Startup Tips

How to Avoid the Cheap Web Design Trap

Small business owners often think cheap web design will be enough to promote their business online. That’s understandable, but there’s a catch.

Underinvesting in your website will cost you far more in the long run. It can even cost your entire business.

Over the past 25 years, I’ve helped many small firms recover from this mistake. So I’d rather help you avoid it.

Still, that does not mean every website needs a five- or six-figure budget. After all, my budget web design and affordable web design packages cost far less than that. What it does mean is that simply seeking the cheapest web design you can find is likely to cripple your business.… Read the rest “How to Avoid the Cheap Web Design Trap”

How Procrastination Kills Projects

I was going to write about how procrastination kills projects seven months ago. That article wasn’t going to be so personal.

Then life got in the way. As it always will, if you let it. So what happened?

Out of the blue, my partner of over 25 years got a diagnosis so terrifying that we had an emergency wedding. “Emergency” as in, we woke up that morning not knowing we’d be married by teatime.

Eternal thanks to the Newport Registry Office, the Royal Gwent Hospital, and the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff for facilitating that. Even more so to the medics for making her condition more manageable for now.

Yeah, writing a blog post pales into insignificance in the face of that, doesn’t it?… Read the rest “How Procrastination Kills Projects”

Why Small Businesses Need Professional Websites

Professional websites can seem like big investments to small business owners. Online marketing is such a huge topic that it can be hard to work out where to begin.

So why do small businesses need professionally designed websites? Why do their competitors invest thousands in professional web design? Here’s an analogy that may help.

Professional Websites Are Marketing Vehicles

Your website is your main marketing vehicle in the non-stop race for sales. To extend that analogy, hosting is the garage you rent for it, and your domain is the address of that garage. Site visitors are passengers that you pick up briefly, and some of them convert into customers.

However, your vehicle won’t get far without regular maintenance (support and updates) and good driving (active marketing).… Read the rest “Why Small Businesses Need Professional Websites”

Why Do Website Prices Vary So Much?

Small businesses often want simple, affordable web design packages. That’s fine, we can do that — but then some call professional web design “expensive” and “overcomplicated”. So why do website prices vary so much?

Because web design can mean several very different things.

Business websites serve a wide range of purposes. Some of those purposes are common, others less so. So there are at least three levels of web design to consider.

Affordable Web Design Packages

Common requirements can sometimes be standardised, and processes streamlined, to keep costs down. However, flexibility creates complexity, so in practice, “streamlining processes” always means “restricting choices”.

For some people, and some purposes, that makes little difference — and cash flow is often a bigger concern for small businesses.… Read the rest “Why Do Website Prices Vary So Much?”

Top 5 Website Project Risks (& How to Avoid Them)

Building a website can be a great investment for almost any business — and vital for most. Yet nothing is as simple as it seems. Every website project can be put at risk by common mistakes.

Knowing these basic web design project pitfalls helps you avoid them. Still, they’re common because they aren’t always obvious. So here’s a list of the top five website project risks.

1. Delaying Decisions

It’s easy to put off big decisions, telling ourselves we need to think them over. However, we then rarely get around to doing so.

We forget 70% of new information within a day — and opportunities don’t wait. “Let me think about it…” is the Dreamkiller Phrase — it rarely leads to anything but procrastination.… Read the rest “Top 5 Website Project Risks (& How to Avoid Them)”

5 Great Reasons to Start a Business Blog

If you own a local business, you may be wondering whether to start a business blog. Perhaps you aren’t sure how it could help you, or you lack the time to create quality content consistently.

On the other hand, you’ve heard that content marketing can take your business to the next level.

So, is starting a blog worth it? How could it help your business? Let’s review a few of the best reasons to start a business blog.

1. Drive Website Traffic

The most obvious part of running a business online is that low traffic to your website means low sales. That’s why many business owners spend lots of money each month on PPC ads to boost site traffic.… Read the rest “5 Great Reasons to Start a Business Blog”