12 | Greenstone business august 2017
12 | Greenstone business august 2017
The importance of a ( good ) website
When searching to find a service or product , the majority of people begin and end their search online . Why ? The internet offers easy access to an array of shared knowledge – the good , the bad , and everything in between . We put some common questions to Paul Nicolson from Electro Web Design to find out more about creating websites :
Q I want a website for my business / blog – what are the first steps ? In addition to considering all of the visual elements that go into creating a website , the first step would be to define what function you would like your website to perform . Will you be selling products directly from your website or is the goal to direct customers to your brick and mortar store ? This goal will differ from business to business and determining what you want your site to achieve is critical in ensuring your website ’ s success . Once the planning phase has been completed we can then move on to the design phase where we look at layout , content and images .
Q Why is a website important for a business ? A website adds credibility and weight to your business . Most businesses have a Facebook page , but by investing in a professionally designed , well thought out website you can immediately put your business ’ image above the competition . The time and money spent working with a professional web designer will definitely be noticed by customers . Having a professional , user friendly , and mobile friendly website can definitely be make or break when it comes to customers making a purchase .
Q What makes for a successful website ? In the context of business websites , a website would be considered successful if it gen-
erates leads and sales by reaching the appropriate target audience and inspiring action . People get preoccupied by measuring the success of a site by the quantity of site visitors , but the real measure of success is in what percentage of these visitors take the next step and make a purchase or send through an inquiry . We work with and advise our clients on what steps to take to ensure that their website not only looks amazing , but performs well too .
Q How much does it generally cost to get a functioning website online ? Prices vary quite a bit depending on the unique requirements of each project , and as with most things you do get what you pay for . For a basic business landing page prices generally start at R4 950 including hosting . Online stores , magazines , and sites with custom functionality can cost more depending on the amount of work required .
Q Are websites easy to keep updated – can someone without any experience do it ? At Electro Web Design we build websites using the Wordpress content management system . The biggest advantage of using a content management system is that once the design and development phase has been completed the site can be updated with a very minimal learning curve . Editing text and adding images are all fairly straightforward , and we offer great support when it comes to assisting clients with more in-depth changes .
Q What ‘ maintenance ’ needs to be done on a website to keep it fresh ? For a website to stay current we would recommend an annual design update . This will ensure that your website always looks fresh and in line with the latest web design trends . In addition to this , we also handle the daily , weekly and monthly updates to the software behind our clients ’ websites to ensure that everything keeps working smoothly .
Q Okay , so now I have my site up on the world wide web , how do I get people to visit it ? One of the best ways to get people to visit any website is by providing visitors with quality content . For example , if you run a plumbing business your website could feature a section with water saving tips and tricks . For an online store your website could offer customers in-depth reviews of products . Using content to engage with customers and ideally build up a mailing list is a great way to keep people coming back to your website , and it is a major factor for ranking well in online search results . about Electro Web Design
Paul Nicolson is the freelance designer / online marketing expert behind Electro Web Design . He started designing websites in 2009 and ever since the beginning he ’ s been fascinated with the internet and how connected the world has become . In his capacity as a freelance designer he has created websites for small businesses , non-profit organisations , churches and online magazines . The process of dealing with people from so many different backgrounds and with so many unique goals is what he finds most thrilling about creating websites .
“ The reason I started Electro Web Design was to bring effective , reliable web design to entrepreneurs with an emphasis on giving each client and each project a uniquely personal touch , free of call centres and support tickets ,” he says .
For more information , visit www . electrowebdesign . co . za , email paul @ electrowebdesign . co . za or call 078-918-1561 .