Renting vs. Owning a Website
Apr0
Deciding whether you should rent or own a website. We believe one should own a website rather than paying to rent one. There are several disadvantages to consider when you are dealing with CMS-Content Management Systems. Some of these disadvantages can make you rethink about the strategies for a new website. We’re not trying to scare anyone into never using a CMS product. We offer those services to our clients when it’s the right solution. Sometimes it is not the right tool.
1. The most obvious disadvantage is that you are paying for the service and not just the product. The prices can become very high if you are renting the CMS site rather than buying it. The price can add up when you rent because you continue to pay over time. It’s not really a deal if the payments never end.
2. You are responsible for your online presence. How it shows in different browsers, plug-in support, missing image and more. You will need to know how to manage the website from all angles. Is your SEO getting traction? Do you have Social Networking integrated into your site? Who handles updates and maintenance? Sometimes CMS requires advanced understanding of HTML, CSS, and web technologies. If you’re not use to working on a website, you can get in over your head quickly.
3. CMS sites primarily use templates for the design. You are confined within this type of template with limited flexibility and uniqueness of that design. To alter that template, it usually requires PHP programming and design skills to brand the template.
4. The web pages of CMS sites are generated with URLS of long strings that contain words, numbers and symbols. This makes it difficult for search engines to spider these types of pages. Most of the time meta tags are left out which are necessary for obtaining higher rankings. While you can change to permalinks, you may not know that fact until your site is already built. Sometimes changing that settings effects links and you are in charge of fixing them.
5. Additional cost can occur with CMS sites with updates, support and bandwidth. Testing for errors, browser compatibility and screen resolution are required. If errors occur or database server fail, the cost of maintenance can become burdensome.
The point here is while some CMS products offer a great web solution, it’s important to understand the pros and cons before you build. We can help you make the right decision toward owning that custom designed website. Contact Studio490 for your next website project.
TJ and Dana Todd
Studio490
Why Your Company Needs A Website
Aug2
If you have a business, you need a website. It doesn’t matter the size of your corporation, small or large, a website presents a presence of your company in the internet world. You are losing business because other companies do have a website that is promoting or selling their products/services. The purpose of having a website is so that anyone who may be interested in your products/services may find you quickly and easily and to learn more about your business.
With that being said, it isn’t enough just to have a website. You will be given only one chance to make that first impression and it best be a good one. With a well designed website, you can compete with other companies regardless of their size. You must have a professional looking website so that your potential customers will want to purchase from you. If your site looks like it was designed by a 13 year old with no experience, your chance of making that first impression a good one is lost. Customers come to the web world seeking information about product before purchasing anything. Make sure they find you on the web.
Other reasons you must have a website:
You are open for business 24/7. Customers can contact you via your website at any time during the day/night. This, in turn, increases your business’ revenues through the website. Your customers will increase in volume as well.
You can reach customers from all over the globe. You are not confined to just local businesses. Your products/services can be offered to anyone who interested in your products/services in the global market.
Having a website is an inexpensive way to advertise your business. A website offers good value to money spent. And you can launch promotions easily and costs less than the traditional methods of advertising.
As you can see, there are lots of pros for having a website. The most important reason being making your presence known in the web world!
Next up: Your website and SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Tj and Dana Todd
Studio490
Successful Case Study
Jul0
Problem
Calvary Baptist Church contacted us to help them develop their church brand and web site presence. They were currently under contract with another vendor that failed to provide a redesigned website and logo. The chosen vendor had received a portion of the payment upfront to begin the project. After 5 months of dealing with broken promises and undelivered products, they had had enough.
Challenge
They approached Studio490 and explained their situation in extreme detail. We came to understand that their trust in vendors had been broken on top of not getting what they paid for. Our challenge was to discuss what we could do for them, how we were going to do it, how long it would take and how much it would cost.
Solution
We explained that we do ministry work for 50% off our market rate and that would help offset some of the expense that they had incurred with the previous vendor. After several meetings discussing their goals and objectives, we gained their trust and commitment to proceed.
We branded a new logo for their marketing materials along with redesigning their web site. The part that impressed them the most was the quality and speed of work for the price quoted. We provided them with several logo variations within 1 business week of their commitment. Once we established ourselves, we then proceeded with providing them a wonderful online solution that took less then 8 weeks to complete. The web solution we provided costs less then 54% of the previous vendor.
We felt that we had proven that good creative resources still exist out there and that we are indeed one of them.
Tj and Dana Todd
