Written by Anne Miller
Wednesday, 21 April 2010 06:20
So you’ve decided your business needs a website …
Here are five of the most common mistakes that I have watched small businesses make when they start thinking about the web:
1. Failing to weigh up the true cost of a website.
The “I know nothing about computers”-type of business person … You would think this species would be rare nowadays but it’s surprising how many business owners and middle managers are not “tech savvy” – and almost wear it as a badge of honour. They rely on their younger employees – or their children! – to bring them up to speed.
These decisionmakers usually make one of two fatal errors:
- Spending too little: Would you rely on your young nephew “who’s good with computers” to do your accounts? Well then, don’t trust him to shape your web presence and then expect results
- Spending too much: This can happen if the project parameters are not clearly defined and your web designer is working on an hourly rate. Always sign a contract with your developer that spells out exactly how many hours are going to be spent on a project. Don’t let this become “open-ended”. Clearly define what both parties are responsible for (eg. who is supplying the words and photos? who is signing off on the design?) and watch out for hidden extras like “search engine optimisation” (see below)
2. Domain Name (or URL): What you are actually purchasing is a registration which can last from one year to more than five years. At the end of this time, your ownership will lapse unless you renew it before a deadline passes. Don’t be afraid to “shop around” as domain name costs vary widely, however be aware that cheaper resellers may not remind you when your domain comes due for renewal. Australian (com.au) domains cost more than American (.com) domains but for Australian businesses this investment is worthwhile. Australian consumers expect Australian businesses to be on a .com.au domain!
3. Development Costs. Set a reasonable budget, (see above), and stick to it. And make certain at the end of the project that you own the website and no copyrighted material remains vested in the developer. Make sure the package you have negotiated does not include extra charges for items which should be included as a matter of course, e.g. meta tags. Sometimes web developers will charge an arm and a leg for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Be wary! Shonky operators can charge a large sum to list your site on a link network which may actually devalue your website in the long term – both in the eyes of customers who stumble upon this “link farm” and Search Engines which will eventually identify it as a scam.
4. Hosting. You get what you pay for! The company that is offering the super-cheap $2/month deal probably has a superfast website but don’t let that fool you! Your $2 site won’t be put on this server. You will be sharing bandwidth with a few thousand other sites. Not only could this make your website unbearably slow but the “uptime” of the server could also be unreliable. Flaky servers that come and go off the Internet can give the impression that your business is flaky too!
5. Maintenance costs. This is the one item that most people forget. They budget for the monthly hosting fee but put nothing aside to keep the website up-to-date. The search engine “robots” that visit your website detect when content changes. Human visitors also notice this too! To draw visitors back to your site, provide interesting changing content. Changing content will help your website rank better in Search Engine results.
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