Answers to common website questions

1. How do I choose a website vendor?
2. How much does a website cost?
3. When will my website be done?  How long will the project take?
4. My website is not found in search engines.  How can I start ranking?
5. Do I need a blog?
6. How can I make updates to my page?  What is CMS?
7. How will I know that my site is successful?
8. Can someone help with writing content for my web pages?

1. How do I choose a website vendor?

Choosing a website company is difficult because there are so many options. The first question is if you are looking for a professional website company, a design or marketing agency, plan to do some of it in-house, or even considering a student. The other option might be freeware or a template site.

Talk with a few reputable companies.
If you have decided to use a web design firm, we recommend that you have a conversation with your top choices. These selected companies in consideration should be based on referrals and/or samples of their web design work. A trustworthy company will be happy to show samples, provide references, and give examples of similar projects to yours.

Be aware of the service you receive when starting the bidding process. How quickly do they return your calls or initial email of interest? Are they friendly and help explain options? Are they willing to listen to your needs and goals?

Looking at portfolios is important.
Do not choose a company whose samples of work are not what you want. You will likely receive something very similar in quality and style.

Review the proposals provided carefully.
If something doesn't make sense or if they provide very little information about the project deliverables, be wary.

Request for Proposals…
We recommend that you do not send an RFP to every web firm. Less is oftentimes more. In fact, an RFP is a very difficult way to get expert recommendations and get to know a company. Why not have a few conversations instead? You will be surprised at the ideas an innovative company can offer.

Ask questions and trust your instincts on who is a good fit.

Contact TBH Creative if you're looking for a high-end website solution for your business. We welcome the chance to impress you right from the beginning.

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2. How much does a website cost?

Giving our prices and talking about cost openly is difficult because it is not apples to apples. There is a lot of potential to work on many things that will bring success. A freelancer versus a full service web company will offer significantly different prices – but also very different results. The first thing to do is figure out what you really need and define your online plan.

We understand that everyone wants to know numbers, and pricing is a realistic question to ask. Remember that all projects and clients are different, but our guidelines will give you a fairly accurate idea.

Read more about How much will a new website cost?

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3. When will my website be done? How long will the project take?

For TBH Creative, this question will vary based on your project size, our current project pipeline, and a few things on your end as well. For example, one of the biggest hold-ups in a project is draft content for each web page. Start getting your information together now.

As a general idea, a small website (10-15 pages) can be completed in 1-2 months. A medium website in 2-4 months. A large website can be anywhere from 3-9 months.

Remember, we recommend a phased approach and continual web services throughout the year for maximum effectiveness.
Overall, we are pretty flexible to meet your deadlines if they are realistic and you have your 'stuff' ready to go.

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4. My website is not found in search engines.  How can I start ranking?

Clients usually say "I want to come up in Google." When we ask, for which phrase or keywords, they have no idea.

If you want to rank in search engines, the starting point is to determine what you want to rank for. Our search experts can help determine if those are smart targeted keywords, worth your dollars for ROI, and often give suggestions for better targets.

Search engine optimization (SEO) should be done separately from the initial website design project – although a quality firm will do internal optimization during web development and keep SEO always in mind.

SEO requires an ongoing effort to beat the competition and stay on top of the search engine changes.

Remember, you aren't the only one who wants to be on top!

Learn more about our search engine optimization services.

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5. Do I need a blog?

A blog is a powerful marketing tool – it is only effective if you use it regularly to post relevant information.

Business blogging can:

• Increase your search engine recognition and ranking.
• Build authority and raise awareness of your expertise
• Impact your public image and attract new customers, supporters, or sales.
• Serve as a platform to inform about your services, products or cause.
• Drive new business, promote events, and answer industry questions.
• Grow company connections and morale through competitions or staff spotlight segments.
• Distribute audio, video, forms, survey, and other interactive ideas.

Blogging may or may not be the right solution for your company, but it should definitely be considered as part of your online plan.

Learn more about our blogging services.

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6. How can I make updates to my web pages? What is CMS?

There are essentially two primary ways to make changes, additions, and updates to your web pages.

If your website is fairly "static" (doesn't change often and not connected to a database), you will contact your website developer to make changes. If you are the technical and/or DIY type, you will need to purchase and learn how to use basic web editing software such as Dreamweaver or Frontpage to make changes and load to a web server using FTP.

If your website changes often and has been set up with dynamic capabilities, you will use CMS software to update your website.

A Content Management System (known as "CMS") is online software that allows your staff to maintain your website pages in-house without technical expertise or knowledge of HTML. You log in, choose a page, make changes in a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, and save. Changes and additions can be made at any time, immediately, and without desktop software.

There are a lot of CMS options out there. A good CMS will be user-friendly, allow you to make changes to all pages, allow you to control the navigation at least 2 levels deep, be flexible in design, allow customizations, and offer other modules for specific needs such as forms, events, secure areas, users, and page versioning.

Learn more about our flexible and powerful content management system.

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7. How will I know that my site is successful?

Building a website is really just the first step. Evaluation, testing and planning are an ongoing effort. It is important to understand that web strategy is integral in your online success.

It is no longer the days where if you build it, they will come. That's okay though, there is so much more available now and we thrive on giving our clients the advantage.

Web Analytics & Statistics are a good place to start.

Learn more about our results driven online strategy services.

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8. Can someone help with writing content for my web pages?

Absolutely. In fact, we strongly recommend you receive professional help writing or editing your web page content.

Why?

1. Writing web page content is a HUGE job. Many of our projects are put 'on hold' while a company tries to write the information themselves. Oftentimes, ending with our expert editors stepping in afterwards.
2. Online Communication is not like writing in any other medium – because people read quicker and scan online. It is a learned skill to write effective messages for the web.
3. There are a lot of technical things to consider that a professional writer can offer, such as inserting keywords, defining title, inserting appropriate on-page links, and using search-worthy headlines.
4. Many companies have different people from the company write different pages. This leads to poor flow and unprofessional messages. Your pages should all have the same style and tone.
5. Trained writers are clever and witty. Not that you aren't, but these guys do it for a living.
6. An experienced writer will always keep your goals and audience in mind and can craft inviting Call To Action areas that will help your conversion/success.

Professionally written website messages enhance the user experience and helps effectively tell your story or answer your visitor's question.

We encourage you to start putting draft information together as a starting point. That will help the writer or editor get started and ask appropriate questions to support the information already provided.

Learn more about our web page writing and editing services.