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    website design principles

Why are We different?

Our philosophy is to build Websites That Work. That gives us satisfied clients who generate referrals and provide customers for our hosting services. It's a formula that works as much for the customer as it does for us.

Our approach is holistic. We don't just design web pages - we listen to your business problems, help you develop a web strategy, propose search engine strategies, design and implement, monitor visitor behaviour, adapt and redesign, monotor and evaluate and then review the strategies. After that you should have a performance website.

Our success is based on developing websites that serve the clients needs in that they direct visitors towards a 'most wanted response.' We then ensure that high levels of focussed visitor traffic are generated. It really is as simple as that, and good results will always follow! What isn't so simple is getting the traffic - but that's where our niche SEO (search engine optimisation) skills kick in.

By integrating SEO principles and techniques in every stage of the development we ensure that the website will enjoy high search engine visibility. Even our hosting activities have the objective of delivering server access logs for analysis as they reveal the source of each and every visitor - not just providing search engine statistics but also the very keywords and phrases that were used to find you. We could go on forever about these subjects but our own understanding of this media tells us we've already gone on for too long. But maybe we've jolted a few neurons on your side and you've figured it's time to pick up a phone and talk to us. We hope so...   ..... or, just use this handy Form Mailer.

Our Standard Methodologies

A sensible (and often used) strategy is to keep your up-front costs to an absolute minimum while getting your site up and running and meeting your objectives. A successful and productive site can then be developed into a more powerful promotion for your company. This approach enables you to limit your initial investment until the returns are evident.

Visitors are nearly always looking for information, not entertaining graphics, and the site needs to download quickly. The first screen should confirm to them that they have found what they are looking for and encourage them to move deeper into the site. Your site does not have to immediately win awards for its glitzy effects to be successful, but it must provide the visitors with the information that they are looking for !

The Keys to Establishing a Successful Website

Establishing clear measurable objectives for the website project.
Designing pages that will efficiently communicate information to the visitor that will meet your objectives.
Ensuring that business prospects can locate your site. This requires that the widest possible range of Search Engines are aware of your site and are properly indexed.
Developing a continuing site promotion programme.
Following up on a regular basis by re-evaluating;
  The effectiveness of the site against stated objectives
  The behaviour of visitors (from server logs)
  The content of the pages
  The extent of search engine registration.

But most importantly, just do it! We pitch our setup costs way below market rates to help you make the decision to go in and test the water. You are bound by no restrictive contracts and can terminate hosting arrangements by giving immediate notice.

Let us give you a Free, No Obligation Quote. Just click here.

Typical Client costs would include...

Site Design and Page Construction
    Client supplies text/graphics 91)
from R 3 500 (plus VAT)
Initial Site Registration with search engines
    Included in above design/construction charge
Website hosting on Server (2)R 175 (plus VAT) per month
Search Engine Registration and Reviews
    Included in above hosting charge
    Optional costs could include:
Domain Name purchase and setupR 285 (plus VAT) once off
 - Daily backups.
 (1)  Most sites are established at a cost of between R3 500 and R9 000. Very small sites and the larger resource sites are the exception rather than the norm
 (2)  Hosting normally includes the following:
 - FTP support for remote website maintenance.
 - Forwarding and backup archiving of form completions.
 - Minor HTML content changes (at our discretion).
 - Database front-ending.
 - Detailed site access statistics from access logs analysis.
 - Monitoring and alerts for abnormal traffic (drops and surges).
 - Consulting opinions on site effectiveness and application of new technologies.
 - CGI-BIN access for hit counters and forms.
 - Support for Perl language and Active Server Page scripting.
 (3)  This is perhaps the most critical of all our services. Your site will be registered with all the major relevant search engines and directory services as part of the initial site registration project. We then monitor the visibility of your site as a continuing function of the web hosting service. Minor amendments and submissions would be made free of any additional charges and usually without your knowledge. As we control our own servers we have access to the referral logs which enables us to determine where your visitors are coming from and, most importantly, from whence they are not coming. Expected referral pattern matches identify the under-performing search engines and the registrations are then examined for corrective action.

Redesigning Existing Websites

The much touted Infobahn is littered with the wrecks of abandoned websites and chugging antiques that barely keep moving. Sure, there are success stories aplenty but they are not as common as onr might expect. In short; do it right and your website venture will deliver and meet expectations, and perhaps even revolutionise your marketing strategies. But if you don't plan it properly and get it just right, it's destined to become just another spluttering and non-performing website casualty.

But if you're already rolling down that highway you need to ask yourself - "Is our website really working as we'd planned it ?"

If it isn't, then maybe you should contact us for a Free, No Obligation Opinion on how to fix it up and get back up to speed with a productive site.

The days of putting up a copy of your product brochure and waiting for thousands of eager customers to come battering down your doors are long gone. But most sites are still being designed on that premise! These flat product displays add little value to a visitor's experience, they usually have no marketing intelligence gathering capability, and they do nothing for your company or products. Simply put; you'd be better off donating your website design budget to charity and getting some philanthropic mileage in the local press!

Everyone seems to know some spotty whizzkid who is an internet boffin who designs web pages for next to zip and who can even arrange complimentary hosting. Hmmmm, breakdown coming, better book the tow truck now! Successful websites are the end result of effective marketing strategies which require a lot more than a set of pretty pages. Remember that the proliferation rate of new websites is staggeringly high, and the resultant competition for site visibility is fierce. You need to build the right type of site, get focussed people visiting in healthy numbers, and then maintain that visibility. And, most importantly, you need to achieve the objectives that motivated you to commission the website in the first place.

Choosing the Web Design Service

Your choice of supplier is critical. Most of these concerns will be addressed if you select a competent web design service with a proven track record of successful site establishments. If they claim that then they must have reference sites, and plenty of them. It is also important for the web designers to maintain and control their own servers as that is the only way to effectively exploit site interactivity with the visitor. Analysis of server access logs will reveal telling statistics about visitor behavior. Who came, from what countries, when, where did they enter, what pages did they move to, what route through the pages did they follow, how long did they stay, have they been before, what are the peak days of week and hours of day for traffic, in what way is the traffic trending and why. And the most important information is where are our visitors coming from; which search engines are sending them to our site ? This is all critical information to feed back into site design and maintenance -  can the web designers guarantee you will receive this information ?

The importance of server log analysis cannot be overstated. If you run an ad, then the logs should show you (preferably graphically) the exact result. Who arrived, from where, and what did they read. Change your pages or search engine registrations and see the effect within hours. Running a website without log analysis is like driving a car blindfolded, except maybe with more expensive consequences.

Be wary of ISPs (Internet Service Providers who supply your internet access) who are claiming to be web design specialists! It is not their primary focussed business. And that also goes for advertising agencies and others who are seeing their traditional adspend clients moving budget portions away to the new medium. Is the web designer structured to service your size of site and will you get a continuing level of attention and care ?

But whatever route you take, ensure that you;

  • Establish clear objectives from the outset.
  • Design for success.
    • Is the site offering value to visitors ?
    • Are visitors enticed to part with e-mail addresses to fuel your secondary marketing ?
    • Have you considered what your competitors are doing ?
  • Register on the critical search engines.
  • Promote, promote, promote. Then promote some more.
  • Follow up the registrations regularly - test your position visibility.
  • Promote some more.
  • Review results against your objectives.
  • Review your objectives if necessary.

Of course, we think you should be choosing us !

Search Engine Registration
    The Art of Building and Maintaining Traffic.....

Not all websites require deep search engine registration. Local engines only may be used for restricted regional site publication while other sites may be available only to authorised customers with password access. But most sites require a deep registration on both the international and local search engines. This is one of the most critical tasks to get right and it is dependent on both design considerations and a comprehensive, ongoing "check and submission" programme. Feedback from the analysis of server logs identifies which search engines are underperforming and indicates where resubmissions are required. An effective web design service should be able to completely manage the registration process and be able to report on the site's traffic statistics from the search engines. An example of these statistics can be sampled by clicking here.

Your Web Design/hosting service should be able to guarantee you premium search engine positions for your optimised keywords. If they don't, then you need to be asking why. Can they deliver on this most critical aspect? We sure can!  Contact us for some ideas on how you could improve traffic for your current website.

Where are We . . . . . and Where are You ?

We're physically located in Durban, South Africa. You might not be. But it really doesn't matter, and can often be a plus factor for both you and us.! Many of our customers who are in Durban have never met us either.! There's really been no need. The nature of internet communications makes physical meetings almost redundant.

That means we can work for a New York, Tokyo or Sydney based client just as easily. And South African hourly HTML rates are around US $20/hr. So go figure......

In Conclusion

Planning your website venture is not rocket science. While the terms and technology (buzzwords abound here) might be confusing, they are easily understood when explained. As with most business decisions you will find that if common sense prevails, and these guidelines are followed, then you'll be moving into that Infobahn fast lane and your planned objectives should all be met.

What next?

Why not Contact Us for a Quotation for that website development you're considering, or maybe a Free Opinion on Your Existing Site? In both cases it helps a lot to know what your site objectives are, and we're sure that we'll be able to give you Good, No Obligation Advice.

E-mail Us: webpro@webpro.co.za
Phone Us: +27 (31) 563-8344

Start Reading again...Surely not, but OK

 
 
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