Our rates are so high because *this* guy goes through bananas like you wouldn’t believe!!

There is an old adage that goes something like “if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys”… and this one … “You get what you pay for!”.  Ah, the cliches are endless.

Seriously though, we get this question a lot.  There are a lot of ways to answer the question, and a lot of theories around what a website is worth. After being in the industry for about 12 years now, I believe you get what you pay for (well that’s not true if you deal with a really big over-priced agency that can demand any price they like) … AND also believe that some businesses don’t need to spend a fortune on their website!

If your business is very small, doesn’t have a huge marketing budget, or doesn’t see the web as a strategic part of the business growth, and is a strong offline business (accounting firms are a good example of this), then it’s not likely you need to invest heavily in a web presence, and can get away with having it built by a freelancer or a small agency, however be warned…

I’ve compared digital agencies and freelancers in another post.

As the owner of a mid-tier agency, I can tell you categorically that we charge what we do, to survive.  If we charged less, we’d have to provide a less superior service (and compete with the commodity end of the market), or disappear.  Here is why:

1. Experience - what a surprise huh? Building websites isn’t just about slapping together a design and crunching out a few pages of code.  Anyone that’s had a bad website built knows that there are endless amounts of pain associated with a site that has been built poorly: It doesn’t render properly in the browsers it should; hosted in an unreliable environment; CMS wasn’t setup correctly so you can’t edit all the things you should be able to; the site doesn’t appear in the search engines; it looks unprofessional; usability is poor!  We’ve learnt all these lessons the only way – the hard way!

2. Staff – you’re buying a service, not a product.  The quality of the service you receive depends solely on the quality of the staff that are providing the service.  It’s all about the people you’re dealing with.  The larger, and more professional the agency, the more talented and expensive their staff will be.  There’s a reason more experienced staff are more expensive!  It’s like choosing an accountant – if you go to an inexperienced accountant straight out of school, they’ll be cheaper, and you’ll most likely get poorer advice than from an Accountant that has been working in the field for years.  Probably not a great idea considering the difference that could make to your tax return – why make the same mistake on your website?

3. Infrastructure – Salsa has a dedicated Program Manager who’s sole responsibility is to ensure projects are run to schedule, and to the highest standards.  Our support team is dedicated purely to helping customers maintain their sites after they go live (as opposed to trying to get our developers to support client sites while they’re busy on building new ones). We also ensure the staff are well looked after – we have someone that manages the office, the beer fridge is stocked, the coffee machine is ready for our next client meeting, organises team events, & client xmas parties.  Happy staff make great websites, which makes happy customers.

4. Quality assurance – about 3 years ago we heard a story from a client of ours that had a website built by another agency, which was lost about 90% way through the build cycle.  They had a server problem, and the site that had been worked on for 3 months, disappeared over night – no backup, no copy on a local machine. Nothing. They had to start from scratch.  More professional agencies have backup systems, version control mechanisms, project management tools, development-production synchronisation processes, testing infrastructures… the list goes on.

5. ROI – a site that doesn’t return any customers isn’t a lot of value.  There is a LOT to learn about creating websites that work.  From design (read Blog posts from our Creative Director to appreciate how important good design is – yet another example of amazing staff) to prominence in the search engines, to integration with back-end sales systems – they’re all important aspects of creating websites that work.  It’s not too hard to do the math on what a good website will return for you when compared with other marketing medium, but it’s futile if the site isn’t built with ROI in mind.

6. Your professionalism online – this may sound pretentious, but have you ever driven a BMW, then gotten into a Hyundai?  Not that Hyundai’s are bad cars – I actually think they’re exceptional value for money, but you’d obviously notice the difference in quality and experience if you had the M3?.   If your potential clients look at your Hyundai website, and your competitors BMW website, who do you think they’ll choose?  We’ve found that making a BMW quality website, while more expensive, ends up returning far more to customers in leads, inquiries and sales, and so we focus on delivering quality websites that sell.

BUT I JUST WANT A WEBSITE – WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?!

Here is how you can decide – checkout the portfolio of the providers. Are they of the quality you would like?  Are they BMW’s or Hyundai’s?  Are their customers of a similar size/level of professionalism to you?  Maybe even call a couple of the customers – get some honest feedback.

Bottom line, if you get a price that is considerably lower, you should expect a compromise on some or all of the above.  That doesn’t mean you can’t get a cheaper website, but (wait for the Cleche) “You get what you pay for!”.  When ever we compete against agencies of a similar size to us, the prices are always comparable.

When we compete against smaller agencies, they’re always cheaper.  The clients that understand the difference, are the ones that we love to work with.

It is a question that is asked of Web Designers perhaps more than any other.  What aspects of a website make for great design?  Well, here’s a few top tips using a site we’ve recently designed for a Melbourne based client as an example.

1.  Clear navigation structure
Do visitors know where to go to get the information they need and can they get there easily?  Ensure your navigation uses language that is easy to understand and is hierarchically organised according to the type and importance of content.

2.  Engaging and relevant imagery
A website without imagery is almost like a pub without beer – bland and unmemorable.  That said, getting the imagery right is also crucial.  Select imagery that is directly relevant to both your brand and target audience (if you can afford a few extra dollars custom imagery is best).

3.  Text – dynamic, legible, accurate, brief
The heading says it all.  Ensure that text on your site is spelled and punctuated correctly, updated often, is of a size large enough to be read by the average person with average eyes and is written with brevity in mind.

4.  Simplicity
There is nothing worse than a site that has been over-designed and is cluttered/crammed with information.  Keeping your site clean and simple yet engaging will ensure that visitors have as positive an experience possible and aren’t scared to return.

5.  Embrace the space!
As per the above point, there is nothing wrong with the strategic use of white space, particularly if there is a product or service you want to place more emphasis on.

6.  Web-optimal typography
Web browsers generally favour the use of a standard set of fonts/typefaces so if these are used consistently throughout the site, you are more likely to ensure your visitors see what you see!  Google actually publish a list of open source fonts you can use in your website that they support.

7.  Use colour wisely and appropriately
Colour is best used strategically and in close alignment with the brand of your business.  If the nature of the business necessitates colour (think kids websites etc) then you can afford to be a little more liberal, otherwise it’s best to keep it nice!

8. Call to action
It is always ideal to have some aspect of your website design function as a call to action – be it to find out more about a specific product or service or send an email enquiry.  Getting visitors to interact with your site in some way is crucial.

9.  Searchability
Can users search for something on the site if they choose to and will they get accurate and useful results?  If the answer is yes, you’re on the right track.  If no, time to get cracking with implementing a search function.

10. Testing 123
This is where so many websites that have been designed with the absolute best of intentions can go horribly wrong.  Testing.  It is absolutely vital to try and break the site on every browser and platform before it goes live.  It’s a bit like a restaurant with a dirty bathroom – despite the food being okay it has the potential to completely ruin your experience.

-  No image for this as all our sites work perfectly, of course! –

In the course of designing websites for a living, it is truly frightening how often I come across spelling errors in all manner of contexts.  Email is a particular bug-bear of mine, however it is, on occasion, equally disheartening to see the content within so many existing websites (and the planned content for new ones) lose its credibility because the Author who penned it had a limited propensity for, or interest in, linguistics.

These range from very simple, presumably unintended errors (typo’s) to ridiculously obvious ones (I came across a recent example that included the words ‘calender’ and ‘festivel’ repeatedly on different pages throughout a clients existing site).

Journalist for Melbourne newspaper The Age, Christopher Bantick, said in a 2003 article he wrote on the subject of poor spelling that “the importance of correct spelling as an indicator of clear communication has been reduced through our increasing dependence on technology.”  Seven years later, in 2010, this couldn’t be more true.

Along with the core forms of media and communication we have come to know, love and develop an almost unprecedented reliance on, such as television and the internet, the enormous growth in the peripheral digital landscape, incorporating social media, blogging, online communication tools (MSN, Skype, Yammer…the list goes on) and mobile content / application development, to name a few, demands we pay even more attention to the way we assemble and articulate words and sentences.

To further encourage our apathy on the subject, we also have to cope with a world which is being increasingly flooded with an elaborate and seductive spectrum of visual data – one in which images, rather than words, are rapidly gaining supremacy.

It is therefore those individuals, businesses, enterprises and organisations that make the paying of attention to these semantic details a critical component of the success of their daily operations, a big step ahead of those that don’t.

Looking at the web in isolation, correct spelling is also imperative for SEO-motivated reasons, if none other.  You want users to find you.  And you want them to find you using the correct terminology.  If you do drawings for a living then you may need to expand on, and further clarify that when it comes to defining search terms.  A quick search on dictionary.com should explain why (as of September, 2010 there are approximately 60 definitions of the term ‘draw’).

In summing up, there are some basic steps you can take to ensure you minimise your chances of eternal intellectual humiliation by spelling mistake.  These include:

1.  If a word doesn’t look right, chances are it probably isn’t.  Use the spell checker (and even dare to click the ‘change or ‘change-all’ button) in whatever application you are using to create content.

2.  If unsure, or for particularly tricky words and concepts, invest in a good dictionary.  These are worth their weight in gold and make an attractive addition to any desk.

3.  If you suffer from extremely low spell-esteem, hire a proof-reader / copywriter / copyeditor.  Make sure they are, however, appropriately qualified, professional and experienced.  Ask to see samples of their work.  Your mate Jim from school who was good at English may not be the most suitable person to write your website content.

I don’t profess to be an expert on the subject but I have found the above tips to come in handy on numerous occasions.  I hope you will too. As Descartes was overheard saying at drinks with friends one night, ‘I think, therefore, I spell correctly.’

Use our experience and knowledge to your advantage! (Image: Miika Kumpulainen)

In my 12 or so years in the exciting, yet often wild and rugged terrain of the Creative Management landscape, I have become all too accustomed to the regularity and reality of working with clients who have very specific, highly subjective ideas about how they want their website to look.

Being a former business owner myself, I completely understand the intense relationship one can have with one’s business.  There are undoubtedly certain parallels that can be drawn between owning a business and having a baby – particularly if it is your ‘brain-child’ and the recipient of a large proportion of your life savings, the new and likely unwieldy tenant in your house or the relentless force responsible for keeping your brain ticking away throughout the night.

That said, as a Designer, I do feel an obligation to stand up for and vocalise the virtues of my vocation, just as any other trained, experienced and knowledgeable professional would and should.

Whilst it can be argued that ‘design’ is in itself not a skill that can be officially labelled or accredited (although I personally believe the introduction of an official, widely recognised accreditation program for Designers would be worthwhile) in such a publicly resonant way as say that of a Doctor, Accountant, Solicitor, Chef or even Hairdresser, being a good Designer involves amassing an awareness of, and an ability to do a multitude of things.

We are so much more than technically-apt personnel through which creative solutions are realised, and can and do often wear multiple hats including those of psychologist, philosopher, business advisor, anthropologist, mathematician, problem solver and project manager, amongst many others.

Design is all about finding the right solution that will help an individual or business exceed their clients expectations.  And in doing so, it is fundamentally important that the solution is not just highly functional, but that it delights in delivering to the client or user an innovative experience, or a means of communication, that not only takes them where they want to go but inspires them to want more.

It is this amassing of experience – of searching for, experimenting with and exploring new ways of resolving communication problems, that provides us with the expertise that you – the client – come to us seeking.   It is also what we pride ourselves on offering you.

Next time you come in to Salsa, I’d recommend coming equipped with three things to ensure you get the most value out of our expertise.  Firstly, do develop your own ideas about what sort of interactive design solution you’re looking for.  In doing so though I suggest you ask yourself the following questions:

1.  Does this tie in with my branding?
2.  Will it resonate with my target audience(s) and make clear the objectives of my business?
3.  Will it differentiate me from my competitors? If so, how?
4.  What is the functional basis for my aesthetic decisions? (Ie:  If you think pink should the predominant colour used throughout the site, why?)

The second thing would be to adopt a willingness to be challenged. After all, you are paying us for our expertise, so get the most out of us.  We have worked with clients with requirements and demands similar to yours time and time again, so keep this in the back of your mind.  We also have a thorough understanding of the bigger picture – what design trends might be better to steer clear of and what other creative approaches might be worthwhile investigating.

Thirdly, have fun and remember good design has been proven to place you in a position of significant competitive advantage!  I highly recommend checking out the Design Victoria website for a great (and practical) read on how this does so.  Amongst many other resources and tools, you can also assess how well your business is embracing innovation.

I had a meeting today with a potential new customer, and they were just getting out of a bad relationship with their previous developer.  They mentioned that he’d “oversold” them on the capabilities of his organisation.  In fact, he didn’t even have an organisation – it was only 1 person.  His website, and the way he presented his business, made it appear as though it was a more substantial business.  Anyway, it turns out he’s going on a long holiday, and their site is supposed to have gone live in 2 weeks, and is not near ready… needless to say, they’re now looking for a new developer!

I  guess the point I’m making in a round about way, is that your site can be used to allow people to see who you are (in the above example he was lying, but let’s assume you won’t do that!).  It’s not only my opinion, but I’ve seen it time and time again – if your website visitors can see who you are, what your team is like, and get a feeling of comfort that they’re dealing with real, honest, people, your enquiries will go through the roof.  Not only that, the quality of the enquiries will be considerably better.

E.g. We run a marketing site using another brand name (email me if you want to know what it is).  This particular site is a brand that only generates leads for Salsa – there is no real business behind it.  The site itself ranks its butt off in the search engines – gets twice as much traffic as the Salsa site, however the leads are generally very bad in comparison.  There are about the same number of leads (in fact maybe even more) but they are much, much lower quality, and equate to about 5% of our sales, while the Salsa site generated about 40%.  I butted my head against the wall for years trying to work out why, and one day a client actually told me – after mentioning they’d actually come across the other site, but decided not to enquire; I asked why they did choose to enquire with us?

Their response was “because I felt like I was dealing with real people.  The other website didn’t look real”.  The site itself is as well designed as the Salsa site, however it does not contain any people – no staff page, no photo’s of clients, not even a stock photo of one of those ladies you see on every 2nd website!  Nothing that gives the user the feeling they’re dealing with real people, and so they don’t have any confidence, and don’t waste their time enquiring.

Get your staff onto your website, and watch your enquiries improve.

Here is our staff page: http://www.salsainternet.com.au/about-salsa-staff.html

A couple of years ago, users didn’t want to be “engaged” online – they wanted to go to a website, do something (enquire, sign up), fix something (solve a problem) or buy something (shop!).   We’ve seen an incredible shift in the way people achieve this over the past couple of years with people now spending so much more time online.  Users now want more from their website browsing experience.  The introduction of social media (I still don’t like that term, anyway…) tools means that people have now become used to using the internet as more than just a tool, but as a part of their life. And so, they naturally expect a website to be more than just a tool – it needs to make them feel at home, make them feel like they’re part of something – not just enquiring, problem solving or shopping.

How many times have you checked your web enabled phone today?  How many times a day did you check it 2 years ago? We spend a LOT of time online now.

Your clients and potential customers now want to know who you are, what you look like, what your office looks like, what you did at your last team event, what was the name of your first pet!!  They want to build a relationship with you, and feel that you’re actually interested in telling them about yourself.  It needs to be genuine of course, as any relationship needs to be, so you do need to be careful, because this new world of online transparency means that if you’re not honest, it will easily show.  Marketing hasn’t really changed, it’s still about being able to genuinely connect with the people who care the most; however the tools we used to make us look like someone we weren’t (websites are so good at making small businesses look like big companies) are not enough – there are just so many ways to find out more about a person or company now, that you can’t hide behind a website – so you might as well come out and tell the world about who you really are. If you don’t, someone else probably will.

An interesting side note: the staff page on the Salsa website is one of the most popular (top 2%)

Take the following examples (thanks to Avinash Kaushik from a “6 Pixels of Separation” Podcast I recently listened to).  2 competing companies in Canada, both selling laundry products.

www.vim.ca - not all that engaging, imo

The first example is quite a simple site – shows some products (ok, good start), has a voucher to save $1 (wow!), then the standard marketing spiel (“makes tough cleaning easy”). They have content on the site about how to use their products, cleaning tips,  and home decorating ideas. Yawn. www.vim.ca

seventhgeneration.com - incredibly engaging

This example is not only a much more beautiful site (an enormous part of the ability to engage in my opinion), but also absolutely tells the website visitor all about who and what they’re dealing with.  They become part of something much bigger. “Protecting Planet Home”.   One of the major menu items is “Learn”.  In here you can educate yourself on the bigger ‘green’ issues they’re passionate about, read an active Blog, visit the Forum, watch video’s.  You can also see where people have “Asked Scienceman” a question, and can read his response.  They of course also connect via Facebook, and Twitter – you can actually see in their Twitter account that they’re interacting with their customers, answering questions and solving problems! Oh, they also have some product information on the site of course. www.seventhgeneration.com

I can’t wait to re-design our website.  Keep your eye out for it.

Unfortunately we see it fairly often – clients come to us with visions of grandeur about their website marketing, and their plans to take the world by storm with their enormous marketing budget to drive thousands of people to their website every week, which in turn is going to bring in loads of new business.  I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t give my honest opinion, that unfortunately all that investment in online marketing is not even likely to return real value, unless the site or landing page the campaign is directing them to, is fantastic.  It’s something that some clients (or prospective clients) are pretty sensitive about, but it’s generally accurate – we’ve seen it time and time again.

When we launched a version of our website about 2 years ago, we made some fairly important changes, which increased our enquiries online by about 35%!  The changes were mostly aesthetic, but we knew that our prospects were looking to learn more about our client base, and how we differentiate ourselves, so we created a short flash animation to tell a bit of a story, and also improved the aesthetic.   You can see the difference below between the old site, and the new.

http://old.salsainternet.com.au

www.salsainternet.com.au

Recently we also implemented a new home page design for www.equusconnect.com.au (recruitment website for the horse racing industry), and their online registrations for job seekers went up by about 60% overnight!  Imagine what that could do for your business!

In most cases, the changes are only aesthetic – you don’t need to change the structure of the site, or the layout.  Just give it a ‘refresh’, if you like, and you’ll likely see an improve in results. And it will be much, much cheaper than just about any online marketing campaign.

Then, if you still need more business (let’s face it, who doesn’t), then consider investing in online marketing.