Posts Tagged web development
How to Plan Your New Year’s Website With Your Web Development Team
Posted by Rory Martin in Web Design and Development on December 22, 2015
The New Year is fast approaching, and in Seattle, that often means businesses get productive by starting plans for the new year, and often, redesigning or launching their online websites. If you’re planning a new website, then you need a web development team, and hopefully a local one based right in Seattle. However, you still need plans of your own, and here’s how to get started.
How to Get Started: Creating Ideas
If you’ve already found a local Seattle web development team to get started with, they will likely help you off with a kickoff meeting. However, you should have a list of ideas, wants, needs, and preferences when you go in. Much like if you were building an extension on your house or having a company renovate your kitchen, your web design team has to know what you want, why you want it, and what features you need. If they’re developing blind, they likely won’t even come close to what you need. A good start is finding websites that have a similar look and feel to what you want, writing down a list of features, why you need those features, a timeline (when you have to launch), color palette, business branding, and preferred style. You can use this information to get a quote, so you can find and choose a great local web developer.
For the Web Developers: Needs Assessment
At the same time, your web developers should be performing a needs assessment on your business. They will likely ask you questions, check your business, and decide what you need. This should involve demographic assessment, competitor overview, product and size assessment, and a search optimization assessment if your website is currently online and they also handle SEO.
The Kickstart Meeting
Once you both have notes, you’ll both get together (in person if you have a local Seattle team) and discuss your ideas, exchange notes, create new ideas, and look at concepts or themes. Most of the time the web developers will go over your preferred features and discuss them with you, decide which ones you really need, and point out if you missed anything. You’ll discuss style, and choose a website that works well with your user demographic, your business branding and style, and your personal preference.
Here, you will make most of the final decisions on ideas, but there are still a few more steps. Once you’ve approved the initial planning, you’ll still have to go through and approve mockups and wireframes for your site before they’re brought to life. You may also have to chose hosting, security features, and items like whether or not you want a blog or a comment system.
From there, all you have to do is wait to see your website for approval.
Why Is It important to Plan?
Taking the time to create a plan, strategize when and where you want to launch, and deciding on exact features and styles in advance can seem like a headache, but it will save you a lot of time and hassle in the future. It also makes the web developers job easier, as they won’t have to guess what you want or when you want it.
Are you planning to launch a new website or website redesign in 2016? Contact Rory Martin, a local Seattle web development team, for a quote, and we’ll get you started with your planning.
Website Navigation Tips for Businesses – Seattle Web Development
Posted by Rory Martin in Web Design and Development on October 27, 2015
Your website navigation is one of the most important aspects of your site, because it controls how people get from one place to another, and can make or break sales, creating leads, and even reading more on your site. While it can be tempting to simply cram everything into your menus so that people can find it, they often find nothing at all. If you’re working with a Seattle web developer, or planning to hire one, these following tips will help you with making the right decisions regarding your menus and other website navigation.
Use a Recognizable Style
It may be tempting to use a unique menu or navigation system because it makes you stand out, but the important thing to remember is that people will have to learn it. When helping people through your site, especially to making a purchase, the last thing you want them to have to do is take a moment to learn. Studies and real world reactions show that people hate things they aren’t familiar with. Use existing menu systems and layouts that people already know, understand, and can use without a second thought.
Ditch Drop Down and Sub Menus
Drop down menus and sub menus may seem like a good idea because they allow you to clean up your home page, but they aren’t usually a good idea. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to see where they have to go, which means using a menu that they can see. Hamburger menus are popular, but not always a good idea because they make finding the menu difficult, especially on small screens.
Optimize Your Navigation Order
If your navigation order is completely randomized, then you are doing it wrong. You want to figure out which pages people are most likely to visit, and in what order, and organize based on priority. You don’t really want an irrelevant page on the top of the menu, because it completely throws the menu off and makes it that much harder to use. If you’re upgrading an existing website, you can usually go about upgrading your menu by prioritizing the pages that get the most traffic, or using the path that most people take through your website. If you’re building a new website, you can ask your Seattle web developers to create a natural path through the website for users to follow, and organize navigation accordingly.
Use Links Not Buttons
Links are better for menus than buttons because they’re smaller, simpler, less likely to malfunction, and are better for search optimization.
Keep it Simple
Simplicity is the key to a good menu. Don’t make it hard to find the right things, don’t add too many items, and certainly don’t have more than 10 items. Sub-menus may seem like a good idea but they are most often messy, difficult to use, and can fail completely on mobile devices.
Good navigation makes for a good user experience, which boosts your SEO, your website’s usability, and your conversion. Discuss it with your local Seattle web development team during site development, and make sure that it’s easy to use before you launch.
Planning Your Small Business Website For Your Budget – Seattle Web Development Tips
Posted by Rory Martin in Web Design and Development on August 25, 2015
In an ideal world, everyone could get the exact website they wanted, and even a small business website could have custom coding, a unique content management system, built in functions and features including a webshop, contact, or menus, but the truth is, not everyone can afford it. Most Seattle small businesses have a tight budget, which means choosing your features and functions wisely, cutting corners where necessary, and planning for the best results. This does require planning, and a careful discussion with the Seattle web developer you choose, but it does mean that you can get a fully functional website within, or close to, your budget.
- Cool quote posted by my friend Erin Shafkind
Decide What You Need
Sitting down to discuss your website needs, wants, and options, and then narrowing them down can help you with keeping costs to a minimum. An easy example is deciding if you need menus, a webshop, or etc., and then discussing the pros and cons of each. If you have a webshop, you won’t necessarily make sales off of it, so it might be a better fit to add to your website later. Planning your features and deciding which you need now and which you can add on later can save you money, but it’s also important to ensure that you’re only getting the features you absolutely need.
Consider Existing Designs
If you want to save money, then considering a pre-built website theme with custom design and custom layout could be the way to go. In fact, this is the best option for many small businesses, because it can cut hundreds of hours of developer work off of your bill. While a custom design will still give your website the best chance of standing out, it’s not 100% necessary, especially if you’re aiming at a small local audience of people who live in the Seattle, or your suburb, area. For example, if you choose to go with a Joomla website, you can save a lot of time developing a custom backend to your site, and still get a completely unique design.
Plan For the Longest Launch Time Possible
One consideration is that if you need rushed work, you will usually be charged for it. Ask your developer what a reasonable time to launch is, and then go with that rather than trying to get your website up by a specific time. This also ensures that developers have the time they need to do everything correctly, so that your website is as functional as possible.
Combine Extra Services
Some Seattle web development companies have services for promoting your website, integrating your digital marketing or social media, and so on. These might seem like added expenses, but chances are, if you’re launching on the web,, you need them. Consider comparing costs with hiring someone separately to see how much you will save, and then plan those costs into your budget. After all, your website won’t make a return on profit if you aren’t marketing it properly.
Hiring a Seattle web development team to build your website can be challenging, but don’t go into it without asking questions. Ask for quotes, get information, and make sure you know everything before you make the hire to ensure that you know what you’re getting into. You can start by requesting more information from us here.
How Important Is User Testing? Seattle Web Development
Posted by Rory Martin in Web Design and Development on July 21, 2015
If you’re hiring a Seattle web development team to build your website, then you should be considering user testing. If you’re only planning on having a one or two page website for your marketing, then it isn’t as important, otherwise user testing can affect your website and it’s impact in a variety of ways. If you have a good web development team, they should actually ask you about it and include it in the fee, and the following reasons include why.
UX – UX is the buzzword in development and design right now and for good reason. User experience is incredibly important, if the customer isn’t happy, you don’t make sales, or at least not as many sales. Getting user testing allows you to ensure that the website is fully functional, easy to use, and that it makes sense to the customer before you put it in front of actual customers.
Bug Check – Developers can check for bugs all day, but nothing is quite as good at finding issues like a fresh pair of eyes. This is the same reason that many game developers now host open betas. Not only do end users have an easier time finding bugs because they aren’t familiar with the website, they’re also using it like a customer would, which is something that you most likely won’t be able to do.
User Based Recommendations – You might think your website is perfect, your developer might think it is perfect, but without the end user thinking it is perfect, it isn’t. User testing ensures that the website makes sense, works, and looks good to people who will actually be working with it, so it is important if you want it to be user friendly. This applies to design, graphics, written content, and development decisions like menus. It also helps you with getting out of the box of your own creativity to see how it looks from someone else’s point of view.
Comprehension Check – Many website users might not have the same education, life views, or language level as the people creating your website. Having normal people use your website to test it out ensures that the website makes sense, on a design and development level, as well as a language and graphic level. Ensuring that they fully understand the website is very important because comprehension does affect your sales
User testing can be a hassle, especially if you have a large and complicated website, but the more you expect people to be on your website, the more important it is. If you have a store, you should have 4-6 or more people testing your website. If you have a very large store, you should aim for more. If it’s a smaller website, such as a restaurant page, you can usually get away with a smaller test group.
If you want to know more about how user testing works at local Seattle web development companies, contact Rory Martin for more information, or for a consultation.
Five Tips for Choosing a Local Seattle Web Developer
Posted by Rory Martin in Web Design and Development on May 26, 2015
Finding a quality web developer is notoriously difficult on the web, especially with thousands of overseas companies who operate under dubious credentials and often offer themes or pre-built websites under the pretense of a custom site. Going local is the easiest way to ensure the originality of your site, but it also allows you to find a company that understands your local customer demographic, local website trends, and that you can meet in person to determine their actual suitability for the job. Whether you’re looking to hire a one-off Seattle web development team to build your website, or need a long-term web specialist for maintenance, updates, and constant development, you can use these tips for choosing a good local Seattle web developer or team.
Understand the Market
The first rule of hiring a web developer anywhere, not just in Seattle, is that you have to understand the market, fair pricing, and what you can expect for the money. If you’re accustomed to choosing outsource and offshore companies with engineers and developers primarily in India and Pakistan, then you’re going to be able to afford considerably less if you go local. However, you also have to know normal pricing for a website of your size and standard, so that you can get a fair quote, without feeling that it is over the top or too cheap. Your best bet is to set a budget in advance and then figure out what you can get for that budget before you go ‘shopping’ for a developer.
Decide on Skills and Requirements Up Front
You wouldn’t hire a Japanese sushi chef if you wanted a French Crémeux, and the same goes for web development. While some developers are experts in everything, that’s rare and usually quite far fetched. Instead, look for a developer who has the skillset you need (I.E. JavaScript, PhP, and HTML) and make sure they can work with it before you hire them. There is no one size fits all developer, unless you’re happy with whatever they can build you.
Look for a Past History
While it may sound unfair to only hire experienced developers, you wouldn’t hire an inexperienced person for most other jobs, so don’t risk it with your website. Choosing someone with verifiable experience, standards, and hopefully references you can use to verify claims and ensure that the developer hits deadlines and offers quality websites is an easy way to cut out a lot of hassle.
Check their Portfolio
Finally, you want to know that you like their work and that they are capable of building you a website that you love. Checking your prospective web developer’s portfolio is the easiest way to make sure that they will offer you the website you want.
Want to know more about how a local Seattle website designer can help you? Contact Rory Martin to see if we’re a good fit for your needs.
Does Your Small Business Need a Website? – Seattle Web Design Tips
Posted by Rory Martin in Social Media Marketing, Web Design and Development on April 28, 2015
The first servers powering the web may not have been switched on until 1991, but in that time, it has expanded at a rate so exponential that it’s expansion could be said to be unprecedented. The technology, which was initially created to allow access to data from anywhere, has become such a common part of everyday life, that most of those born in the 90s quite simply cannot imagine a world without it. With over 640 million active websites on the web, it’s hard to imagine that there are businesses who don’t have one. However, with 27.9 small businesses in the U.S. and over 217,000 in Washington alone, there are literally millions of businesses that have not yet made it onto the web.
While it is an undeniable fact that a web presence can greatly benefit a business of any size, and the dot com is undeniably the gold standard for establishing your brand on the web, there are other options.
The Size Of Your Business
One important consideration is that many businesses are actually very small businesses. Very small business owners often bring home between $20,000 and $120,000 per year in gross profit depending on their business. Small businesses, which can make upwards of $1 million per year, can typically afford a website without any problems, but for very small businesses who use most of their income for living expenses, renovations and small personal luxuries, the often high costs of a website are not always an option.
Social Pages vs. Web Pages
Social pages are quickly replacing websites as the first place that customers visit. While anyone searching for a keyword or business type on Google, Bing, or Yahoo will most definitely find your website first, they can also reach your Google Plus page if it is properly optimized, your YouTube page, or even your Facebook page, depending on how you write your About description. Because services like Google Local allows you to put yourself on the map (literally) in search, web pages are becoming less and less necessary for simply telling people about your business. In fact, a busy social page with visible reviews, visible consumer interaction and fresh posts will leave the average consumer more convinced of the quality of your small business than most websites.
What You’re Selling
The last and most deciding factor for choosing whether to go with a website or a social page is your business. Depending on what you are selling, what you want to use the website for and what information you want to display, a website may or may not be right for you. For example, if you have a restaurant and you want an interactive menu, online booking and live chat, then you definitely need a website. If you have an auto-shop and you just want to let people know where you are and when you’re open, it’s significantly less necessary.
While statistically, more than 140,000 websites are launched per day, the truth is that with social media, the days of one page websites and web pages are virtually over. Not everyone needs a website when they can establish a web presence just as effectively, and without the hassle, using social media. Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a website, it just means you might not actually need one.
If you want to know more, contact Rory Martin for a consultation.
Integrating Customer Service – Seattle Web Development
Posted by Rory Martin in Web Design and Development on April 21, 2015
Whether you’re an established business or just getting set up on the web, customer service is becoming increasingly important for Seattle businesses online. While in the past, customers were accustomed to waiting days or even weeks for a full reply, today’s service based industry demands faster responses. In fact, quick customer service can actually make sales.
The following include a few tips from Seattle web development professionals on what you can use to integrate customer service directly into your website.
CRM
A CRM or Customer Relationship Management system is an easy way to integrate customer service directly into your website. Available options include everything from ZenDesk to Zoho, and allow you to create live chat boxes, click to call functions and customer support forums, where customers can ask questions and help themselves. These customer service solutions require no technical knowledge or development skills, but do charge a monthly fee based on your usage and required features.
Custom CRM
A custom CRM can provide all of the offerings of a subscription based CRM but does not charge a monthly fee. Instead, you pay your Seattle web development team to design and build a chat function, forum or help desk for you. This means that you pay one fee upfront for the development, wait for it to be built, and then allow them to integrate it into your website. This allows you to manage as many customers as you want without paying more. However, you do have to wait during development and you do need occasional maintenance.
Social Media
Social media allows you to integrate a free chat system directly into your website, but it is not foolproof. While you can direct users to your social pages to chat with you, send you messages or post on your wall, this requires careful monitoring and requires that you manage your social media closely. The faster you respond to customers on social, the better they will feel about the experience. If you have a small business, you can likely do this yourself, but if you have a lot of customers and a lot of questions, you may need a dedicated manager. In most cases, you can integrate the Facebook Messenger API into your website, or have your developer do it if you aren’t sure how. You can also add links to your Twitter and Google + as needed.
There are a variety of customer service solutions that you can choose from, and sometimes, the best option is a mix of both. If you have a large business that processes returns, then a help desk with a ticketing service is a must. If you just have a small business, social media may be an adequate solutions. Because there are plenty of options, you can also integrate both to offer more service.
If you want help deciding on what’s the best way to integrate customer service into your website, contact Rory Martin’s Seattle web development team for a consultation.
Seattle Web Development: Why Choose a Custom CMS?
Posted by Rory Martin in Web Design and Development on March 24, 2015
Moving to the web requires a lot of thought and planning and one of the decisions is what to do with your content management system (CMS). One option is to choose a custom CMS, but, like most web choices, it is not for everyone.
What is a CMS ?
Just in case you are mostly unfamiliar with the term, a CMS is a content management system. It allows you to interact with and update your website without the use of code or a web developer to help you. Over time, this allows you to update your website on your own and lower costs. Depending on your CMS, you might be able to do a variety of tasks, such as updating web content, posting blogs, and even changing the design or colors of your site.
What Are Your CMS Options?
While a custom CMS is an option, it might not be your best option. There are a variety of free to use CMS platforms on the web, including Joomla, Drupal and WordPress. Just because these are free to use does not mean they are the worst choice. For example, some of the biggest websites out there, like CNN, use WordPress. However, each free to use CMS is limited to a specific number of usages, only supports certain tasks, and might be quite limited without paying for or developing plugins to add extra features.
How Do I Choose?
One of the easiest ways to choose a CMS is to decide on what features you need, what you want to do with the CMS, and how much you can learn. Some CMS systems like Drupal have a steep learning curve, which might not be suitable if you don’t have the time and energy to put into it. Others, like Joomla are feature rich for creating business websites, but do not innately support shops or blogs. WordPress websites are ideal for blog and magazine websites, but can support single page sites and shops as well. If you need something that none of the available CMS options provide, then you may need a custom CMS.
How do I get a Custom CMS?
The easiest way to get a custom CMS is to find a quality Seattle web development team and talk to them about what you need. They will tell you if an existing CMS will suit your needs and potentially save you a great deal of money. They will also tell you how much it will cost to design a CMS around your needs, if your requirements are possible, and how long it will take to get your site up and running. Unfortunately, the hardest part here is deciding what you want and need, but usually, a good Seattle web development team can help you with that as well.
One important thing to keep in mind is that your content management system and your website are separate things. Your web development team can build the CMS to allow you to update your website. With this in mind, you may also need a web designer if the team does not do design. Want to learn more? Or want a quote on creating a custom CMS or installing an existing free to use one? Contact Rory Martin’s Seattle web development team at 206-402-6347 to find out more.
Why You Should Hold a Kickoff Meeting With Your Seattle Web Development Team
Posted by Rory Martin in Web Design and Development on January 6, 2015
Whether you’re hiring your first web development team or hiring someone to make small updates to your existent content, they will probably offer you a kickoff meeting (if they don’t, go find another developer). While it may seem like a waste of your time to get together and have a meeting with your web developer, after all, some people hire international rather than local Seattle web developers, there are a couple of pretty convincing reasons why you should take them up on the offer and attend the meeting.
What is a Kickoff Meeting
A kickoff meeting is exactly what it sounds like, it’s a meeting where you go over initial design ideas, tell your web developers what you want, and if you’re lucky, they will show you any preliminary ideas. This sort of meeting can be done over the web if you’re short on time, but you can also show up to get to meet your designers, and they can meet you to get a better feel for who you are and what you might want. Some developers will want to host the meeting in your place of business so that they can get an idea of what your business is like as well, which is helpful when creating a design.
What Should You Discuss with Your Web Designers
A great kickoff meeting will allow you to discuss your needs, desires, and requirements for the product. In return, web designers will discuss product viability, feasibility, budget, time constraints, and any preliminary options for the site. You’ll cover topics like your brand, your core products, your product purpose, and most importantly, getting everyone involved to submit ideas, suggestions, and other information which might be helpful for creating a finalized idea of what you want your website to be.
Preparing for your Kickoff Meeting
While your web developer should do most of the prep work for the kickoff meeting, you can make sure that you are prepared by bringing along ideas of what you want your site to look like, lists of requirements, timelines, and items such as crucial elements of your website. If you have a separate web designer, then you’ll want to bring them along to the kickoff meeting as well so that they can work with the developer, but most development teams include design in the package.
Other than that, you really just have to set up a time and a place, and then start talking to your web developers about what you want and need in a site. From there, they can decide which direction you want to go, get a better idea of the feel of your company, and choose an appropriate direction, so that you get a website you truly love. A good kickoff meeting sets the stage for a whole project, and the ability to hold them is actually one of the reasons why you should choose a local Seattle web development team, rather than choosing one in Austin, Texas.
Want to know more? Contact Rory Martin to discuss your web development needs.
Seattle Web Development: Do You Need Mobile Web?
Posted by Rory Martin in Web Design and Development on December 17, 2014
Seattle Web Development: Do You Need Mobile Web?
If you’ve been looking around for a website designer then you’ve probably heard or seen the term ‘mobile web’ a few times. If you’ve been reading up on what your website should and should not have on a blog then you’ve probably heard it more than a few times. The mobile web is a vast and confusing place if you’re new to the world of web development, but, whether you have an existing website or you’re planning on hiring a local Seattle web developer to build one for you, you’re probably only wondering one thing about the mobile web, do you need it?
What is the Mobile Web?
The mobile web is technically any part of the web designed for mobile use. For the most part, that means websites and menus which resize or adjust or are sized properly for phones and tablets. Because traditional websites are often too big to display properly, or display so small that it is impossible to read or select the menus comfortably, the mobile web makes using the web easier.
Do You Have Mobile Traffic?
If you already have a website, then the easiest way to see if a mobile website could benefit you is to check your mobile traffic. If you have any analytics program (the free version from Google will do the trick), you can easily check to see which percentage of your visitors visit on a browser vs. a tablet or phone. Some will even tell you the specific devices such as Samsung Galaxy or iPhone that you’re getting your traffic from.
If you don’t have a website or don’t have analytics (or don’t know how to use your analytics) then you can also go by general statistics. Right now, mobile usage is trending upwards, more than 60% of users research shops, restaurants, and stores on their phone before visiting them, and more than 70% of consumers research products and cross compare them on their phone before purchasing. Essentially, if you sell products, have a store, or have anything that users may want to research online first, then the mobile web could directly impact your sales.
What Are My Options?
There are multiple options for anyone who wants to have a website that’s compatible with the mobile web, but sometimes the best thing to do is to talk to your Seattle web developer about your needs and your site first. Some websites work well with mobile websites set up separately, although these do have their issues with search engine optimization and duplicate content. You can set your website to automatically re-direct to your mobile version whenever someone logs on from a mobile device. You can also have your web designer set up a responsive web desing that resizes based on your visitors, but this isn’t always ideal.
Do you want to talk about which mobile web option is best for your website? Try talking to one of the professional Seattle web developers at Rory Martin before you make your decision.
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