BlodgettVentures.com

Website CONTENT, not CODE, needs to dominate the website. Your website needs to dovetail harmoniously with other branding activities in your company.

We entered website design and development after paying other website designers and developers to do sites for us, and experiencing great frustration at not being able to control creative design and development, or stay on our committed timelines.

A short history. In the early stages of website design and development, programmers did most of the websites. Later, web developers added a host of graphics and special effects to websites, often to the point of being blatantly "in your face." One thing for sure, when you contracted for a website, you had absolutely no idea when it would be finished. The promised six to eight weeks became double or triple that. And often, when you'd ask for certain layout effects, you were told it wasn't possible

The copy writing was often poor. Text was wordy; important words were misspelled. Navigation was complex and confusing; sometimes it was difficult to find out how to do business with the company whose site you were on because the "Contact Us" info was sketchy

And if you needed changes, you had to wait weeks; even months. It was altogether possible that the web developer had disappeared with your code and pages. Have you looked at the websites of the firms who you are considering to do your site? Some of them wouldn't pass the good design or good business test.

In nearly four years, here is a summary of what we've learned:

1) CONTENT, not CODE, needs to dominate the website. Your website needs to dovetail harmoniously with other branding activities in your company.

2) Use flash and sound, in good taste (meaning not "blatant") in your website to create interest. You want to create "stickiness" in your site, meaning you want visitors to browse longer

3) You want to have your products and services high lighted on your site, and if you have something to sell, you will benefit from eCommerce

4) Use Search Engine Optimization(SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and eMail Marketing to bring new visitors and return visitors to your site. This is a complex science and we can show you the way to do it; it's not expensive. If you don't use these strategies, don't bother to do a website. They're that important!

5) Update your site regularly to keep it at the forefront of "what's happening" on the Web

6) Make sure writing and punctuation is accurate, and the site copy writing has been optimized for the Web.

7) Last . . . and certainly not least . . . have a professional do your site. If you don't, you're wasting valuable time, resources and money.