Web Quote Help
Page
This page outlines the main components that go into
building a website. Using the web quote page you can
configure your own website. Some earlier browsers will not show prices, contact us if you are experiencing any problems.
Overview
Each website we do includes the following
components:
- Establishing the main objective and
web theme
One of the most important steps is to establish the main objective of the web
site. We then need to establish a theme. For example, if the main objective of
your website is to build a database of prospective customers, then the aim of the site is
to get the user to leave their contact details. We may tease the prospective
customer with an offer of free product samples or something as simple as a glossy
catalogue.
- Marketing
We will discuss the best way to incorporate your website with existing marketing
strategies. You can place small (inexpensive) advertisements in trade magazines
offering customers free product samples from your website. These advertisements only
need to be big enough to deliver the teaser and your web address.
- Internet Awareness
While we are discussing your website we will also discuss the Internet and how it
may impact the future of your business. We often do an Internet Awareness
presentation before discussing your specific needs. We will deliver presentations to
any group of employees that will further the web development process for your business.
- Project Management (for bigger
projects)
Depending on the size of the web site, we may provide project
management. This timeline will be prepared and administered by us. We will
publish it to a website so that members can monitor and contribute to the project as it
develops.
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The layout and design of the website is often what
differentiates one web developer from the next. We will customise the overall layout
and design to suit your business. This includes the design of the site navigation,
background, logo manipulation and a page layout that presents all these components in a
consistent manner. Look at our reference sites to see
some layouts we have designed. We will strive to give the website a similar feel to
your existing promotional material, unless you decide otherwise.
Major Pages
Most businesses will need at least 10 major
web pages. For example:
- Home Page - the
first page people will usually see when they get to your web site. On this page you
will want to list the main sections of your website and give the user an instant snap shot
of who you are.
- Company Profile - to
tell the user a little bit about who you are. This is useful if the user has
stumbled across your website via links or as a result of using a search engine.
- Contact Information
- one of the most important pages on the web site. If a customer sees something of
value, they should have no trouble contacting you. The feedback you get is the best
indication of how well your website is performing. You can suggest users e-mail you
or fill in a form at your web site.
- References -
depending on your products, you may want to give some reference sites.
- Products and/or Services
- this makes it easy for the user to find out what you sell. On this page you
describe your major product/service categories and link to your minor
pages (see below).
- Specific Information
- often companies have information specific to their line of work. You might like to
provide information about a unique service or an on-line newsletter.
- Search Page -
visitors can search your website for keywords.
- Site Map - in a
clear and easy to read format you can list all of the pages on your website.
- Links - linking to
associated and interesting websites improves the service you offer your visitors.
You can often negotiate with other websites to swap links, meaning you link to
them if they link to you.
- Teaser - you can
offer your visitors a free gift, catalogue, privileged information or registration for a
newsletter in return for submitting their details. Encouraging visitors to contact
you builds up your customer database.
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An example of a minor page is a web page
with a product photo, short description, product specification and possibly the price.
Minor pages are designed with a consistent page layout and navigation structure
that allows visitors to view numerous pages in succession. "Employee
Profiles" is another example of an appropriate application for minor pages.
Image manipulation can often be a very time
consuming component of building a web site. If it is done properly, it is hardly
noticeable, since it blends in with the site. If it is done poorly, it can ruin the
look of a website. If you intend to supply us with images, we prefer them in
"GIF" or "JPEG" format. However, we are happy to scan the images
for you and take care of all the graphical manipulation required. We can take
printed media and create web themes with it. For example we can give your web pages
a similar background to your brochures.
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Here are some options you might consider:
- Remote Build
We don't actually come out on site. Instead we discuss your site over the
phone and then send you a list of information you need to give us. This solution is
best suited to companies who have an Internet guru on site and just want the support of an
experienced web development company.
- Half day awareness
We will spend about four hours on site. What we do in this four hours
varies from one company to the next. A typical session would include;
- An Internet Awareness presentation (to as
many people as you like)
- A discussion about your expectations and
objectives for the website
- A discussion about combining the website
with your existing marketing strategies
- Collecting and defining the information
required for your website
- Two half days
The first day would be similar to the half day above.
The second half day is often best used as a follow up meeting once the website is
finished. The first thing we would do is present the finished web site. We
would then determine how you can get the most out of your website and the Internet in the
future. We can provide training as well. For example we might train an
employee to administer a section of the website (weekly news for example).
- Several days
Depending on your requirements we will design an "Implementation and Follow
Up Plan" to suite your needs. We can schedule several meetings during the
development of your website and several follow up meetings some months after the
completion of your web site. At these meetings we can answer any questions that have
been brewing, issue follow up training, discuss directions for your website in the future
and cover any other issues related to your website and Internet technologies.
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12 months + a new web address: This is the
standard approach for most of our clients. It includes the hosting of your website
with a corporate ISP (Internet Service Provider) for 12 months and the registration of
your web address (domain name) for example, "www.companyname.com.au".12 months + a new web address: This is the
standard approach for most of our clients. It includes the hosting of your website
with a corporate ISP (Internet Service Provider) for 12 months and the registration of
your web address (domain name) for example, "www.companyname.com.au".
12 months + transfer address:
This is for companies who already have a website but would like us to rebuild it and host
it with our Internet Service Provider.
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A search engine is like a telephone directory of
websites. With two major differences. Firstly, search engines are found on the
Internet, secondly you can search for key words in them. There are hundreds of
search engines worth registering with. We can run a program to automatically
register your site with 200 engines or we can register it manually (which provides higher
quality registrations). At the very least you should get the automatic
registration. We are happy to train one of your employees to register your site with
search engines too. This can be one of the most effective techniques since they can
find search engines related to your line of business.
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While we believe hit counters are over-rated we can
build one into your site if you want it. Web statistics are more reliable than hit
counters, but require more time on your part to go through them. We believe that the
best way to gauge the success of your website is to monitor the number of people
contacting you.
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More Information
We hope this information has been helpful. If
you have any outstanding questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact us or submit a web quote so we
know what kind of website you are after.
