Website Options
Some questions to think about:
- Do I expect my product or service to be found on the internet by people who who have never heard of me before? in which case your site needs to be well optimised and attention grabbing when people land on it. Not all business propositions work this way - some sell better by personal contact, but you will still need a 'phone book' site: this is explained below.
- Is it my website just a supporting act in my marketing strategy? i.e. not your main route to market but you need it to provide readily accessible up to date collateral for people who you have already contacted by networking, telemarketing or direct mail. In this case it needs to look good and be up to date but it may not need to be so optimised. You'll want Content Management though.
- Is it a 'phone book' site, a site for people who can remember your name but need to find your phone number or email address - this can be a simpler site but it still needs to look good and be found by the Search Engines
- Do I have a product or service I can sell online? Imagine how much your business would grow if orders came in overnight every night and you never had to chase unpaid invoices! Fantasy perhaps, but many established businesses find that an online store generates a steady stream of low overhead business
Types of site
We offer a range of website options which can be tailored to suit your business needs:
Static Site: this is an online brochure, anything from 3 pages upwards. It usually starts with 'home' and ends with 'contact' pages and has information about your product or service in between. The term static is a bit of a misnomer as you'll want to update it from time to time, which we can do as part of our service, or you can buy a Content Management System and do it yourself.
E-commerce Site: usually a database driven online store complete with a payment gateway to collect money from credit/debit cards. A database system enables you to display many different items and sort them into categories, gives the user a search facility, and simplifies the management of large amounts of information.
Some add-ons you might like to consider:
- Online catalogue your product may not lend itself to online sales and postal delivery but you still want an up to date list of stock available. We can provide an easily maintained database driven catalogue.
- Photo gallery maybe you want to show some examples of various bespoke products you have made for different customers. A gallery has a page of thumbnail views which you click to enlarge.
- e-Campaign collects email addresses from people want to subscribe to your newsletter - a great way of 'capturing' people who visit your site
- Booking System We have a range of off-the-shelf solutions for hair and beauty salons, healthcare practitioners, restaurants and holiday accommodation. Please contact us to ask for a demonstration. These can also be customised for other types of appointment-driven businesses
As you can see there are a lot of different options and what we'd really like to do is talk you through which ones could help your business, so please call us today on 023 80 283452 or email us via our contact page for a helpful response that meets your needs.
