It’s Hard to Compare Apples-to-Apples When You Don’t Know What An Apple Should Be

How much does a new website cost?

This is a question I am presented with from existing and prospective clients almost on a daily basis.

What is frustrating about this is not that the client is asking the question – it’s just that the answer is really insignificant.

If a client says, “I only have $1500 to spend on a new website. Can you do it?” I will tell them that we are not the right design company for them. More often than not they are not actually locked in to such a rigid budget, but instead they are looking for the “best value” and trying to compare “apples-to-apples”.

So business owners get on the phone with a number of web design companies and digital marketing agencies to gather a collection of proposals, often with no justification to make their decision. This company charges $3000. That one $6,750. This one $9000. Aren’t all of the companies basically offering the same thing and just charging different prices? 

This is where clients get thrown off. 

How do you compare apples-to-apples when you don’t know what an apple should be?

Let’s look at it this way. We’re going to go out for dinner. I can tell you that whatever restaurant we choose must have a diverse menu, hot food, a big dining room, plates, utensils, salad and free water. 

“Well, how much is that going to cost?” you ask.

I respond, “It depends”. This is when my client sighs.

Will we be dining at the “Rusty Spoon Buffet and Flea Market”? It seems like lots of people eat there. They meet all of the requirements mentioned above. Diverse menu, hot, food, big dining room, plates, utensils, salad and free water.

Or will we be dining at the “Silver Springs Resort”? They also meet all of the requirements mentioned above.

Or maybe we will be dining at an establishment somewhere in the middle?

The challenge is to identify what you really want. Is it just “food”?

If so the Rusty Spoon will probably do just fine. 

But when it comes to a client expressing their digital marketing needs for their website, they don’t envision much further than “how much is the food?”

To many, a website is just what you see when you look at it on your computer screen. But just like a dining experience there is so much more to consider.

If done well:

• You will work closely with your digital marketing agency to outline marketing goals for your website and digital marketing strategies. (A great looking website that was created with no specific purpose other than to look good is not a great website.)
• It will be designed to work well across many devices
• It will be created by professional, experienced, talented artists that take the time to understand your market
• It will be created with the goal of optimizing your ability to be found in search results. That includes using proper page titles, headers, image tags and page content. (For the average client, if these things aren’t done well - or done at all – you will never know.)
• You will be trained on how to update, edit and maintain your site even if you don’t know anything about website design.
• You will be provided on-going support to make sure your website continues to be secure, function well and look great.

Just like choosing a dining experience, when designing a new website there is so much more to consider than “how much does it cost”. Be willing to educate yourself so you can find a digital marketing partner that will provide you with the level of expertise, service, and abilities that meet with your professional expectations and business goals. Otherwise, you might find yourself scraping off the crusty skin on a big bowl of day old chocolate pudding instead of enjoying an amazing dessert that was made just for you. 

New Year, New Look

The New Year always brings a sense of renewal.  It’s a great time to step back and take a look at the past year and determine what you can do to make the upcoming year even better.  

With that in mind, take this opportunity to look at your online presence.  Your website, mobile website and even social media pages like Facebook or YouTube.  When it comes to technology, time moves very quickly.  What was an amazing website five years ago, may no longer function correctly or be the masterpiece it once was.

If you have a dynamic, vibrant business, a stagnant, out-dated web presence will not serve you well.  Use the arrival of the New Year as an opportunity to review your online presence.  Go through your website page by page.  Take a look at your website on iPhones, iPads and Android phones.  Is your brand represented the way you’d like it to be?  If not, start making an effort to improve.  Even small improvements over time can lead to great improvements.

In business, there is no standing still – you’re either moving forward or falling behind.  Now is the time to do what it takes to keep your business moving in the right direction this year.

Mobile Site vs. Mobile App

Now I don't want to insult the intelligence of any of you technophiles out there, but there are some folks who are a bit confused about this whole mobile site vs. mobile app business.

Basically your smart phone, (i.e. iPhone, Android, Blackberry) is a little computer. That computer can surf the web using a browser or it can run programs which are...apps! Instead of buying your programs at a brick and mortar store, you buy them at the "app" store and they are downloaded and installed on your phone.

So a "mobile site" is a website that you visit in a browser on your phone, and a "mobile app" is a small program that you purchase from the app store (or download for free from that store) and install onto your phone.

Both a mobile site and your mobile app can pull information off the Internet if you are connected. However, most if not all of the functionality of a mobile app is available, even if you are not connected to the Internet.

For example, if you were visiting an amusement park and that park had a mobile website, you could visit that mobile site and get a lot of information about the park. However, if you did not have an Internet connection while in the park or the connection was poor, the experience could be bad. You may get some information, slow information or none at all. However, if that amusement park has a mobile app that you can download from the app store, you will be able to use the application to find out about ride information, full GPS mapping and even where your friends are in the park, all without an Internet connection!

Mobile sites are important too. If website owners look at their traffic reports they will see regular visitors to their site of 10-20%* or more are accessing their website from a mobile phone. If you have a website and it is important to you that this large segment of your audience be able to see and navigate your site easily on their phone, you need a mobile website. If 10-20% of your users were using a new browser, wouldn't you want your website optimized to look good in that browser?

When a visitor comes to your website, the server can detect what type of device they are using whether it is a desktop computer or an iPhone and display a different interface that is easiest to use. So if you have a mobile site, and someone comes to your web address on their phone, it will automatically show them the mobile site. Mobile sites can also access gps information and serve up conditional content based on the visitors geographic location. Your desktop website can't do that! However, a mobile site needs to have information formatted to be easy to get around and easy to read on a phone. If you have ever tried to visit a site that is not optimized for a phone, you will know how difficult it can be to get around.

Mobile Apps can be for more than just consumers and customers; they can also help with business practices. Now everyone in your company who has a smart phone has a "mobile computer" that can run programs that allow them to do work in the field and on the fly. Custom "apps" can be built for your company's needs and side loaded onto your phones only bypassing the stores. These apps can help reps in the field get and input important information.

Using the amusement park example from above, supervisors or other workers in the park could transmit ride wait times, crowd information or incident reports right from their phone via a custom secure mobile application.

So an app is a program, like a game or an email client that can run on your smartphone. A mobile site is a mobile viewing optimized version of a website that displays on a mobile phone in the mobile browser.

Mobile phones are not going anywhere and smartphone usage is increasing every year. Companies who recognize the value of mobile technology both for marketing and for operations will be ahead of the competition.