I’ve owned and managed a web site design company since 1999. We’ve built real estate websites, ecommerce websites, websites in Flash, websites that are optimized for search engines, and all sorts of business websites. Here are some things I’ve learned along with advice and opinions.
One of my new side businesses is creating niche directories. It’s a simple business model with ever-expanding opportunities for revenue growth. But I’ll get into that in another post. The thing is that I’ve got a few hundred domains, but I’m looking for more. I’ve got plenty of ideas, but I figured perhaps you could help me find even more.
So…
Ladies and gentlemen, check it out - MyFreeWebsiteDesign.com.
Why is MWI giving away free websites? It’s an experiment, based on the hypothesis that if we give away a few websites, we’ll get more in return than what we give up. And if it fails, it’s not like we’re out much.
Of course there’s a catch or two for the companies we pick.…
One of our SEO clients is an eating disorder treatment center. We also manage their Google Adwords account, which I’ll refer to as search engine marketing for the remainder of this post. With both SEO and SEM there are two components to a successful campaign; the first is getting traffic to the site, and the second is getting that traffic to do…
MWI turns away approximately 75% or more of the web design requests we receive through our RFP form due to pricing issues. Since MWI’s pricing for a static, basic, corporate site starts at $15K (and we’ll probably raise it to $20K soon) that puts us out of reach of all but those clients with the deep pockets, which is precisely how…
You know, it’s interesting enough when your site gets ripped off, but when the very people ripping it off make extra efforts to bring it to your attention then you have to wonder if the ripoff artists are a few cigars short of a Cuban dictator. Below, you see the graphic for Ion Micro’s website, evidently under construction (**Update -…
And I quote…
Ogden – December 28, 2006 – Ogden based Wadman Corporation has been awarded a 1st Place Marketing Communications Award by Society of Marketing Professional Services, Utah Chapter, for outstanding electronic general for their newly redesigned website.
Criteria used to judge the entries included research and planning; implementation practices; budget and cost data; and measurable results. The award recognizes excellence…
From time to time I’m asked about these website templates you can go buy for $50. There are websites that sell them and you can browse through hundreds until you find the design you like. Then you buy it, put in your own logo and content, and you’ve got a decent looking website without needing to pay an expensive web…
Lately I’ve been reading what the folks over at the premiere search engine optmization firm SEOMoz have to say on their blog, and I’ve also been looking around their website a bit. One of the things I’ve been impressed with is that they openly display their pricing, which is not the norm for SEO or web development firms.
For example, on their…
I just got the latest issue of Connect Magazine today. Inside is an article called How to Pick a Web Design Firm which hasn’t been posted to Connect’s website yet, but once it is I’ll link it here. The article is written by Brandon Anderson from i4, which is one of MWI’s competitors. Of the 17 points Brandon makes I agree…
Yet the fourth time that MWI’s website has been ripped off. Thanks to Daniel Mall who caught it and Brian Sweeting who alerted me to Daniel’s post. For the other ripoffs check out ripoff #1, ripoff #2, and ripoff #3. This time the culprit is a British company called Freebird.
How does a web development firm prepare to go about redesigning its own website? Feel free to follow along with me as the MWI website goes through that process over the next few months.
Step 1 - Planning
Inspired by Drew McLellan’s Five Most Important Considerations, I decided to come up with my own list, prior to actually reading his so that I wouldn’t just be rewriting what he had already said. Every time MWI puts out a proposal I go through the same exercise of trying to show the potential client that we understand who they are, who…
I couldn’t resist reading an article by Dion Jones entitled Want to help Web visitors? Speak to them. In the article Dion, who is described on his own website as “very experienced in marketing online” claims that adding audio instructions to a website “will increase your e-mail list opt-in rate while decreasing your order page abandonment rate and visitor confusion.”
While…
For the third time MWI’s website has been blatantly ripped off/copied, this time just months after the last time. This time the culprit is some European or Icelandic company called Quick MB. If anybody knows what language that is let me know. At least this time the perpetrator had the dignity to be from some obscure former-USSR country where if…
I enjoy discussing viewpoints that oppose my personal opinions. While not completely opposed to what I believe, the article Are Websites Judged In The Blink Of An Eye? by Gerry McGovern (wasn’t this guy a presidential candidate once?) could be used by some as justification for making what I feel are incorrect decisions with regards to the aesthetic appeal of a website.
I…
This happened once before, but that time it was some company that had nothing to do with providing competing services. This time, it’s another web development firm.
Check out http://www.swansonholland.com/
In case they see this post and repent of their wicked ways, here are some screen shots so we can preserve the shame.
The MWI website:
The Swanson Holland website:
Notice anything similar? Hmmm.
…
I’ve been saying this for years due to finding from a study done at Stanford University about web credibility. Now here is more evidence of what is common sense:
Ok, you web developers and designers are going to be offended that this is under the “advertising and marketing” section of this site but the fact of the matter is that a lot of business types don’t understand how separate and different advertising and marketing is from web development and design. And the fact of the matter is that a…
Sometimes you read something and just have to shake your head. I’m not going to name names because this is a company that employs people I like, but on their site they have this statement:
Studies have shown that it doesn’t matter how pretty your site is or how many “bells and whistles” you have. While a high-quality site is important,…
