I recently sponsored the monthly luncheon meeting of the South Shore Women’s Business Network, and gave this newly-designed presentation. (I love that network!) Here is basically what I said, but it’s somewhat diminished from the live version, where I tossed the “Top 10” signs behind me, like David Letterman! 
You can download the PDF of this information here.
Top 10 Mistakes When Creating a Website
10. Letting someone else buy your domain name.
Your domain name (ex. loiswood.com) expires every year, so others (your website designer, your office assistant) shouldn’t have control of that, you should. They will get the annual renewal notices instead of you. If your relationship with that person ends somehow, you now have no idea what is happening with your domain name. Once a domain name expires, it is a huge amount of work to get it back, if you can at all.
9. Not looking at the website designer’s portfolio.
Does their work look like what you want? Do the websites have good search engine optimization? Are there broken links? Is there a good quantity of work to look at, with lots of variety? Also ask some of the represented clients what it was like to work with that web designer.
8. Not having everything ready when starting the website design.
Before you start, look at other websites, bookmark three that you love and three that you really dislike, and be ready to explain why for each. Have all of your content ready at once, from text to graphics to a site map, otherwise the process is very inefficient, wasting time and money.
7. Losing your log-in information.
It is crucial to write down the username/password for your domain name, your website login, your email sign-ins, etc. Also, who is your hosting company, and do you pay them monthly or yearly? What is your account info with them? Print all this out, put it in a safe file, keep in on your computer in a safe place. Don’t lose any of this information, it is a huge amount of effort to try to get it back.
6. Hiring someone who doesn’t ask the right questions.
One of the first questions your website designer should ask is: Do you want to update the website yourself or have the designer do it? Also, do you plan to change the scope of the website later? Add more photos in a gallery? Do you at some point want to set up online shopping? Will we be adding pages later? Will there be a database or other login areas later?
5. Not knowing what you want from your website.
You should know the basics of what you want your website to do and look like. Will it be static? Simple? Lot of graphics, or lots of text? Do you want to blog? Online shopping? A sign-up capabililty for classes or programs? Do you want to capture info from visitors? Should the site be complex? Playful? Serious?
4. Making your website by yourself.
Some people can do this, most can’t! Creating a website is labor intensive, and very technical. What if there are problems that you can’t figure out, who can help you? You should be working on or in your business, doing what you do best to grow that business. It will take you longer to work on your website than it would for a graphic/web designer, we do this all day. Delegating tasks is good!
3. Not planning a budget for your website.
Do some research, ask your colleagues, see what range that websites can cost. Have a budget in mind for what your business can afford. If necessary, you and the website designer can talk about perhaps doing work in phases.
2. Not having consistency of your brand.
Your website, business cards, brochure, rack card, pens, everything should convey the same look and message at all times.
1. Not keeping your website fresh
You’ve got to update your website at LEAST once a month. Don’t let expired materials stay on there, fix broken links, add news and updates, blog, do “specials,” whatever it takes to look like an active, updated site.
So this is another part of what I do for my clients… create great-looking and functional websites, PLUS educate about issues like these, and clean up any problems in these areas!
Cheers, Lois
Brand Consistency: Nadine Pfautz of C.H.A.R.T. Consulting is a sharp, professional Human Resources Consultant that wanted to overhaul her company’s image. Together, we “charted” out a new course for her brand that is consistently reflected on her website, rack cards, calendar, letterhead… even her name tag and client gifts, like koozies!
Is it finally time?: Is this the year you finally write that book? Self-publishing is tempting, but can you make your book stand out? Remember, we all “judge a book by its cover,” and I can make your book look great! From children’s books to business and current events, get YOUR story out. Proofreading, layout and graphics, printing and publishing… you provide the text, and I’ll do the rest. (featured children’s book by a Duxbury author)
Annual Reports: Does your Annual Report “sell” your business? If your company has to create one anyway, why not make it a good-looking marketing piece as well? I can help with proofreading, graphics, pie charts, whatever you need to get it all together. (featured is Mass General Hospital’s Institute for Patient Care Annual Report)
P.S. Chica and I say, without a great website and branding that stand out, you might not stand a GHOST of a chance in the marketplace… now that’s scary!
The Challenge: The Community Garden Club of Duxbury used the same traditional logo since 1927, and the new President, Lisa Pattinson, decided it was time to update the look!
