Are you considering having a website designed for you, or, if you have one website already, are you considering having a second one?

Most people who are looking to have a website designed for them do not know too much of the technical “stuff” that goes on behind the scenes, and look to their web designers for that knowledge. There are other people who again, do not know and really do not want to know. That baffles me. 99% of my clients always plied me with questions, really wanting to know, and they always set the limit on the knowledge when it got to be more than they could comfortably absorb. I had one client in 8 years who really didn’t want to know anything because it was not in within the artistic genre and this client really and truly considered it boring. Well, ok.

However, I’ve had a few recent inquiries where people really didn’t care at all. They just wanted the website to “make them money” ~ well, that’s nice, but you get out of it what you put into it. It’s really not rocket science and if the client is going to spend their hard earned money on hosting, site design, an e-commerce option, etc. one would think they would want to understand, at least basically, how the wheels turn and the axe grinds.

Now some designers are only interested in designing a site. Period end of story. They are not interested in providing the client with a little running SEO and other search engine and marketing advice. That’s fine. As long as they tell the client up front that all they do is design, whereby the client should ask if the design is search engine friendly. That really should not be a problem since most sites today are template based with some degree of SEO friendliness built in, and, if the designer is building from scratch, the client should then find this out because they will either have to hire a search engine specialist to get them off to a running start with the search engines or spend the time learning basic SEO themselves. This I personally would not advise since learning this takes time and it the website is meant to make money fairly soon after launch, it won’t.

On the other hand some designers design the site with SEO and marketing in mind ~ plus explain the basic concepts of these to the client. Better for the client, indeed! If you should find a designer that is willing to wear both hats, that one’s a keeper.

So. Which designer is the right one for you?

That’s your choice, based upon your needs as an online business and how fast you want to advance in the search engines and get sales.

Here’s the basics:

1 ~ You need website hosting, a domain name, and most likely an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) cert. You need the domain name so people can find your website, you need hosting so your website has somewhere to live, and you need the SSL cert either because it is a requirement for your e-commerce shopping cart OR because you like to reassure your customers that you are who you say you are and that all transactions will be secure.

2 ~ If you are going to use e-commerce shopping cart software, you should carefully research what you’ll need. If you know what your business will need but the choices are too overwhelming and you need advice, this e-commerce design listing might be able to help you.

3 ~ SEO is not really the huge mystery that it’s made out to be. There are a few simple, straightforward techniques that you as a website owner can implement ~ they don’t cost you anything, you just need to know the why’s and what for’s and how’s. SEO oftens works hand in hand with basic website marketing. It’s to your benefit to have someone show you, help set you up and then you can be off and running, competently and knowledgeably on your own, independent. What a good feeling that is!

4 ~ Budget. You need to first set up a budget before you go buying services and hiring a designer. Realistically speaking, if you are going to have a professional looking / feelilng website that looks great, behaves well for your customers, is easy for them to shop on, and is search engine friendly, you need to set aside $1000. You won’t use it all, believe me. However, if you operate this whole thing with a businesslike perspective, you will fill the kitty and you will have money left over. You’ll end up spending around $600-$700 for a great website. Keep the rest of the money in reserve in case you decide to experiment with ads or other marketing. You may decide to add on options after a while, and the reserve will be there. ALWAYS have a budget.

5 ~ Business Plan ~ Always have one of these around too. Set your expectations for your new Internet business realistically, review often, evaluate often , and be ready to be flexible. More on that in another post.

If all else fails and you are just not sure which way to go with a designer, a website, etc. and you are simply not sure what to do, seek professional help with a small business consultant. It could be the best 4 hours of your life ~ you can walk away with a much clearer perspective of what you want and what you want to / are able to / can accomplish.

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New Jersey Web Design by Jewelry Collectibles Design, conveniently located in Hackensack, Bergen County New Jersey, is owned and operated by Maureen McCullough. In business since 2000 as a freelance professional and now also an eBay Stores Certified Designer. Our clients receive professional, creative designs put together outside of the typical corporate genre, fully carrying your small business identity through your entire venue ~ website, blog, forum, links management, eBay store and other online venues. Happy to be a woman owned small business.