Frequently Asked Questions... and Answers
Looking for as News Years Resolution?
January 1, 2009
Try a Website. It can improve and simplify your business. It can improve your company’s image. The good news is that VantageSites can provide a high quality website at a low price.
What’s a great Christmas Present?
December 8, 2008
A Website! That’s right. The website is the perfect business enhancer. Or, if you wish, the website could be tailored as a family website. Either way we can help - and get it done before Christmas.
Should all my advertising be on the web?
April 14, 2008
The best answer is: “It depends“.
To best explain this we will explore a couple of scenarios. In all cases the assumption is that you run a small business. Your particular situation will determine the best course of action.
- Established Business with a well established number of customers
Assuming that you are satisfied with the business from established customers, relying totally on the web may not be a bad idea. You could even argue that with a steady flow repeat business there is no point to any advertising - but don’t make that mistake! As you would expect, a website can keep you name out there, keep your customers informed about any changes to you business, and provide information to new prospects. However, unlike print ads, a website is far less expensive.
In this situation, my recommendation would be to:
- Launch a website.
- Sent a notice announcing the website to your customers.
- Discontinue all print ads.
With the website in place you will have the ability to “step it up” if you need more business.
- New company / Start up
In most cases a new business is best advertised with a combination of print and web based ads, unless you know for a fact that your customers would always look on-line. But even then, you still might catch some business with print ads. The problem is that in a start up company environment there are many surprises. Therefore it is best to diversify.
Note that it is as much of a mistake to depend solely on print ads!
- Young company worried about uncontrolled growth
A young company growing too fast is a valid concern. Fast paced expansion forces a long stream of quick decisions and a lot of opportunity for error. In this atmosphere, using a website in place of other advertising forms is a good idea. The website offers a single control point that can be changed quickly. Prices can be raises or lowered, levels of service can be adjusted, and new products can be announced.
- Established company in a down-turn
This is a touch call. A very common mistake is to turn off all advertising to save a few bucks. That could be a bad mistake. This is the time to get the word out and whether you do it face to face, by telephone, print ad, or over the internet – just do it!
I would recommend increasing the level of advertising with a high priority on adding or expanding your website. Put simply it is low cost and has a great up side.
So what do the larger companies do? They use their website and the print advertisements together. The company sales brochure will always reference the website. The website will have a form to order paper articles and instruction manuals.
In all cases the website is the centerpiece.
What’s it take to put a business on-line?
March 15, 2008
Since most business owners outsource their website work, few of them can explain the step by step process of launching a website. But, like most things you get involved in, it may help to know what’s involved in the process. The steps are as follows:
- Select a website name
- Determine the content to be displayed
- Build a website
- Install the website on a server
- Attract visitors
- Install periodic upgrades
Typically business owners who outsource their website design are involved in the website name selection and in selecting the content. Due to time constraints, this is often true even in cases where the owner has the necessary skills. But let’s assume that you wish to the job yourself. Each step is explained below:
Selecting a website name
Just like your address or phone number, every website name must be unique. The first choice is generally to use the company name. For example “Joe’s Landscaping” might become “www.joeslandscaping.com”. However, since there are so many websites out there, that name is probably taken. (It actually is.) No need to panic - this happens to just about everyone. In this case “www.joeslandscaping.biz” is available. But if you prefer a “.com” extension, the next step is to think in terms of subtitles. Maybe “www.joeslandscapingbyjoe.com” or “www.landscapesbyjoe.com” would work. Idealy the name is easy to remember, easy to spell, and not too long. We will guide you through this process and supply you with additional name choices until you are satisfied with your choice.
Building a Website
Just like many other services, you can do it yourself or you can get someone else to do it.Generally if your running a business doing it yourself isn’t a good choice but if you do want to do it, you require the necessary training. Let’s say your business is slow and you know how to design websites, you still may want to outsource the work. Your time would be better spent selling.If you get someone else to do it, there’s quite a few choices. At the low end of the spectrum you can have a two or three page “brochure site” put on-line for about $300 ($100 per page). At the high end you can pay well over $10,000 for an interactive website such as the type used by the real estate companies. Our product is positioned slightly above the low end. (It’s a pretty good deal!)
Installing the Website on a Server
The content of the website is transferred to a server at a web hosting company. That company provides and maintains the computers and keeps backup copies of the website. Hosting companies generally charge between $5 and $15 per month. This cost can be lowered by ordering a longer term contract.
Attracting Visitors
Ideally, your website will immediately be visited the masses, you will be flooded with requests for your service or product, and your business will suddenly grow. By some stretch all of that is possible, but typically the ramp up is much more gradual. Most business do not entirely rely on the web. They use it in conjunction with traditional advertising - at that is a powerful combination! The website address is on the business card and is included on any printed add. Then over time the website begins to take the leading role. But, it’s not unreasonable to expect some amount of new business just because you have a website.In order to attract visitors the website must be “search engine optimized”. This involves setting up the site’s content to contain words and phrases that are frequently searched for. Also, Google and Yahoo accept payment for better search positioning.Here’s the good news. Wordpress based websites are naturally search engine friendly and all VantageSites use the Wordpress engine.
Installing Periodic Upgrades
Sometime after your website is put on-line you will want to have updates installed. Generally, these are the reasons:
- You’re business has changed. Maybe you’ve added a new product or service. Maybe you’ve changed your prices.
- The website needs to have some changes just to keep a fresh look.
- You have decided that there’s content that you would prefer be stated or pictured another way.
Updates are normal and keep your website interesting. For this reason, VantageSites are designed for flexibility.
Will my website look like someone elses?
March 15, 2008
It is possible, but it’s very unlikely you’ll every see it. As of this writing there are over 100 million websites out there. In August of 1995 there were 18,000. Probability has it that many these websites look similar.
VantageSites uses the same basic template to build from and it’s possible that sooner or later you could see another one of our customers site. But, the color scheme, the pictures, and the content will be different.
The odds of having a unique website are in you favor. However, uniqueness is of far less importance that getting good results (improving your business) - which is the primary mission of VantageSites.
Are you willing to add special features?
March 15, 2008
Yes. Any request for extra features will be considered. For example you may wish to dedicate an entire page to highlight a certain part of your business. Or, perhaps you would like a separate page for each of your products.
The effort required to add in the feature will determine the add-on fee. Pricing for special features are considered on a case by case basis.
What will my website look like?
March 15, 2008
The base format will be the same as this site, however by the time we add your banner, your photos, and the colors you select, it will take on it’s own look. We believe that this format works well for most business. Because we’ve standardized on this format, our website production is efficient, flexible, and stable. As a result, your website will be a well crafted display of your companies assets.
The standardized format also allows us to engineer enhancements compatible with all our customers’ sites.
Explain the “Business Blog”
March 15, 2008
All VantageSites are equipped with this feature. At VantageSites.com, this section (the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section) is the Business Blog. It’s used to clarify information in order to ensure that a potential website customer has an accurate understanding of the product.
The Business Blog we provide comes standard as a Frequently Asked Questions section with VantageSites supplying the first five questions and answers. However, you can have the Blog set to a different name such as “According to Joe” or whatever. The choice is yours.
Used correctly, a Business Blog can be one of the most effective marketing tools. It neither time consuming to maintain or expensive. The blog comes with the website and there are no additional costs. The primary advantages to you are:
- By writing about a subjects related to your business, you provide creditable evidence that you’re right for the job.
- A Business Blog provides you with an area to place information about your company that doesn’t necessarily fit elsewhere.
- By adding more content specific to your business, search engines such as Google and Yahoo will find your site faster resulting in more website visitors.
Our blog uses one of the most popular and robust blog engines - Wordpress. Instructions are included and yes, we provide ongoing support. Just give us a call.
How can a website help? I already have all the work I can handle!
March 15, 2008
The simple answer is “There’s always room for improvement.”, but there’s much more too it.
First of all, website presence alone will improve your professional image. It also shows you are keeping up with technology.
One of the best reasons to have a website in busy times is to increase repeat business, and as you know, it’s less expensive to deal with already existing customers. A website keeps your customers are kept up to date on any changes to you business - new services, products, etc. It also gives your customers have easy way to find your contact information. And, by offering information about your field of expertise, it will add to your already established credibility.
If there is ever a slow down, a website can help by generating new business through an already established media. It allows you to quickly adjust prices and service offerings.
The fact is, a website has no downside. Let’s face it - Having more interest in your business can only help you.
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