www.JohnsonPerkins.com

Think about what type of company you are comfortable working with before you meet with them. If they give an answer outside of your comfort level tell them immediately. Some businesses don’t mind working with startups or individuals with lesser experience if the price is right. Everyone has to start somewhere, but if this is a risk you are not willing to take just tell the developer.

2 ) Can I see current online examples of your work? Website Designs, Email Marketing Campaigns, Social Media Marketing Setup and Management…etc

This is a must have for any developer. Make sure they have actual websites you can review on your own computer at any time you want. Avoid designers that only show you their work in other formats besides online such as printed collateral. Most developers will be happy to meet with you and review their current and past client work.  

3 ) What other services can you provide?

You never know what other services they may be able to provide unless you ask. It is often easier on you and can build a stronger brand identity if one company or designer can handle multiple aspects of your marketing. Ask them about direct marketing, email marketing, and natural search optimization services.

4 ) Do you have testimonials from other clients?

Reputable designers and developers will happily provide a list of satisfied clients, both past and present. Ask for a list of references to contact direct for a follow up.

5 ) I have a budget. Can I see examples of your work that fall within specific price ranges?

The developer should be able to supply a range of web design examples and online campaigns that where developed within general price ranges or tiers. This will also give you a perspective of the value of the end product being developed for you and your business. You can also request quotes from multiple developers to see a general average in pricing, but beware that the cheapest price might not be your best solution – reason why you ask for examples, testimonials…etc.

6 ) Do you register domain names and provide hosting?

Ask very specific questions about where the site will be hosted. In my professional opinion, host with a third party and keep all information in your name or your businesses name. Do not let a developer register your domain name or hosting in their name. All of that information is the property of you and your business and should always remain that way. Reputable third party hosts include: GoDaddy, Dreamhost, Bluehost, Rackspace…etc.

7 ) What is your process for designing and developing a website?

A well outlined plan or process ensures you and your vendor know each other’s respective roles in the design and development of your website. It also will help you gauge their level of experience. Beware of developers who do not deliver a timeline for milestones during the development phase. Ask your developer to sit down and review the proposed process and ask any questions that are unclear.

8 ) What programming languages and development tools do you use?

Even though you may not care about the answer to this question, it is important information for you to know. At the very least they should be able to hand code html. Other acceptable languages are PHP, ASP, XHTML, CSS, AJAX and javascript.

9 ) What is the change process after the website is finished?

At some point your website, no matter how great it is, will need some changes or updates made. Find out what the process is for having these changes made. One way to avoid having to work with your vendor for content updates is to see if they will implement a content management system on your website.

10 ) Who owns the finished product at the end of the contract?

There is only one acceptable answer here. No matter what, the client owns the website including all graphics and content. The only exception is if your website uses a content management system. Often the CMS is outlined in your contract with the vendor as belonging to the vendor as their intellectual property.

Top 18 Featured WordPress Sites

View Westward Strategy’s WordPress Client Showcase

1. Elect Ken Stover
www.Electstover.com

2. Contract Medical Billing
www.ContractMedicalBilling.com

3. Nevada Foodies
www.NevadaFoodies.com

4. Bartlett Architecture
www.ArchitectReno.com

5. Gary Cardinal Law Office
www.CardinalLawReno.com

6. 7Q10 (formerly Huffman & Carpenter)
www.7Q10.com

7. Bidart & Ross, Inc.
www.Bidart-Ross.com

8. Paramount Bedding
www.pbmattress.com

9. Recycled Furniture
www.recycledfurniturereno.com

10. Susan Hill PR
www.SusanHillPR.com

11. The Gold ‘N Silver Inn
www.GoldnSilverReno.com

12. Koonce Consulting
www.KoonceConsulting.com

13. Lyman PR
www.LymanPR.com

14. Reno Big Band
www.RenoBigBand.org

15. WETLAB – Western Environmental Testing Laboratory
www.Wetlaboratory.com

16. Westward Strategy & Design Group
www.WestwardStrategy.com

17. Kristy Crabtree
www.KristyCrabtree.com

18. Sports Attack (former client)
www.sportsAttack.com

19. Johnson-Perkins & Associates
(Coming Soon)

 20. American Housekeeping of Northern Nevada
(Coming Soon)

Westward Strategy, a Reno web design company, has the capability of customizing a web solution for you and your business … most importantly without loss of quality and with your budget in mind. Call Kristy for a solution that fits your needs (775) 626-8330.

Blog or use it as a Content Management System, WordPress is the next best cost effective web solution.

No need to purchase additional software, your site is accessible wherever there’s internet connectivity and most importantly, you own it. No monthly leasing payments.

There are also hundreds of Free and inexpensive WordPress Themes available to choose from that represent several business styles such as: Magazine Editorial, Corporate, and Creative, Retail, Technology, Nonprofit, entertainment and more. You can make simple changes to represent your brand and brand messaging without having a fully custom built website. Example: http://themeforest.net/category/wordpress/

The WordPress administrative area is easy to use to make updates to both your posts and pages. Posts are listed in reverse chronological order and are also displayed in RSS feeds. Pages are static and not listed by date.  Your navigation is typically referencing a static page; whereas your posts reference the latest information sorted by date.

WordPress also keeps costs of having a dynamic website minimal because of the long lists of plugins that are available to customize your needs. There are ecommerce plugins, fundraising plugins, social media plugins, All-in-One SEO plugins, sitemap plugins, gallery plugins, calendar plugins, event plugins and more.  Example: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/browse/popular/.

Take a look at WordPress as a solution for your business or non-profit. View their Showcase and the many businesses and non-profits that are currently using WordPress as their choice for a publishing platform.

Non-profit Examples

• Walk to Washington
• Joint Use
• American Red Cross Online Disaster News Portal
• Philadelphia Neighborhoods
• Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands
• BigGovHealth
• More Examples

You can download WordPress for free http://wordpress.org/download/.

——————————————————————–

If you would like to learn more about WordPress as a solution for your Reno Business or Reno Non-profit, please give Westward Strategy a call at (775) 626-8330.

This is not an end solution and you will need to modify it to add your classes and ID’s, but it is a big boost over starting from scratch. When you’ve completed your print stylesheet simply link it like your other stylesheets.

<link rel="stylesheet" href="print.css" type="text/css" media="print">

Just make sure to set your media to print!

See you next week for another tidbit!

See you next week for another tidbit!

Company Information and Background

This should be a brief overview of the company, its history, services or products, business focus, marketing objectives and market demographics. These are just a few elements you could include here. Give as much information here as possible to create a complete business profile, but also keep it neat and short. Also include how decisions about the RFP will be made in this section. Is there a committee review process? Include the members of the committee here with their title and role in the committee.

Project Background and Objectives

This is where you can outline the project objectives, but not the scope or requirements, that will come later. Give the history of the website and how it currently used, both internally and by the general public or your customer base. Address how you see this use changing with the new website. Outline search engine visibility requirements, search engine marketing objectives and/or social media marketing goals. What are the goals for the website and how will you measure success?

Requirements and Scope of Project

This is probably the one area where businesses do not include enough information about their website design project. Start by addressing elements of the current website that should stay. These include any interactive applications, shopping carts or web forms to be transitioned to the new site. Include information on any other systems that interface with the website, or should interface with the website. These include things like an intranet, CRM (customer relationship management) system or email marketing system.

Provide an outline of how you want the content to be managed, by whom and what access they should be given. Specify where content will come from- whether imported from the current site, newly developed or a mix of both. Who will be responsible for generating content prior to the launch date and after.

Outline new applications and functionality as well as design requirements. Be sure to include relevant items from your brand standards guidelines if you have them.

Website Hosting Requirements

This is, by far, the most overlooked piece of information when compiling an RFP. We have lost more than one bid because we provided a solution for a Linux host and the prospect wanted the website hosted internally on their Windows server. If it truly does not matter to you then at least include a statement that hosting is up to the vendor.

Web Design and Development Experience of the Vendor and Key Staff

Ask for testimonials and/or references of other websites the vendor has designed or developed. Ask them to outline their responsibilities for the project. Request identification and resumes for key personnel who will be working on this project. Request information on their web design and development approach including items like revisions, design iterations, scope changes, standards and technologies utilized.

Project Timeline

This is the second most overlooked element of web design RFPs. Make sure to include your anticipated schedule. Even though these will often change as the project progresses, without one your project may never finish.

Project Pricing

This should include a detailed outline of all costs, both one-time and recurring, for the website redesign and development project.

Submission Information

How and when should the vendor respond to your RFP? Be sure to include the deadline and the format for submission, as well as who it should be sent to and at what address.

In the Reno/Sparks area a house might set you back $50,000 or $3 million. Just as a website from a Reno/Sparks web design agency might cost you $500 or $30,000. Do you want to live in a one bedroom apartment in a less-than-desirable part of town or do you want the sprawling estate in the foothills? Do you want a cookie-cutter template site or a robust custom web application? Plywood or hard wood floors? Iframes or AJAX? I could go on this way all day, but you get the point.

The beautiful (and the frustrating) thing many people fail to understand about the web is it’s flexibility. If you only have a $500 budget there are ways to get a website started for you. However, you need to be realistic about your expectations. You wouldn’t expect a $50,000 house to have marble floors, so don’t expect your $500 website to process online orders.

Your Website Should Cost Nothing

All that being said, a website should not cost you anything. Zip, zilch, nada, nothing. Your website should help you generate revenue or in some way get a return, therefore it is not a cost – it is an asset. If your website costs you money then your web designer or developer has done something wrong.  Yes, you will be required to invest something up front for this asset. Usually this investment will come in the form of time and/or money. If your website is a money pit with no discernible return on your investment it is time to ditch your designer. If you’re working alone stop trying to do it yourself and seek professional help.

Just like all your assets, your website will require maintenance to maintain and even improve it’s value. So make sure you are taking care of your website and are not neglecting it to the point where it becomes a liability. Once it becomes a liability then it will cost you money to bring it back to the point of being a valuable asset and this is always more expensive than maintaining it’s value.

Just remember, like most things in life, with your website and online marketing you get what you pay for.

I have long admired Opera for their educational aspect and their desire to advance the skill level of web workers everywhere. Looking over the outline of the documents it appears this is almost identical to the way I was educated at the University of Idaho and, as Sophia states in her article, it is extremely difficult to find a program like that – that is independent of computer science or graphic design. However, if the web is going to reach the longevity and revered status of print we need more educational institutions to begin teaching and sculpting artisans of this “new media” without the limitations of established programs, but also on top of or ahead of modern practices.

I can’t wait for the rest of the articles to come out!