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Office-related . . . Web-design . . . Small Biz Questions? Ask Judy!
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Ask Judy Question #1
Dear Judy: Everyone says it's easy to be a Web designer, and I'm pretty good designing brochures and flyers. Six months ago, I quit my job, bought FrontPage, got a domain, created a site advertising my services, and haven't had one person hire me, or even ask about my services. What's wrong? I'm going broke!
Signed...Stumped in Savannah
Responses by Judy Vorfeld, Mark Brennaman, Ronni Rhodes and Marc Holt.
From Judy Vorfeld
Dear Stumped in Savannah: If you do a search in Google, typing in "web designers," you see "1 - 10 of about 734,000." This should be your first clue. Here are some things to start you off on your journey:
- Take the question you wrote me and ask it again at http://www.smallbusiness.com and see what a variety of small business experts have to say.
- If you're planning on being a full-blown Web designer, you need to know HTML, CGI and Java Script, graphics, programming, marketing, copy writing, broadband, graphics, browsers' capabilities, FTP, hosting capabilities, and much more.
- Read my article How Web Designers Sell Themselves
- Read the comments below by some real experts who lived to tell about it!
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From Mark Brennaman, WitWords.com
Before the internet came into its own, commonplace used to be a dime a dozen. Now the commonplace is a penny a dozen. I, too, had great expectations of becoming a tycoon in the web design business, but, alas, there are just too many of us who've purchased Front Page and a domain name.
You'd be much better off teaming with others who can compliment your strengths. Success in the web development business today is realized in niches. Approach others you know that have different skills and become a team.
Finally, even though the world is linked to you (possibly) through your website, you cannot depend on potential customers seeking you out for your services; you MUST seek them out and convince them you have the skills they need.
Mark Brennaman
Get your minimum daily laughter requirements at www.witwords.com
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From Ronni Rhodes, WBC Imaging
Not only do you have lots of competition, Stumped, but you also have an "attitude." Just because you built a web site doesn't mean that people are going to beat down your door!
What are you doing to attract clients? Do you have a marketing plan for your business? Have you taken the time to network with friends and business associates? Are you participating in discussion lists on the Web?
In addition, are you building your skill set? Front Page is a good, solid program, but web design has come a very long way from themed pages and
static text. Do you know how to set-up an E-commerce site or set up a mail form?
What kind of partnerships have you established with other providers that can help you? Partnering and working with others in the field not only gives you access to skills that you don't have, but it also gives you additional exposure in the marketplace.
Have you developed a portfolio so that people can see your work? Sometimes it's necessary to do a few sites at no charge just to gain some exposure for your work. Maybe you can volunteer to do a site for a local charity or non-profit group. Not only would you get experience, but you'd also meet potential clients for your services.
Ronni Rhodes, http://www.wbcimaging.com
Ignite Your Site with Streaming Media!
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From Marc Holt, Holt Worldwide
Dear Stumped in Savannah, or I should say Going Broke in Savannah:
You have started out on a journey that will take you down a long road.
Along the way you will have to learn many skills and as you master them
you will wonder how you could have done your job well before.
The first thing I advise you to do is to throw out FrontPage. It is for
amateurs, or for 'web designers' who are too lazy to do the job
properly. Personally, I use HotDog Professional from www.sausage.com, an
Australian company. HotDog is a text-based editor that allows you to
control every facet of your website design. The code it generates is
lean and clean. No unnecessary codes there at all. Clean coding ensures
a fast loading website.
In contrast, FP is a graphic web page design tool which produces lots of
bloated code. And when your web page code is bloated, it loads
s-l-o-w-l-y. Slow loading pages drive visitors away and you finish up
annoying people instead of giving them a pleasant web experience.
Some webmasters swear by Dreamweaver, another graphical design
interface. I've used that too and found it also produces bloated code.
It's not as bad as FP, but it does take valuable time to 'debug' the
code it produces to pare it down to the bare basics which will enable a
website to load super fast. I prefer to use the time to build an
efficient website by hand in the first place.
It doesn't matter what tool you use to design your websites, but do make
sure it produces clean code and it helps you work fast.
GETTING STARTED
How have your promoted your web design business? If you have set up
shop, registered your website on the search engines, and now you are
sitting back waiting for customers, I hope you have a comfortable pillow
to lie on. You'll be doing a lot of sleeping.
The best way to get customers is to go out and find them. You could
start by asking your friends if any of them want a website. It might
even pay you to do 1 or 2 free websites first so you get a feel for it.
If you do a good job, your friends will tell their friends and the word
will spread. There is no better way to get clients.
Set up a "References" page on your website to show off the work you have
done already. This encourages visitors to your website to start taking
you seriously. There are so many good webmasters (and webmistresses) out
there, you really have to strut your stuff to get noticed.
Advertise in your local and community newspapers. You can often get free
classified ads in them. But if not, invest some money and tell people
about your services. If you advertise, people will tend to take you more
seriously.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
There is a vast difference between a website designer and a "webmaster"
or "webmistress". A designer like yourself may be able to design
brochures, flyers and even web pages, but that's where it stops. A
"webmaster" incorporates so many skills it's hard to quantify them all,
but here are a few:
1. The ability to design a website that works 100% well. It will be easy
to navigate to any page in the website. It will be intuitive; that is,
visitors will understand immediately how it works. It will also get the
message across to the visitor clearly.
2. Knows how to set up META tags to make them very attractive to the
search engines. What are META tags? If you don't know the answer you'd
better do some more studying before you put out your shingle and open up
for business.
3. Can advise clients on a variety of steps they can take to make their
website really work for them. For example, at least some text and
graphics should be changed.often. The search engines look for changes in
websites and reindex the site. This means that the site has a better
chance of getting listed high in the search engine results. Can the
client give good advice on the website topic? Set up a bulletin board or
even a chat room. How about installing a program to monitor visitor
statistics? A webmaster will suggest new additions or changes to a
website to give visitors a reason to stay on the site longer, and
return.often. The longer you can get someone to stay on a website, the
more effective it will be. Too many companies still think of a website
as an online brochure. The web opens up a myriad of opportunities to get
people really involved. It just takes a little knowledge (which can take
years to gain), and a lot of imagination.
4. Understands the psychology of color usage to influence visitors. For
example, black is a negative color, but it can be used effectively as a
background for a music website because music is often associated with
rebellion for young people. But in a business website, black would
create negative thoughts in the visitor's mind. Darker blues, on the
other hand, are good colors to use in a business website, because they
convey a sense of responsibility, steadiness, and confidence. To excite
visitors and make them want to buy, use reds. But beware, red has
negative meanings in some countries, especially in Japan. I think you
begin to see how much is involved in choosing colors for a website. They
are really important.
5. Can write, or at least understand how to use and install, various
programming web languages, such as CGI, Perl, Java, etc.
6. Works with a reputable hosting company and may even be a reseller for
them. For example, I am an account executive for Adgrafix.com. I host
most of my clients on their servers because they offer lots of features,
and I get 24/7 technical support. My clients expect me to answer their
questions and solve problems 'yesterday'.
7. Has graphic design skills to produce small, fast-loading images for
the website.
This list covers just a few of the disciplines needed to attract
customers and assure them that you are a professional. But there is
more. You also need to have a good reputation, and that is something
that takes time to build. You should plan on starting small and building
up to bigger jobs as you go. Your clients will offer you harder jobs as
time goes on that will stretch you and make you grow. You'll have to
spend time studying and increasing your skill set. As you become better
at your job, and you produce websites that do the job your clients
expect, your reputation will grow.
And be ethical. If you promise a client something and then realize it's
going to cost you more than you expected in the first place, take the
loss and do it anyway. A broken promise can destroy your reputation
quicker than lightning. If you keep your promise, your client may not
even know it has cost you more than you thought, but they will admire
you for delivering. That translates into goodwill and more future
business.
YOUR OWN NAME
The one thing you did do right, Stumped in Savannah, was to get your own
domain. No one will take you seriously if you have a business website on
a "free" hosting service. You need to show the world that you are in
business - seriously. Your own domain name ensures this.
Good luck Stumped in Savannah. You are going to need it. But if you work
hard, keep on learning, treat your clients well, and you have a vision
of where you want to go and how to get there, you'll do just fine.
Cheers!
Marc Holt, http://www.holtww.com/
Managing Director, Holt WorldWide Co Ltd, Thailand
Website Design & Promotion, Virtual Server Hosting
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