Every business and organization now knows how important it is to have a presence on the web but some small businesses worry that the web development will cost them too much. The organization’s web site is very likely to be the first view that potential customers have of the company and so this must look professional and provide a good and lasting impression. The marketing budget of any company is nearly always the hardest to justify, and this is especially true in a small business, but money must be allocated to web development.
The Biggest Web Developer is Not Always the Best
With the understanding of the importance of the web site it can be tempting for a small organization to bite the bullet and decide to pay a high price to one of the well-known large developers. This is likely, however, to be an expensive mistake for many reasons.
The larger companies usually think big and charge big and the result may actually be no better than a smaller developer would have created. It is a common mistake, for example, for a large web site developer to concentrate on the technical aspects and take a lot of development time, and time from their customers, to create a large site full of flashy menus and many pages of product information. In fact a small business usually only needs a small site that is very well designed but provides a simple introduction to the company.
The Benefits of the Small Web Development Service
Whereas large suppliers usually concentrate on technical ability, the smaller designers often put the emphasis on the graphic design. The artistic skill required for good design is something that is often missing from those who are schooled in web programming and computer science.
Conversely, a good graphics designer has a vast choice of excellent internet visual development tools that can create web sites with very little programming requirements. In fact creating a complex site may be beyond the capability of a small web team and so it is important for them to provide what the majority of small businesses really need: an advertisement for the company with contact details.
The Web Development Requirements of a Small Business
For the majority of small businesses their products or services are provided with a level of customer care that is often not possible for large organisations. This personal touch is difficult to provide or convey through the cold medium of the web site and so the main emphasis of all advertisements is to create an image of the company and give opportunities to make contact. This image is vital and can only be understood if the developer builds a relationship with the client to learn about the company and select and create the right visual experience that will draw in the customers.
The basic requirement includes:
- A welcome page for first impressions
- A page for a description of the company
- A product or service page to give more details of the business
- A contact page
These four pages, if created with outstanding images, can impress and provide the function of directing people to the business. The onus then moves to the marketing and sales team to receive the customers and provide a good service.
Example Web Developers
An excellent example of an artist creating web sites and other marketing materials can be found at: Mars Personal Studio
The samples of web development and description of the personal service they give to small businesses is typical of those who have transferred their talent as artists to the creation of beautiful web sites and corporate marketing materials.
Another example of those who concentrate on the artistic content are: Orphicpixel
Their example sites are proof that they can deliver on their promise.
For a small business looking for web development it may be daunting to look at the list of results from a search of services from internet search engines. It is good advice to start making contact with smaller suppliers who have outstanding examples in their advertisements. The smaller teams will often be able to get close enough to understand the real needs and then create a web site that a business of any size would be proud to put before their customers.