Posted under General
Many web designers will give you a pre-design questionnaire. Here is one I stumbled upon for reference. As you prepare to go into the design process, having the elements requested in this questionnaire at the ready will make all the difference in getting a website without a lot of hangups in the process.
Posted under Web
I know that you are really busy. Most small business owners are. In fact, I am a small business owner and I am really busy but I get to charge you hourly so if you help me help you - you save money and I save time. Everyone wins!
I find that when a client engages me to design and develop a website for them, they pretty much think they can hand me a check for the deposit and a website will magically appear in 4-6 weeks. Not so. Unless you want to pay me to hire a photographer to get photos, develop your content and read your mind, I need your time and input in the process. I do hope that most clients find this a really good time to polish up their marketing as a whole and help me create a website that truly represents your business and its unique selling proposition. Here is a quick checklist for preparing to work with a designer or agency to develop a website:
By gathering stuff in advance, you save time and guesswork for the designer, which ultimately ends up saving you money. If you don’t want to deal with the preparation, then prepare to pay for the designer or agency’s time to research, prepare content and imagery in addition to design and development of the actual site. At the end of the day, a website could be your most important marketing tool so I would advise making time for the project. It will be well worth it.All the best!
Posted under Marketing
Yesterday, I played hookie and spent the day on Smith Island, Maryland. This is a true island off of the lower Eastern Shore, accessible by ferry from Crisfield. The island is home to residents that made their living crabbing and oystering on the Chespeake Bay. The island’s economy has suffered due to the regulations placed on this industry as well as the depletion of the crab and oyster population in the bay.
Some marketing-savvy folks realized that something needed to be done to boost the economy and keep this treasure of a community thriving. The island has so many assets including miles of marsh with trails for kayaking, beautiful scenery, a rich history and a very delicious dessert: the nine layer cake that defies gravity and your waistline.
It was a team effort. One team set out to make the Smith Island Layer Cake the Maryland state dessert. Hundreds of cakes were baked and thousands of slices were passed out in Annapolis to encourage the state legislature to make it official. And it was, which meant tons of media coverage locally, nationally and internationally which probably added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars of airtime. Restaurants are now featuring the state dessert on the menu from DC to Ocean City. This is the value of creating buzz.
While state senators were sampling Smith Island cake, another team was tackling trails for paddling on the island. The dessert got the island name out but people needed something besides sweet treats to come here. Nature enthusiasts on the shore knew that Smith Island was a great place to kayak and with eco tourism on the up and up, they wanted to get the word out that Smith Island is the perfect paddling destination. Trails were marked and maps were created and printed in a waterproof brochure. The efforts were supported by several organizations that are dedicated to creating eco tourism opportunities while preserving natural assets.
Websites in support of these efforts were developed including www.visitsmithisland.com and www.paddlesmithisland.com. And, yesterday all of this came together with the grand opening of the water trails and ceremony for the cake. It was amazing to see all of the efforts of the people involved and hopefully this will pay off for the islanders who are probably a little miffed by all the buzz. All of those cake bakers have quickly took on a little celebrity status.
I have to tell you that if you need a short getaway where you can truly relax and take in the scenery, this is the perfect spot. Your cell phone doesn’t even work there which to me is a huge plus. This is the simple life of which many of us could use a therapeutic dose. Have I mentioned the crab cakes?
Congratulations to Delmarva Low Impact Tourism Experiences, the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the volunteers that put this all together. Smith Island is now on the map as a Maryland destination not to be missed.