How to Choose a Website Design Company: Don’t get ripped off!

website-design-calgaryEveryone seems to have a website these days, but what you may not be aware of is that the web design and development industry is still completely unregulated.

What that means to you, the consumer, is that there isn’t a standard set of ethics that website design companies are forced to adhere to. So, you must learn to protect yourself instead of trusting that companies are being governed.

In order to ensure you’re dealing with an ethical web design company, be sure to ask these 10 questions before you commit.

 

1. Who owns the website I am paying for?

Shockingly, a lot of web design companies will license you the website you’re paying for instead of transferring ownership to you. This means if you ever change providers, you can’t take your site with you.

Ask the company to show you specifically in your contract where the website ownership is stated.

 

2. Do I receive a backup of all the files necessary for my website to work?

Make sure you get this on cd, as it enables you to take those files to another web design firm if you would like to.

 

3. Will I receive access to my ftp and hosting control panel?

Just as important as your web design files in terms of changing providers with ease, make sure you get the following:

a) FTP login url, user name, and password

b) Hosting Control panel url, user name, and password

 

4. Who owns my domain name?

Your domain name is www. yourcompanyname.com, it’s best to register this and manage it yourself at a company like godaddy.com but if not, make sure you are shown the documentation that lists you as the “registrant” and “admin” contact.

5. Are any guarantees my website will rank on search engines?

Often times there will be additional charges for this service that aren’t included in the website design and development price. It’s much better to get a full idea of the costs before you sign up.

 

6. Is there a long term contract I will be asked to sign?

Make sure you are comfortable with committing to this company for that period of time. Also ask about their contract cancellation policy.

 

7. Are there monthly or yearly fees? What service will I be receiving for these fees?

Some companies will charge ongoing maintenance fees, which don’t get you anything if you aren’t updating your web design regularly.

 

8. Who will be responsible for creating/providing my website content?

The content of your site is the text, images, links, videos etc that will be going on your website.

This is the number one reason that website development is delayed or halted. Make sure you have the time to create or provide your own content or hire a web design company that will take care of this for you.

 

9. What is the project timeline?

Make sure the website design company’s delivery date will work for you. There are some companies that will take months to get back to you on one small detail.

 

10. Do you have any references?

Just about anyone with a laptop and some coding knowledge can design a website, but are their customers happy with the results?

Make sure to check out online reviews of the company and ask for references from their existing clients.

By asking these 10 questions, you could save yourself hundreds of dollars in redoing your website design and hours of hassle trying to recover what is rightfully yours. If the company is hesitant to answer any of these questions or gives you the runaround, pick up and move on to the next prospective firm. There are so many businesses out there that will be glad to answer these questions for you; dealing with one that won’t is simply a waste of your time and money.

 

 

This month’s featured website design: Duri Homes

A behind the scenes look at how we launched a complete website design project in less than 30 days.

website-design-duri-homesWhen I walked into Duri Homes’ latest home in Aspen Wood Estates I was, in a word, impressed.

A long-time client, Dean Duri’s small home-building company had been steadily growing due to word of mouth and a steadfast commitment to quality.

In that moment I realized that Dean had arrived.  His new home was spacious, beautifully designed and absolutely luxurious. The calibre of homes Dean is now building has clearly come a long way since he started his company.

When we sat down to discuss revamping his website design, I knew we’d need to pull out all the stops to ensure it was an accurate reflection of the quality of this luxury home. To make sure we were on point, we reviewed a few Calgary website designs from competitors and colleagues and discussed his businesses goals.

A week or so later, I got a call from Dean asking if it would be possible to get the new site up in time for his Show Home opening on October 20th.

Typically our website design projects last about 3 months, so it was a tall order to complete the site within less than 3 weeks.

That being said, I knew how important it was to Dean that his old, outdated website design was replaced as soon as possible. I took a deep breath and told him we could hustle and get it done.

That week was spent in a flurry. Getting text written and approved, the images from the photographer and carefully reviewing my notes in order to ensure everything Dean needed for his new website design would be incorporated in the build.

On a Tuesday afternoon just 4 days before the show home opened, we got Dean’s approval on all the materials necessary to put his site together.

There was one huge problem though. Our website developer was going in for day surgery on the Friday, and the site was supposed to go live on Saturday.  Despite his impending surgery, our developer worked around the clock Wednesday and Thursday to get us a first draft of his site for Friday morning.

As I reviewed the first draft of the website design with Dean, I felt a sense of pride that we could pull through for a valued client in his time of need. Only a few quick revisions were needed, but couldn’t be completed until Shane had recovered from Friday’s surgery.

We agreed to meet online Saturday morning. I reviewed the changes and called Dean to confirm.

His new website design site went live 10 minutes ago, 15 minutes prior to his show home opening. It is gorgeous, and an accurate reflection indeed of what Dean is capable of creating for his customers.

As I sit back in my chair after a very early morning this sunny Saturday, I feel such a sense of gratitude.

I am grateful that our developer, despite his medical concerns was able to pull through for us. I am grateful that our designer put in extra effort to make sure the website design was “wow”, and I am grateful that we can be a part of Duri Homes’ success as they open a new chapter of their business.

Mostly though, I am grateful that I am part of such a fantastic team capable of pulling off huge accomplishments in support of our clients.

If you get a chance, visit Duri Homes new website design and check out their show home.

I think you too will be very impressed.

4 ways to use domain names to get better internet marketing results

internet-marketing-domain-nameThe best way to get better internet marketing results is to regularly review your campaigns and try new things if they aren’t producing the results you want.

Becoming familiar with the strategies you’re employing and being willing to tweak things a bit will provide you with much more accurate data to analyze, drive more traffic to your site, and ultimately get better results on Google.

Here are four things you can do with your domain names right now to enhance your internet marketing results.

Register Multiple Domains

The first step to leveraging domain names for internet marketing is to register several domains. Think of them as web assets.

Then you can use one domain name per campaign, which means you can now run split tests and track how well your advertising or media distribution is working. This is done by reviewing how much traffic you get from that specific domain name.

You will need to renew them once a year, but we think you’ll find the following 3 tips to leveraging domain name registration for internet marketing purposes will convince you this small cost is well worth it.

Leverage Domains to Track Internet Marketing Campaigns

If you own multiple domains, you can run split tests and hone your marketing skills and get to know what best appeals to your intended audience by observing how many people came to your site through the various channels your domains have opened.

Here’s an example. Say you purchase a banner ad as part of a campaign. In that ad you decided to use a secondary domain name, so instead of using www.mybusiness.com, you use www.bestwidgetsever.com.

Since you have not used bestwidgetsever.com in any other internet marketing campaigns, when you look at your web statistics, you’ll know right away how much traffic that particular domain name sent you and you’ll be able to compare it against your other campaigns. Did it work better or worse?

Also, this tactic is very useful for judging the effectiveness of traditional advertising campaigns like radio or billboards. A catchy domain name is easy to remember, which will help by driving more traffic to your website. If your domain name isn’t catchy, go buy one that is and see if it makes a difference to your site traffic.

Use domain names to increase your ranking on Google

Another way you can use domain names for internet marketing purposes is to purchase easy-to-remember domains with in-demand keywords.

We for example, we own bestcalgarywebsitedesign.com, which is catchy and also helps us rank highly on Google because it is full of good keywords.

Also, older domains typically receive better ranking than newer ones, all other things being equal. The better your ranking on Google, the better your overall internet marketing results will be.

Use Domain Names to Create Niche-Specific Internet Marketing Campaigns

Another way you can use your domain name for internet marketing purposes is to point a domain name to a specific, or even hidden, page on your website that is only accessible through the link you sent out.

In this way you can promote a specific campaign to a smaller niche market without everyone else seeing it. You can promote or even discount your inventory without having the discounted prices available to your regular customers by displaying these items only on, for example, ‘discountwidgets.com’ instead of ‘widgets.com’.

Another tactic for niche-specific marketing is to purchase and utilize domain names per specific geographical location you deal with, or per specific product you offer.

So say you have a campaign running in Calgary. The domain name discountwidgetscalgary.com will be an easy domain name to promote, remember, and it will likely rank well on Google.

If you can create a page on your website that is specific to the area and the campaign, you’ll find this performs better than if you didn’t use these internet marketing tactics.

There are many ways you can use specific domain names to help you track and optimize your internet marketing efforts if you get creative, but these three are easily the most fundamental.

Learn more about Internet Marketing

Have you used domain names for internet marketing before? What have been your challenges or questions? Tell us below.

How Internet Marketing Works

The widespread adoption of New Media into our lives has drastically changed consumer behavior and with it, the need for businesses to adapt to a new way of attracting customers.

Consumers are now in control and perform the majority of their pre-purchase research and decision making prior to picking up the phone or stepping foot in your store.

What this means is, in order to maintain your success, you need to be present where your future customers are; online.

About the Author:

Laurel LindsayLaurel Lindsay is a Calgary Internet Marking Consultant & President of The New Media Group Inc. She has over 8 years hands-on Internet Marketing experience.

Laurel is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people live better lives by leveraging the power of the internet.