Getting a Website

Creating a website for your products and services gives your business an advantage over your competition and allows your company to grow and succeed in your market area.

All kinds of business can only benefit by increasing their marketing profile. A website goes beyond the boundaries of local marketing and traditional methods of advertising. A website provides a permanent and easily updateable method of not only attracting new customers, but also providing a valuable service resource to existing clientele. Many people will look online for a product or service even if they wish to do business locally. If your competitors have a website that informs, educates, and entices visitors to do business with them, and you do not, then you are at a disadvantage.

Many companies use their websites not only to present their products and services to potential clients, but to also provide on-going customer service and effective communication to their existing customers.

The Internet is the best advertising medium since the television. Your business can compete on a national and even global level for a fraction of the cost of other advertising. The Internet is a great equalizer, allowing small companies to do business side by side with large corporations.

Absolutely! Over 50% of the population, who are online from home or the office are doing so to research about businesses that provide services or products. Your service-oriented business can provide samples, references, location, hours of operation and more right away from your website 24hours/7days a week/365 days a year.

There are many successful business models on the Internet.

• E-commerce Websites

  E-commerce websites are usually used for on-line stores, in which visitors may purchase online a company's products or services. These websites usually have shopping carts and credit card purchasing capability

• Intranet/Private Use Websites

  An Intranet website can be used in-house by a company and would not normally be accessible by the general public. Intranet websites are not necessarily online, and can reside on a company's in-house network of computers. Private websites may be online, but accessed may be restricted to certain members or groups of people, such as a private online community. These sites can be very simple or extremely complex. They can be password protected and can limit access to many levels.

• The Brochure Website

  This is the simplest form of website. It is basically an on-line brochure. A brochure website usually consists of 3 or 4 pages with information about a company's products and services. It is used most often by small business owners, who may be new to the idea of Internet marketing. As their online business grows, their website can grow seamlessly, allowing them to grow their site as they grow their business.

• Customer Service Website

  Many companies are choosing to expand their "brochure-type" websites for websites that give them the opportunity to provide customer service to their existing customers. These websites offer more to the visitor in the way of inter-activity with a company through the use of online forms, message boards, chat rooms, newsletters, calendars, and news.
  
  

Yes and No.

While it is possible to have a website which presents your products and services to potential customers without owning a computer yourself, the effectiveness of being able to communicate with those clients is greatly reduced.

Having a computer and Internet access provides your company with online capabilities such as email response forms, online ordering, etc. which allows you to take full advantage of the website's marketing potential.

No. We realize that your time is valuable and is best spent running your company.

Our service includes every aspect of producing professional commercial websites. All you need to do is provide us with any ideas you may have regarding the design and purpose of your website, along with any text, images, and advertising media that you may already have. Our designers will work directly with you to create a website that best fits your company's goals.

Yes. There are many software programs in existence that will allow you to create a website fairly easily and with very little cost. At first glance, this may seem like the most cost effective way to get your business online. There are some important considerations:

• While building your website yourself may cost less initially, it may end up costing you more in time. Having a website that is of maximum benefit to your company requires on-going maintenance and supervision.
  
  
• Do-It-Yourself software, also known as WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), has many limitations. You may need to learn at least some HTML in order to get the page to look exactly the way you want it.
  
  
• Preparing images for your website requires graphic-editing software and learning about the various image formats, color palettes, and image-optimization techniques to ensure your images are quick loading.
  
  
• You'll need to learn about Internet marketing and how to promote your site in an already over-crowded environment.
  
  
• You'll need to understand Search Engines, web directories, meta tags, and keywords, and be able to keep up with all of the latest techniques for maximizing your website's visibility among billions of other websites.

Today's Internet users are very selective, and will very often will make judgments about your company by the impression they receive from your website. Creating a highly effective, professional website involves more than the ability to put words and pictures on an HTML page. It also involves the ability to incorporate a strategic marketing plan with a unique, creative design that is not only pleasing to look at, but also makes it easy for potential customers to learn about and purchase your products and services.

Your website should include whatever is necessary to give your visitors a fair representation of your business. It should also provide them a means to contact your company for more information or to purchase your products and services.

Here are some things to consider when planning your website:

• Text:

  Text should be descriptive, informative and easy to read. It's important to get your message across in an accurate and concise manner. Using lots of technical jargons and terminology will only confuse your visitor and leave them wondering what you are talking about.

  Paragraphs should be kept short and to the point. Your visitors should be able to comprehend your subject without having to read through tons of unnecessary content.

• Photos:

  Providing a visual presentation of your company is beneficial to visitors to your website. Including photos of your products, your place of business, or even yourself, on your website will give your visitors a better idea of what you do, or what you are selling. We can use existing brochures, pamphlets, catalogs, etc. to scan from, as well as photos.

• Logos:

  Your logo is an integral part of your company's identity. If you already have a logo, we will use it to extend the image of your company onto your website. If you do not have a logo, we can work with you to create a logo that represents your company's identity.

• Extras:

  It is important to remember that while you do want the design of your website to be impressive and memorable, you also want your visitors to grasp the message of your website easily. Try to avoid putting all sorts of moving images, scrolling text and other "fun things" on your website.

  Too many bells and whistles can also confuse your visitor and detract from the purpose of your website - to sell your products and services. Today's Internet user expects your website to be fast loading, as well as informative and visually appealing.
  
  

We can help you to effectively reflect your business online. The Internet is subject to trends and changes just like any other medium. We'll advise you on what's hot, and what's not.

The two main factors that affect the cost of a website are:

• The size of the website
• The features of the website

Size

A three-page brochure-style website will cost less than a much more complex e-commerce website that consists of 300 pages. Pricing a website can be a complex and bewildering experience. Typically, we overcome this by applying a fixed charge per page for HTML websites, regardless of the number of images, or the amount of text per page.

We also offer package pricing, in which websites are customized to your company's particular needs. Many of our clients choose to start out with our Small Business Package, which consists of three HTML pages - an About Us page, A Products/Services page, and an Email Contact form. This can be a cost effective way to acquire an Internet presence, which can be expanded upon as the success of your website becomes apparent.

Features

Your website can be as simple or as complex as you need it to be in terms of its content. Your website could simply reflect your brochure or other marketing documents. On the other hand, adding such features as audio, video, animation, and inter-activity to your website gives it the ability to grab and hold the attention of visitors to your site.

These additional features require additional time and expertise, thereby adding to the cost of your website. Our pricing for such features as video production, original music/sound production, Flash animation and database programming, are billed on an hourly basis. Estimates for these features are provided to allow you to consider the cost benefit before work commences.

Yes, not every business needs a large site to start off with. As your business changes and grows so can your website. Many small businesses begin with small websites as a way to "test the water", allowing them to make a small initial investment and build upon its success.

Your domain name is the address of your website on the Internet, in alpha-numeric format. An example of a web address is "mycompany.com". Each domain name is assigned an IP address which directs it to the server where the website is hosted. Internet users type "www.mycompany.com" into their web browsers to access your website.

The right to a domain name can be purchased for time periods of 1 - 10 years. Once your domain name is purchased, it prevents anyone else from using that domain name. Domain names must be renewed before the end of the purchased time period in order to retain the right to use the domain name. Non-renewal of your domain name allows it to be purchased for use by some one else.

If you are serious about establishing your business on the Internet, you should consider your domain name a crucial part of your company's marketing plan.

Having your own unique domain name:

• establishes your business identity on the Internet.
• projects a professional image of your company and indicates your company's level of commitment to your online presence.
• helps your customers remember your website address.
• allows you to keep the same website address even if you move your website from one website host to another.

Domain names are sold by a number of registrars or their affiliates. With so many websites on the Internet, it is not always possible to get the exact domain name that you desire. We can assist you in choosing an effective domain name and purchase it on your behalf. We can purchase a domain name for you in moments.

Although LDG registers the domain on your behalf, you own the domain. Should you decide to use another website design or hosting company, your domain name can be transferred to your new host.