I’m sorting out my bookmarks and am amazed at the number of web designer’s sites who’ve changed the file extension of their homepage and have not redirected the old to the new or created a 404 Error page. Not even a crappy out of the box 404 page. I wonder how many prospects visit their site from a bookmark and assume they’re no longer in business. Really web designers should know better.
I receive a lot of enquiries from people wanting a website. Unfortunately in many instances the prospect has no idea of their budget, or they don’t want to tell me what it is. I understand that they feel that if they give out a budget that’s what they will be quoted but they are so off the mark.
Giving the web designer an idea of how much you want to spend helps us suggest a solution that fits your requirements and your budget. I always use the car analogy - if I’m looking at buying a new car I give the car salesman an idea of what I am looking for and my price range. That way he knows whether to direct me to the Mercedes or the used car lot down the road. Without giving him that information he’s not able to make any professional recommendations He’s just flying around in the dark.
You don’t have to give an absolute figure, consider a ballpark or a price range. And remember the web designer you choose must be within your budget but it is just as important, if not more, to make sure the web designer you work with is one that has a good understanding of your requirements, can deliver a successful solution and is someone you’d want to work with.
I seem to have quite a few SEO related podcast sites to visit but not many in the design/marketing side of things. Can anyone recommend any sites? In other words what are y’all listening too?
This is just a quick post while I try to get back into the swing of things but it’s one I thought worth a mention.
When was the last time you filled out your own online forms? If you’re thinking you haven’t lately how do you know they are working?
I always recommend that my clients test their forms regularly. It’s a good way to ensure that they are working properly. It’s also a great way to find any usability issues. If you find them hard or annoying to complete I suspect your site visitors are too.
So if you haven’t - go test your forms. Now!
Bienalto, an online marketing consultancy, are running the 2007 Australian Web Analytics Survey. It doesn’t take long to complete and all participants will be emailed the full survey details.
Web analytics is still not widely adopted in Australia so this is a great way to contribute and get an idea of the current state of play. It’s running until the 19 October 2007 so hop on over there.
