thing that you should consider?

Is it hosting, is it a domain name?  or is it in what you choose to build your website with?

Using WordPress and Custom developed plugins you can create a website quickly we can show you how to do that.

The thing is the old saying that you get what you pay for is something that cannot be over looked.

Why pay for an overpriced service when you can have you own and operate your own website for less than you think, Save money by using the DIY approach.

At Albany Webs our business philosophy is to empower our clients with the knowledge they need to own and operate their own website at an affordable savings. We give you the information and show you how to DIY (do it yourself) “hey wait a minute I can get a website at one of those generic template sites” Yes that is true, you can, however it is important to realize that you get what you pay for, you can get a generic template website hosted on an anonymous domain like your website. some domain.com. The downside is that what you have, is just what you pay for, you can get it cheap but that is something that is not as desirable as you might imagine.

We can show you how to get the premium look of a much more expensive website at a price that will save you money and save you time. Saving money is a good thing, however you need to carefully consider what you get for your money, sometimes it may be better to pay a little more and get a lot more for your money, than to take what at first glance might seem to be the cheapest choice.

Here are some features you will want to make sure you have in your website.

• Your Own Domain name. (check out godaddy.com)

• Good Content. Original fresh content.

• Business information, directions to your location, who you are, what you do.

• The right Programming, the old adage is still applicable, Keep is Simple.

• Communication system, Email communications tools, help you stay in touch with your customers.

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

• Learn how to DIY (do it yourself)

This is perhaps one of the most overlooked methods of saving money when considering a website presence on the Internet.

DIY is our approach to doing business online.

Some Design houses and in fact most of them practice the maintenance fee method of doing business online, this robs the customer of the vital aspects of doing business on- line, it keeps them from learning about the truly important methods of succeeding on- line, we feel that empowering the client with the knowledge to DIY creates the possibility of the long term success of a small business website.

 

 

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Everything changes

February 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

 The truth about the world and doing business in it is that everything does change. 

There are some amazing things that are all around us if we could only slow down long enough to see them, In life nothing stays the same everything changes and that is what the world is all about, Change.

 

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Articles and Content

July 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Is content really king of the internet, and is Google becoming an alleged monopoly…

There are very interesting questions and there may not be a 100 percent perfect answer, however it is something to carefully consider. If you are considering developing a website, think about what you can do and how you will do it, writing is all about creating the best method of communication, that will also attract website visitors to your website. Developing content in a modern world, writing has long been one of the most respected professions.

Content is all about putting together words into meaningful and valuable associations.

Writing used to be only for a few selective educated individuals however that has changed over the years, in fact you no longer really even need a publishing company to get published. Content used to be known as king not its valuable content that is kind, but what is value and how is it determined. The most important part of the website is the content, and contrary to what even Google thinks, people do not want perfect content mostly because we just are not perfect, the last person I knew that was perfect also walked on the water so why are we now suddenly deciding that we need perfectly formatted content from from any imperfection?

A man who thinks he is perfect is a fool and the same could be said for a search engine that thinks all content should be perfect. Great articles and content should anticipate questions and satisfy the customers quest for knowledge, the vast majority of Internet consumers visit a web page to learn more about products and services they are looking for before making a purchase.

A successful Web page. What goes into a successful website. You need a create content rich web site. The content should be relevant and up to date as well as written in such a way that you are talking to the customers like they were standing in your store, because some day they may be standing right in front of you. Such items as articles, tips, tutorials that will hold your visitors interest and get them to return to come back to your site again and again. keeping your content Up to date this keeps the site fresh and interesting.Search Engines are looking for websites that offer fresh and informative con- tent for their visitors. When writing content use easy to understand words and avoid using slang; which many visitors may not understand.

Designing Content Articles. One key way to design a successful web site is to create original compelling content, not just once but keep it fresh and up to date. Remember to design your content to attract both the visitors and Search Engines, find and use the most relevant keywords for your articles. This is a must if you want your site to be successful. Never copy text from other websites and paste it into your website. One reason you should never do this is called duplicate content.

Duplicate content You can be penalized in the search engines when you duplicate content or in other words by taking an article from another website, (with permission or without) you create duplicate content, Search engines and web site visitors want to see fresh content, not thousands of web pages that contain the same information, it is frustrating to be looking for relevant information and not be able to locate it because everyone is using the same articles for content. If you want your web page to be listed in the upper end of the search engines listings, then you want fresh and original content. Creating great content is not that difficult, but it can be time consuming. If you were to write a new short article every day you could quickly generate excellent content for your web site. Spend just 20 min a day writing content and at the end of a week you will have a great resource for your clients and web site visitors. Learn more about SEO and Web pages at our learning menu. Thank you for visiting Albany Webs

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website developement

September 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Most businesses need a website.

Some already have one.

Others want one.

They don’t want to hire IT staff and probably would not care to go to the expense of hiring someone and in most cases, an in-house IT staff, especially for your typical small business, just isn’t necessary. But, that doesn’t mean that you have to go without or will be forced to use some cookie cutter website or a personal Frontpage experiment gone awry.

You can hire a web developer/designer to create a professional website for you, set it up, then hand it over to you for you to do what you want with it.

But, how should you go about finding someone to do this?

What should you look for?

There are literally thousands of companies/individuals out there offering to do your website.

How do you pick from this large group?

What Do You Want?
The first step is to decide exactly what you want on your website. This is very important as it will determine what the requirements are and, in turn, what skill set your web developer needs to fulfill your needs. Here are some questions to ask of yourself:

* What kinds of information do you want to have on your site? Approximately how large do you envision the site (# of pages)?

* Will your site require regular updates? Do you want to do these updates yourself?

* Will you be engaging in e-commerce on this website?

* Will you need a database?

* How fast do you need the job done?

* What is your budget?

Start Your Search

Doing a web search for someone that has the skills you will need for your website will still give you a humongous list of possible choices. Referrals are often the best method of weeding people out. IF someone recommends a developer, it is because they are happy with the service they were provided. So, if someone recommends a developer to you, you should check that developer out and see if they have the skills you will need from them.

Often, the web developers you are pondering are not located in your town. In today’s day and age, this is not usually a problem. Yes, there are instances where a face-to-face meeting is really beneficial, and if you are the kind of really considers this meeting important, you should limit your search to developers within driving distance of your location. Otherwise, the internet and phone system provide all the communication you will need, regardless of distance.

The first thing to do when considering a developer is to check out their website.

* IS the website well-designed and attractive?

* Is it easy to navigate?

* Are there any broken links?

* Is the information complete (introduction to staff, company location, contact methods, etc.)?

* Does the site load quickly?

* IS there a portfolio? (Very important. A developer without a portfolio to display is a total question mark. You simply don’t know if the people are good or are snacking on doritos trying to figure things out as they go).

* What skills does the developer have? Do they do design only, or can they do dynamic web development and database design? Also, ensure that they do not advertise themselves as a web designer but focus mainly on print media. Internet design and print design are different ballparks with different requirements. Also, keep in mind that good use of Dreamweaver or Frontpage does not in itself make a web designer. Check their portfolio and ensure the developer really knows his stuff. A person well-versed in internet development should know not only about creating the site, but also maintaining it, marketing it, and promoting it. Ideally, a web developer has successfully done all of the above on his own sites.

* Does the site offer customer testimonials? Read them. And, you might even contact those clients independently to ask them questions of the service you were provided.

Small Freelancers vs. Big Firms
You need to decide if you want to work with a large web design firm or a small freelance web company (or even single web developer). There is more security for the client when working with a larger firm. The skills they offer vary widely because their staff is so large, and they often have a very large portfolio. The caveat, though, is that large web companies often charge more money. The overhead costs for such companies is larger, so they will charge more. Additionally, larger web companies often come with more beauracracy. With so many developers, often communication is just not what it should be, leading to inconsistencies in the project due to miscommunication. Also, sometimes you will find that these companies pay a little too much attention to process rather than simply getting the job done.

Freelance web developers offer better value for the money, and because they are a single person, the communication flow between them and the client is usually much better (one-on-one). If there is a staff, usually the size is small, meaning communication will still be more tight-knit. This will lead to more consistent coding and coordination. Also, you know who is responsible for your project and there is more accountability. In larger firms, nobody is responsible in some cases. (or so they say). The downside of freelancing is that their skill set is their skill set, and if you need something that they don’t know how to do, they must research it. Also, freelancers are limited by their size. If they already have a high workload, then their throughout is limited and it may force you to wait. So, depending on the size of your project, a large firm might guarantee the job gets done quickly.

Rates and Guidelines
Check out the rates of the web developer. Often, you will not find the rates directly posted on their website. This is usually because they like to do things by estimate, so simply contact them, give them a few specs, and go back and forth until you get a ballpark figure. When getting an estimate, make sure it is detailed and exact. Ask any questions that you have. If you think the price is too high, ask them about it. Don’t be afraid to counter-offer. They can always refuse.

Check out the web developer‘s contract. Make sure the client is protected. PAy attention to guarantees of response time. You want to make sure your web developer is available for you. Also, look for their policy on project changes. Obviously, you cannot alter the specs of your project once an estimate is agreed upon without expecting additional fees. Ask them about this. Also, inspect the contract for warranty of work. Who will they handle bugs in the work they have done?

Talk With Them
Any web developer you consider should have a method of being reached by phone. Call them and gauge their personality. Make sure they are good people who you can talk with and bounce ideas off of. See if they treat you right or act like they barely have time for you. Good communication is very important to a successful project, and if you can’t properly communicate to your developer, you should not hire him/her.

Evaluate
Evaluate your potential developers using the advice above and you will be more likely to have successfully completed project with minimal frustration.

 

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Internet Hype

March 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Everyone is a website developer these days but can everyone really create the type of website that your business needs in order to succeed online?

That is the real question.

Everywhere you look these days, someone is trying to sell you on the idea that you can be an Internet Millionaire, the truth is that most people never make a dime online.   The Gurus out there will not tell you that because they want you to spend money all with the idea that you might just get rich, that is wrong, you can make money online, but it is not easy and you have to actually work at it.

Is the internet so full of Gurus that no one can trust anyone anymore?

The idea of the Internet Guru is about to be antiquated and sold to the highest bidder but would anyone really want it. The Get Rich Quick Internet seminars who come to town don’t help. You may have had one of those DIY sites (Do It Yourself) that looked good ten years ago, or one overloaded with pictures that left your visitors impatient, waiting for the page to load. More likely you may not have promoted your Web site; (you just built it and they did not come;)

Like conventional businesses, you need to get a number of things done right in order to succeed. Business plan, sign, layout, customer service, literature, advertising mix, staffing. If you Fail to implement some of these correctly the business can falter. Building an business on the Internet without counsel from those who have done it before sets you up for failure. however, in this case you can blame “the Internet” Some types of businesses by their very nature just don’t work well online or on the Internet. The competition has tied up the market and that it’s prohibitively expensive to compete online. Not True, it can be very affordable depending on what you want from your website, you can only get out of a website what you put into it. The idea that you can become a millionaire by doing nothing online is just like the get rich quick schemes you see every day online.

We just cant compete, its just too expensive.
Online companies spend thousands of dollars every day and we just don’t have that kind of budget, besides its impossible to compete. Some companies do have large Internet advertising budgets and they get more out of their investment than most companies however this does not mean that small business cannot compete.If you truly believe that you cannot compete in the world of Internet marketing then you will find it very difficult to compete in any business environment, including brick and mortar retail locations. One of the most over looked aspects of doing business online is the very real fact that online sales are increasing each year, In 2003 U.S. Internet sales of more than $51 billion. In 2004 we saw a 25% increase in sales to the tune of 87.5 billion. This shows the direction of Internet sales verses retail sales, the result is clear, Customers all over the world have spoken and what they say is easy to understand. Disconnected? Are you disconnected from the world. I frequently talk to business owners, who have a closed mind about the Internet, you tend to hear a lot of the same negative comments,

The Internet is a Fad, and it wont last. The truth is clear, business owners that do not have a website will be much less successful in the future, Why? The logic is simple, the more customers that make a purchase online means that less purchases will be made at retail locations, this requires an adjustment for the business owner. A website is a waste of money. “I have heard that it is impossible to make real money” This is just not true, a lot depends on how you look at what a website can do for you, it is important to realize that a website is more than just a sales vehicle, it is an affordable method of communication. Think of it this way, how much money would it cost you to hire someone to represent your company, its services, its products and provide that information 24 hours a day. Even at minimum wage it would be expensive. The good news is that a website can be operated for just pennies a day and the rate of return can be significant. Even if you only reach a handful of new customers each year your investment in a website is still creating revenue. Repeat business A website can be a great tool to keep you customers coming back for more, repeat business is an important tool for increasing revenue.

Getting the Customer Back in the Door
You need to give your customer a little something of extra value, if you want them to become a repeat customer. Try giving them more than they paid for. If you have a product to sell, customers should perceive that it has a greater value than the products offered by your nearest competitor. Look at your business like a customer would. What could you be doing better and what is your competition doing better? A website can do this for you and it can do so much more. © 2006 AlbanyWebs.com

 

 

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