Web development, design, and site optimization

Content is absolutely KING when it comes to having a successful website. But you can go overboard. Too much content can result in poor website usability. That is not to say you cannot overcome some of the issues caused by too much content by grouping the content effectively, however even organizing all that content can only get you so far before you have completely lost your user.

So what do I mean by having too much content? Here is a fictional example company’s website based on a real example I have dealt with in my career.

Company Name: Joe Web’s Everything Store

Products/Services: Joe Webs Candy (Home Made Candy Sales), Joe Webs Fabrics (Upholstery and Sewing Supplies), Joe Webs Landscaping (Lawn and Garden), Joe Webs Comics (Comic Books Store).

Joe has a retail store which houses all of the above, a real mix of unrelated products and services. His prime money maker is the landscaping business, but does all of the other businesses to keep a steady stream of income coming in year round. He wants to finally take the plunge and get an online presence. He contacts a reputable company with a solid custom website design portfolio.

Despite the advice of the company he is working with, he is absolutely wanting to feature all of the businesses on the home page. Each business then goes into sub-page after sub-page featuring every possible photo and piece of literature that he has at his disposal.

In the end a website exist that looks like a cross between a coming soon/directory site and some sort of spam site. No direction whatsoever, if you were to stumble across the site you would have no idea what the site was for. And if you are like most users, you would not bother looking around to figure it out.

So where did Joe Web fail? He has heard that content is what people want. Content is what helps you rank highly on Google.

Well he forgot about K.I.S.S. Keep it simple stupid. Any website, whether business or personal, should have a central theme or focus. Something that when a new user arrives allows them to clue in immediately as to what the website is about and what it is trying to portray.

What should Joe Web have done instead? His core business is the landscaping business, this is his money maker. The website should focus almost entirely on this and be the one focal point on the home page and the sub-pages. Within his about us section would be the ideal place to mention the other services and products he is also involved in if it is absolutely necessary to even talk about them. If they are crucial to also be on the web and to have more real-estate then a mention on the about us section, then they should have their own separate websites. Going with the a bloated/all-inclusive site just kills the entire site and renders all sections ineffective, you are wasting your money.

For the past 2 months I have been working within the Custom Web Design industry, getting my first tastes of dealing directly with end customers in getting their custom designed online presence. Wow, what a roller coaster ride! But that is a post for another day.

There are many elements to getting a website online. Basically though you can break things down into 3 stages. This is what you can expect when working with my company and likely many others out there.

1. Comp/Mock-up stage: This is where we play with various ideas taken form the customer input and our own and come up with a Photoshop-made mock-up. Depending on the complexity, turn-around time on this is anywhere between 1 and 2 days.

2. Content gathering and site build: This is where we move ahead on an approved comp and build the website. We also look to the client to feed us as much content as possible. The site build takes anywhere from 5-7 business days. Getting content takes anywhere from hours to months :).

3. Site publish and ongoing maintenance: The website is published live with no less than 75% of the content. The site is then only requiring random maintenance on a monthly basis, content changes mostly. Clients can contact us pretty frequently on a monthly basis, any changes that are requested will be applied within 1 to 3 business days depending on complexity and how much is already on our plate.

My target for all my clients from start to finish is 30 to 45 days for the entire build cycle. That is from our first call to the site being online.

A non ecommerce website will costs you $785.00 up front and then $99.00 per month. Ecommerce cost you $985.00 up front and then $195.00 monthly. The monthly fee on both packages takes care of your website, hosting, domain name, privacy protection, and up to 10 email accounts.

Service is all about providing a convenience to someone. A good service will make both the client and the seller happy. A service doesn’t have to re-invent the wheel. In most cases it just needs to fulfill a need that the client has.

I choose to pay someone to cut my lawn, not because I can’t do it myself, but because I rather spend that time with my still less than 1 year old son. I am happy, the guy who takes my money is happy.

A common question I get as a blogger is about setting up a Wordpress blog. Again and again I answer it. Well this week it dawned on me that maybe I could and should make a few dollars off of this. I know how to setup Wordpress, others don’t and don’t want to even bother learning how to. So its a win-win situation.

If you are interested in getting setup with your own blog without all the hassle, visit:

SetupMyBlog.dropthemike.com