How Not To Get Burned on Purchase of a New Website

You have decided that you need a website for your small business and now you have everyone who can spell web approaching you to develop your website.  Some are graphic designers, others are IT developers, and are even others picked this up as a hobby and turned it into a business.  As you weed through the fog, you find some that are truly full service web development houses.  The problem is that the average small business owner will go for door number one or two because the price appears to be better.  The truth is, that can truly be a mirage.  With a website today, you truly get what you pay for, because there is much more to a website than a pretty graphic or well developed form with a backend database.  So before you think about saving a buck and going with your friend that develops websites on the weekend, or the graphic design house around the corner that created a great brochure for you last year, think again.

If you were to select an accountant for your small business, you would research their specialities, look at their designation, find out about their background and if they have a proven track record with clients.  All of this seems to fall by the way side when choosing a firm to develop a website that truly represents your business online.  Think of it this way before you act. Since most customers research companies they buy from online before making a business decision, do you want the first impression of your company to be made from the website you got for less than a thousand dollars from your neighbor with the revolving picture that is irritating and keeps search engines from optimizing your site?

One of the most important things to keep in mind is to not focus on the price being quoted for the initial website, but how much is it going to cost you over time for every change that has to be made. Websites are not stagnate today and if you think you are going to have a website developed and then never touch it again, that is not the case. You may find out that you got the initial site for a great price, but over time as you want to change or add a page, after 6 months you have paid more than any of the more expensive quotes.

Before you approach anyone to develop a website, you need to have a web plan.  The web plan is your business plan for your website and will end up saving you money in the end.  The web plan should contain everything that is needed to develop a website for your business, which is much more than a pretty design and how many pages.  It provides the requirements for a website for your particular business along with the skills that the web development group should possess for your specific website.

A web plan is your web insurance policy.   The same plan should be provided to several web development groups.  The quotation that you receive should be tied to the web plan and your requirements.   As with other professions, you will find firms who will commit to having the skills and ability to develop the website and they do not.  The web plan will cover you, because if they develop a website that does not meet the requirements of the plan, then you have a document to hold them accountable for the requirements at the price quoted.
 
What are the basics that your web plan should cover?
 

• What are the goals of your website?
• Who is your target market?
• What are your corporate branding guidelines?
• What is your corporate messaging?
• What pages will be required?
• Do you require a domain and hosting?
  
  

What functionality will be required in addition to content?

• Forms
• Databases
• Security
• Ecommerce
• Mobile Device Support
• What keywords will prospects use to search for you?
• What geographies do you want to market to?
• Determine who will be maintaining content for your website long term?
• Will this be yourself or someone else?
• What methods of search engine optimization are required?
• How will you handle the leads that you acquire through your online presence?

 
What skills should your web development group possess today?
 

• If you do not have corporate branding yet, you will need to make sure that there are marketing professionals that can help you develop a corporate look, develop a logo, and help you with how to position your company on the web.  They would work with a graphic designer who should be on staff as well.
  
  
• You want to find a web developer that uses Content Management Systems (CMS) for developing the site.  These systems allow for ease of maintenance and will keep you from being held hostage by a web developer every time you want a change down the road.  Even if you do not want to maintain your website yourself, your costs will go down, as you do not need a web developer to add a page, or add text to a page. 
  
  
• You want to make sure that there are people who can write for the web and who understand search engine optimization.  There is more to it today than just writing text on the page, you need to have the page written, so that search engines will find it along with the content providing value to the reader.
  
  
• If you are a Canadian small business larger than 50 employees, there is a government requirement that you have a website that is considered accessible.  What this means is that it is designed in such a way that those with disabilities can read your website.  There are a set of requirements that have to be adhered to such as size of text, readability, navigation to name a few.  You want to make sure that the web development group develop to these standards.
  
  
• If you have an ecommerce site, does the web developer have expertise in integrating shopping cart solutions and payment services and can they help you set up your online store?
  
  
• Do they have Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experience?  Will your site be optimized for SEO when it is complete?  Can they provide ongoing support, as SEO is something that has to continually be done in order to ensure you stay ranked on the search engines?  You should be provided with reports from Google Analytics or another tool.
  
  
• If you plan to utilize Social Media, whether that is Facebook, Twitter, or a Blog, you need to make sure that your social media is integrated into your website and that your pages are designed to work with your website along with your corporate branding applied.
  
  
• Do they provide hosting with provide annual service plans to support your website? You are going to want a plan that you pay annually or monthly that provides so many hours of changes and possibly SEO, in addition to backups and other hosting services. 
  
  
• Does the web development group have experience in developing websites for your industry?  A company that has a focus on B2C companies such as real estate is not the right company to develop a website for an industrial or technical company. 

So before you decide to go with the lowest price for having your website developed, make sure you understand whether you are going to get what you require for your business. You also want to make sure the web development group has skills required on staff or partners with external resources in order to develop the website you require.  It may seem to you that a website is easy to develop because there are 5 web development groups within a half a kilometer radius, but the fact is this is not the case. If a web development group will quote you a price on the phone based on a certain number of pages without understanding your business, then buyer beware.