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
Flash vs html
Jun0
You’ve just been to 3 new websites that look more like a video game than a website. The talking avatars and Myst like pages are still dancing in your head like Christmas morning sugar plums. You sit back in your chair and say to yourself, I need a site like that. I want something that wows someone when they visit my site. I’ll get the next Webby for sure.
You contact a design studio (such as Studio490) and they rain on your parade by telling you that an all Flash site is all but invisible to Search Engines.
You may ask yourself, then why do I see so many sites with all the crazy movement, voice overs, transitions and more?
The Answer….
They usually belong to an established company which really does not need to worry about being Found. It’s more about reinforcing their brand with a cool site. Here is a test, what is the name of the shoe company that has a tag line of “Just Do it”? Can you find their site without having to use Google?
When you don’t have to worry about your audience discovering nike.com, you can focus on different brand angles.
I believe a combination of Flash and html is the best of both worlds. The flash sets a tone to the site, but the html provides you a platform to stay “Findable” on the search engines.
Your objective should be to educate your soon to be clients on your products/services and entertain them enough to have them remember you.
Let Studio490 take you to the next level of web development.
Tj and Dana Todd
Studio490
