Posts Tagged ‘web site’

Building software or a website is an exciting process for any business. Dreaming up nifty features that will save you a ton of time and money and looking at other similar projects for inspiration get our creative juices flowing.

But that enthusiasm can quickly go cold if the website or software you end up with does not deliver the results you expect.  That’s why the first step in the website and software development process is one of the most important. Careful planning early on can often mean the difference between a software or a website that is a driving force of your company’s growth and one that needs to be redone one or more times shortly after its’ completion.

Good planning reaps benefits that are critical to any organization. It ensures that your project is on time and on budget and that the website or software you end up with not only is what you want but serves the needs of your organization better than any alternative.

The website and software development process is not a lot different than building a home. Knowing what kind of home you want is the first step. How will the floor be laid out? Where will each door go? How many bathrooms? Not knowing the answers to these questions before you start building guarantees trouble ahead. Realizing that you need a bay window when the house is nearly built will cost you much more time and money than if you had anticipated one from the start.

Likewise, the process of developing website and software begins with identifying what kind of website or software you need. A good development firm will not only listen to your needs but help you identify goals that you may not have realized were essential to your project’s success. Based on those needs, your developer will then draft a blueprint that lays out a design for your website or software and the steps required to achieve it.

Once you’ve seen the blueprint, you’ll then have a much clearer picture of the online “home” you’ve been working towards. A bit of tweaking here and there is normal, but now the process of actually building the website can begin on good footing.

It all begins with good planning. The process is a good one to become familiar with as you begin thinking about the website or software you want and searching for a design company that can get you to that point.

Technorati Tags: custom software development, planning, Software and Web Development, web site, Website Design

Website is not a substitute for old fashioned foot traffic and many people still seek human help and customer service, but small business owners should use their website to complement their business. Here are a few reasons why:

• Easy website name is much easier to remember than a phone number. Imagine you are passing by one of those bench ads in your car and the ad is for a local plumber. At 60 km/h you are much more likely to remember www.torontoplumber.com than a 10 digit phone number. If your customer misplaces your business card or a brochure chances are you lost that customer, but with an easy to remember website name they can still find you.
• Your website can provide information about why people need to call your business instead of somebody else. If you advertise in other mediums like yellow pages, newspapers, tv, radio, etc. you are usually very limited in terms of how much information you can put in those ads. Your website on the other hand is not limited in terms of the amount of information you can provide your customers with. You can mention your website address in these other advertising mediums and “close the sale” with additional information about benefits of your products/services on your website.
• Properly managed website will generate online customers and regular foot traffic. Depending on the type of business you’re in you can either add to your sales by selling your products online or attract more foot traffic to your bricks and mortar business. In both cases you do need to promote your website to attract traffic to it. Just like with your regular business you need to think about who you are trying to attract to your website (location, interests, etc.) and promote your website to this audience.
• Today everyone expects a business to have a website and it just means that you are serious about your business. Today people expect to find information they need online. Many people research products and services online even if they buy them at local stores. Not having your information online will definitely harm your business in this day and age.

Technorati Tags: brick and mortar business, managing website, web site