Gotta be user-editable

My small web design & development business has recently shifted focus completely and I’m super excited about what this means for my clients, my business and the future.

When I began working for myself in 2003 my job was to create great websites and be available (often seven days a week) for edits and updates. Those changes were emailed to me by clients, I then fired up trusty Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Flash and got the updates done as quickly as possible. About 70% of what I provided was ongoing service. It was a challenge to respond to requests  as quickly as expected – especially when a lot of requests came in simultaneously – and getting away on vacation was really tough. I did teach many people how to use Flash and Dreamweaver but for most folks, the learning curve on those apps was just too steep.

In the same way that we don’t need to know how a car works in order to drive one, I’ve always felt that one shouldn’t have to know xhtml & css to be able to maintain a website. Finally, I’m seeing this come to pass and the old 70% service model is (wonderfully!) shifting.

Thanks to the proliferation of blogs, Facebook and photo editing software, users are much more web savvy now and my job has become more about connecting these users to the cool new user-editable platforms and tools available. When I get a new client now our conversation centers around what THEY want to do with the site, not just what the site will do for them. For example, will adding a Google scheduling calendar make it easier to book appointments for the over-burdened receptionist? Cool, let’s do it! Will sending contact form submissions via text message be best for a contractor who’s in the field all day, no problem. It’s great fun thinking about how the goodies I find  in my adventures across the web can best be used, it’s like having a box of shiny tools that do amazing things – and I get new ones all the time!

In addition to what I now offer as a reseller (Dashboard) I’ve been researching and working with a whole new class of platforms which are cloud-hosted and start from function-centric approach. Dashboard is still my favorite for ease-of-use but SquareSpace, Jimdo, CarbonMade, Tumblr and many others offer their own unique pros and cons. With each new platform, I learn more, get excited all over again, and find my mind racing with the possibilities for what my clients can use them for. In the next few months I’m working on a new site for Pixel Lava with lots of demos and case studies, I can barely wait to work on it each afternoon.

It’s an exciting time to be a geek!

Website Options Overview

There are LOTS of options for creating websites nowadays. Gone are the days when you simply hired a geek or started a freebie blog. Web users are more sophisticated now and a site needs to be both professional and easy to use. For some site owners this means learning WordPress or html and working with a self-hosted site. For others the best option is an easy-to-use hosted solution they can log in to 24/7 from anywhere in the world. What’s best for you? Take a look at the options below.

Option A: Freebie
You can create a free site yourself using blogging services such as blogger.com or a free website service like Google Sites.
Pros: Free.
Cons: Not very professional looking, requires time to learn, most are ad-supported so you have ads that you can’t control showing on your site.
Summary: A good way to learn html, not bad for a personal site or non-profit. Not recommended for a business site.
Sample: afww.wordpress.com

Option B: Custom HTML site
Hire a geek to build an xhtml or html site and host it on shared hosting (Blue Host, GoDaddy or one of those services)
Pros: Inexpensive monthly hosting costs – usually about $10 a month, sometimes less depending on the options. You can have any kind of site since it’s built just for you.
Cons: Your options for maintaining the site are to request changes through the developer or you can purchase html editing software (Dreamweaver is the industry standard) and learn how to use it. Very few hosting companies offer an online website editor which works. I’ve tried many, they are poorly designed and difficult to use.
Sample: www.conceptionsresale.com

Option C: Self-hosted Content Management System Site – WordPress/Hippo/Drupal/Joomla/Etc.
Same inexpensive hosting as Option B but the site is built on the specific software platform instead of xhtml.
Pros: Same inexpensive hosting as Option B. Usually lots of themes to chose from.
Cons: Running a WordPress/Drupal/Joomla/etc. site requires you to learn the software system and load time-sensitive security patches, perform back ups, and work with plug-ins. The learning curve can be steep with some of these. You can get a Geek to do this too. Typically costs the same to set up as a custom html site.
Sample: www.finelivingenthusiast.com (note: not a Pixel Lava client)

Option D: Hosted Content Management System site – Dashboard/Ning/others
Pros: You get a custom site within a quick turnaround time that’s ready to use. It’s search engine optimized automatically and comes with lots of built-in modules like blogs, calendars, secure PayPal-connected forms and multimedia support. It’s automatically backed up, you never need to worry about security patches or upgrades. You can update it yourself from any computer at any time with no special knowledge or software needed. Set up cost is about the same as the two options above but you save money and time every month in being able to maintain the site very easily yourself. Payment can be month by month, there are no contracts.
Cons: The hosting is about $10 more per month than traditional hosting.
Samples: Dashboard: www.firstuusandiego.org | Ning: www.gsdba.org

Summary
For most of my clients, loading security patches and learning html is not really what they want to focus on. It makes more sense for them to get a website that’s easy to work with and worry-free so that they can focus on writing compelling copy, getting great photos, and spending their time developing the myriad of marketing opportunities on the web and in the real world.

In early 2010 I helped a WordPress client whose site had been not only shut down but blacklisted by Google. She had failed to load a security patch and her site had been hacked with malicious code. It took us weeks to get everything working properly again and get un-blacklisted. I DO like WordPress a lot and use it quite a bit, but only with folks who are somewhat geeky, know what they are getting into, and have the time and inclination to tinker with their code.

So, there are some options based on what I’ve learned in working with over 200 sites since 2005. As you can guess, my best recommendation for small business owners is usually Option D – a hosted content management system (CMS). I understand that costs are always a fundamental consideration. They certainly must be in any well-run business. But I also would guess that the extra $10 or $20 per month you spend will be paid back immediately in the time you save in being able to quickly and easily work with your site, especially in being able to promote it with search engine marketing. I see a lot of sites that are seldom updated because the owner can’t remember how to work with the site and can’t afford to hire a Geek. This dramatically reduces the site’s effectiveness for search engine optimization, not to mention the fun of having a site. I believe that the hosted content management system sites offer the best combination of value, scalability, and ease of use. They provide a great foundation to build a business upon.

I recently found an interesting cost comparison in working with a hosted TypePad site, another CMS. Their ad-free version now costs $15 per month. When you add in the domain name costs ($20/yr) it works out to $18 per month for a service which they are hiring me to help them with because it’s so hard to use. These folks could be saving money and enjoying their site using Dashboard for just $10 bucks more a month! So, although I do enjoy looking for new options and trying them out, I keep coming back to Dashboard as my favorite recommendation. If you’re interested in trying out a free demo, just drop me a line.

There are more options and details than listed here of course, but my goal with this article is to provide a basic overview of the different approaches. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments and feedback. Web Ninja, over ‘n out!

Seesmic wins!

You may have noticed some of my earlier cryptic posts about testing social media aggregators. I’ve been looking into these for awhile because they are a.) fun to use and b.) a huge time saver.

When my clients ask what they can do to inexpensively promote their businesses I suggest they start (or improve upon) using social media. Claim your business listing on Yelp and Google Places, set up a Facebook page, start a Twitter feed, share your expertise via a blog … things like that. I usually get a glassy stare and the words “I don’t have time for that”. Well, social media aggregators remove that excuse.

I’ve tested Ping.fm, Brizzly and several others but Seesmic rises above for both it’s desktop and mobile versions. You can log in to use it in a browser, download a desktop version or get the app via your Apps Store (iPhone/Android/BlackBerr flavors available) with all the details at seesmic.com. No kickbacks or anything here, I just love it and want to share.

Once installed you have the ability post one 120 character update to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and any other configurable service ALL at once. One post = many places = yay! It features a built-in link shortener and photo uploader, even adding video is easy.

It also surprised me by providing a very appealing way to view others’ updates. With Twitter’s new photo and video preview, Seesmic transforms my Twitter experience into a magazine-like display. Much nicer than scrolling for 10,000 years!

If you try it out, let me know what you think. If you have a different one you love, tell me about it.

 

Become an Email Marketing Ninja!

Did you know that the average ROI (return on investment) for email marketing is $44.00 to every $1 spent! According to the Direct Mail Marketing Association, the ROI on printed direct mail is $1.25/$1.00 spent. I recently attended a terrific training session on using Constant Contact and was blown away how effective email marketing can be.  Here are a few highlights:

1. Use the Archive feature (or archive your newsletters by hand if not using Constant Contact). Newsletters don’t just drive traffic to your site, they also boost search engine optimization.
2. Write a subject line with 40 characters or less – they have the highest open rates.
3. Try sending your messages at 10:30am on a Tuesday. The time a message is sent can dramatically improve click through rates.

I’m amazed at all the things it can do and at $15 per month it’s just plain dirt cheap. If your business is struggling in this economy, why not take advantage of free/inexpensive promotional opportunities like Yelp, Facebook, LinkedIn, and email marketing! You can sign up for a free Constant Contact trial in less than 5 minutes. Email Ninja – Over ‘n Out!

And a test of the Ping.fm dashboard (desktop aggregator).