| Web
Site Development and Design |
|
Developing and designing
a web site can be an intense, overwhelming experience.
Never fear, we can help you through the process.
We
have detailed the basic steps here. Just read on and
you will begin to feel the ease of working with a partner
like Jabbocat Consulting. |
| 1.
Domain Name Registration
- Click here to jump to the Registration Page |
|
Please visit the Domain Name
Registration area of this website for details on how
to use Jabbocat Consulting to obtain your domain name.
For
a limited time, Jabbocat Consulting will register your
domain name for the first year free, a $40.00 cost savings
to you!
|
| 2.
Web Site Hosting - Click here
to Begin the Process of Finding a Host |
|
Is there a web site host
that you prefer to use? If so, include this information
in an e-mail to us and we will point your domain name
to the primary and secondary DNS that you indicate (or
we will instruct you how to do this).
If
you would like us to locate a host for you, please let
us know and we will obtain a host that fits your budget
and web site needs. |
| 3.
Obtain Domain Name-based E-Mail Addresses |
| We
recommend that you obtain at least 5 e-mail addresses
with any web site space that you obtain. If we decide
to partner with one another for web site maintenance and
upkeep, we will request that you provide an e-mail address
for us a "webmaster@yourdomain.com". This will
also us to respond to your web site users needs and concerns. |
| 4.
Design Your Site |
| The
most difficult step in web development is defining
web site content. Here is a list of questions that
you should answer. By performing this planning exercise,
you will be well on the road to a successful, efficient
web development process. |
| |
| a.
Why do you want your business online? |
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for
informational purposes? |
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to
sell a product or service online? |
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to
inform current customers about your activities
and new products or services? |
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| Add
more reasons as as you think of them ... rank them
in order of importance to your business and budget
priorities. |
| |
| b.
Who is your core audience? |
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define
the "radius of physical service"
- ie, the area that you travel within to perform
your business on a daily or weekly basis (or
the area in which you advertise your product). |
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define
your "potential expanded area of service,"
ie, an area that you wish to expand your business
to within the next 12 months to 5 years. |
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what
is the mean age of your core audience (this
helps to develop appropriate content such
as games, surveys, etc) |
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what
is the main business of each major client
(if applicable)? |
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define
anything else that is unique or important
about your client base or potential client
base. |
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| c.
How well does your corporate logo translate to interactive
means? |
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computerize
your logo and save the file as any of the
following: Photoshop, .png, .jpg file. |
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define
a color scheme that is unique to your company
(colors on a company vehicle, business card,
uniform, sign or logo) |
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computerize
any typographical font that is unique to your
company (such as hand-drawn, stylized letters). |
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| |
| d.
What do you hope to achieve by putting your company
online? |
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increased
revenue (if so, by what means - ie, selling
products, industry-specific information, subscription
services to your site, etc) |
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expanded
recognition (tie-ins to print ads, business
cards, vehicle logos, etc.) |
|
| |
| e.
Define the main areas of your business. |
| Define
each major area with a short name (example used
is a lock and key company): |
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Security
Analysis |
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Lock
Installation |
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Safe
and Lock Box Installation |
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Distress
Calls (unlocking vehicles, rekeying place
of business) |
|
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| f.
Define the following for your business: |
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Mission/Vision
Statement |
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Company
History (family-owned, how it started, years
in business, etc) |
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Location
Information |
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Contact
Information |
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Areas
of Service, etc. |
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| g.
Develop a timeline to be online. |
| It
will take at least a month to gather the basic content
to be included on your web site. It usually takes
at few drafts before a look and feel is agreed upon.
These are very realistic time estimates. Jabbocat
Consulting has been building web sites since 1996
- we speak from experience. One of the biggest mistakes
businesses make is underestimating the time it will
take to launch their site. It is important to remember
that you can upgrade your site any time you have
content ready. |
| |
| h.
Gather digital photos and graphics. |
| Take
digital photos of you doing your job, your business,
your industry or your clients. If you have print
photos only, gather those to be scanned. DIGITAL
is BEST! Scanned looks mediocre at best ... |
| |
| i.
Create a budget. |
| -
|
DNS
registration (purchasing your web site address)
is $35 US/year. (Sign up with Jabbocat Consulting
now and this is FREE.) |
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ISP
Server Hosting costs (at least $47 US/year
for a basic site. E-commerce site hosting
is at least $50 US/month. |
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5
hours at week (to start) of your own time
to respond to questions from Jabbocat Consulting,
and all other web site related issues. Be
prepared for the web site to increase your
business activity. |
|
| |
| j.
Check Out the Competition. |
Find
at least 5 other web sites that are in your same
business. Click on every single link in each site
and read the content. Pay attention to the way information
is presented. Take notes. Write down what you do
not like. Write down what you like. Be sure to record
the web site address of each site you look at so
that we can reference them later on. You can start
looking for sites by going to:
http://www.google.com and typing in key words for
your industry. |
|
| 5.
Build Your Site |
| Once
you have completed step 4, then we are ready to begin
the site building process. We start by laying out the
site's basic design (based on content) and then move on
to user interface issues. We will launch each version
of your site to your web hosting space, giving each version
a unique name so that there is an evolution of the process
available at all times. |
| 6.
Launch Your Site |
| When
we have reached an agreeable design, and have spell-checked
the entire site, we can go live. It is important to remember
that your site does not have to be absolutely complete
to launch. It is good to launch basic content first, then
develop a schedule for upgrading content and site capabilities
(as needed). This approach allows you to get online in
a timely manner without spending a lot of money and time.
Taking an "update" as you go approach is best. |
| 7.
Test Your Site |
| It
is critical that within the first 12 - 24 hours of going
live with your site that you check every single link in
your site - confirming that everything is functional and
working the way you want it to. Of course, Jabbocat Consulting
will perform a complete site check prior to going live,
but it is your responsibility to confirm all final content
and notify us immediately with any changes that are needed. |
| 8.
Advertise Your Site |
|
Online
We suggest paid spots on the most-used search engine
on the net, www.google.com. We recommend that you read
the advertising rates and rules with Google and then
let us know if and how you would like to proceed. Also,
be sure to confirm e-mail addresses for the key people
in your industry (and your current client base) then
send out a mass e-mail announcing your new site.
Print
and Mass Mailing
Traditional forms of advertising, such as placing line
ads in magazines within your industry, sending out a
mass mailing with the local newspaper, and obtaining
billboard space work especially well. Radio spots are
well worth the money. |
| 9.
Maintain and Update Your Site |
| New
content is critical on the web. Even updating your main
page (index.html) on a weekly basis will give the impression
of attention and care (it will demonstrate that your company
is an active web community member). |
| 10. Send Jabbocat Consulting an E-Mail |
We
look forward to working with you! |
