If you are thinking about building a directory website, there are a lot of things to consider. You need to think carefully about how your website is going to work. Are you going to charge a fee for people to create a listing for their business or are you going to charge to sell advertising space around the site, or maybe you chose to do both. It can be hard to make money from a directory website, especially to start with as you will need to prove to people that it is successful before they will want to part with any money to be advertised on there.

Often directory websites have to start off small and then over time as the site grows in popularity, you can start to charge more money. You will need to have a decent budget in which you can pay your graphic designer, programmer and hosting.

It is important to work out how you are going to enable people to list on it as you probably want it to be as automated as possible. You can buy prebuilt systems out there that you can then adapt to work how you want it to. They will usually have payment gateway options already installed.

A website is one of those marketing tools that you might know you need, but you’re not quite sure why. If you decide to have a website designed and built, it’s usually a big project, so make sure you are going into it with your eyes open and know what you want to get out of it. Here are some of the reasons why a website will help you:

• Brand awareness. People will have the option of finding your website and you will become established as a better-known name in your field.
• More sales. This is especially true of an eCommerce website, one where you sell products directly online. A user will be able to pay for your products online, making you more money.
• Better exposure. It will be easier for people to find you with a good website that is optimised for search engines. If they like the experience of using your site, then they will be more likely to use you again.

A budget website might have its uses for your business, though in general, it’s often advisable to get the best website you can afford. However, if you really are just starting out and don’t want to generate any leads with your website, then it might be enough for you to have a simple budget website.

This will give you an online presence so that you are able to begin to compete in the online world. Your customers will generally expect you to have a website, and it may put people off if you don’t. This is a good starting point and will ensure people can find you if needed.

When you buy a domain, think about longevity. Choose something relevant and on brand, so that you can use it to expand your website in the future as your business grows. A simple website won’t be relevant to you forever and in time, you will want something with more functionality.

Web marketing is a specialist field that should be taken care of by someone who knows the industry inside out. For lots of UK companies, the cheapest and most beneficial way to do this is to outsource their marketing to an external agency. This will give the company all the expertise they need and they will have someone specific to maintain their account.

Outsourcing web marketing is something that companies of all sizes will do. Smaller companies find it useful because they won’t then have to take on their own in-house marketing employees. Larger companies will often have their in-house marketing departments work with agencies, pooling their resources to draw on some of the best minds in the industry. Many agencies will have a certain expertise, so it pays off for companies to identify this and use their marketing budgets in the right way. For example, some agencies will have a strong SEO background, whereas others will specialise in social media.

Many businesses wonder whether it would be more beneficial for them to hire a web marketing manager, or use an agency. Both options have pros and cons, which will be discussed here to help you make your decision.

In-House Marketing Department 

The main benefit is that the person or people you hire will have excellent knowledge of your business. They will have a thorough understanding of what you do and will be up-to-date with products and new developments. You will also be able to directly discuss campaigns with them whenever you need to. The downside will be the cost and office space you will need.

Marketing Agency 

Lots of businesses opt for an agency because they don’t have the resources to have their own marketing department. An agency isn’t a bad option anyway, because you will have access to people who are highly experienced and very well informed about their industry. The downside may be the lack of control – not all agencies are good and meet deadlines.

Web design is a collaborative process. Of course, the web design company or agency you select will be the experts in their field, but that being said, you also should have a say in what they are doing. This will ensure you are happy with it once you are presented with the final product. It is your website and need to be representative of you. Here is the general process for ensuring a good design:

• Discuss what you would like. It is best to do this face to face. Tell the design agency about your ideas and take along some websites you like the look of.
• Review the designs. You should first be presented with some preliminary designs, drawn up by a designer. Amend them as needed.
• Be involved in the build. Make sure you are happy with the functionality and navigation that are going into your website. Take advice from the agency as well, as they will prioritise user experience for you.

The images and content you use are the real ‘meat’ of your website. They are going to be what give it substance, make it unique and give your potential customers a real flavour of what your business is like. If you don’t have images and good content in the first place, this is going to make the web design process harder.

Often, a site will be designed around the content and image layout. This is due to the structure that the content has been given – if there are subsections, smaller paragraphs and bullet points, the design need to correspond to this. It is often a lot easier for a web designer if they have the copy first.

If you are designing a site for a client, try to get their images first. The site will feel instantly more personal and appealing once it uses their images. If you can do this from the off, they’re more likely to be sold.

Web design requires a pretty unique skill set that won’t be possessed by everybody. You need to think carefully if you want to go into web design and decide if it is going to be the right career option for you. Here are some of the things you should think about:

• Do you have the money to put yourself through education? You will need either a degree or a higher education certification of some description. A degree is probably the most prestigious qualification you can get and will probably help you to get work.
• Can you think analytically yet creatively? Web designers need to have an eye for design but at the same time, will need to understand coding and have the ability to think like a programmer.
• Are you willing to work hard? Web design is busy and demanding. If you take up this career path, you will certainly be kept busy.

It’s not enough to simply have a website – you need to have a website that is going to be able to compete in today’s busy and digitally-driven world. Gone are the days when you could build a website yourself or ask a friend to do it for you. This is one of the jobs where it will really benefit you to use a professional. It’s because user experience is so important and you need to make sure your website is optimised for the people using it. Here’s why:

• People need to trust you. Websites that work well and direct people to the information they expect to find will put people at ease. This makes them much more likely to be happy to part with their money as they feel like they know what they’re getting.
• Visitors have to be able to find what they want. Good user experience means that everything will be laid out neatly and logically. This allows people to find what they are looking for, helping push them through the sales funnel.
• There is a lot of competition. It’s unlikely that yours is the only website offering what you offer. Customers who aren’t happy will just go elsewhere.
• People have to be persuaded to part with their money. Don’t ever fall into the mindset of taking sales for granted. You need to make your products look appealing, so having a good website will help with this.
• You want to be memorable – for the right reasons. People who enjoy using your website will come back again and spread the word about you.

Never underestimate the power of user experience on your website. Make sure your customers enjoy shopping with you and make them into loyal followers of your brand.

As with anything, over time websites can become dated and stagnant. For SEO purposes you should ensure that there is always fresh content on your site but also the design may need to be refreshed from time to time.

If you are planning an overhaul, you should analysis your statistics to find out which features and links were used most. You don’t want to take something off the site that proved popular. You should also consider your other branding, for example if you are going to change your colour ways or logo then you will need to follow suit with all your other branded material and sign writing such as on vehicles, a building, letter head / business cards.

Most importantly, don’t forget to notify your customers that you are re-branding or changing the look of your website as it may cause some confusion if your customers land on your site and it looks totally different.