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Tips |
Tips for reducing your web page design costs |
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TIPS -- How to reduce the cost of having your web page designed...and still have great looking pages! We encourage you to keep your web page costs to a level that you can afford. But, how can you get the most for your hard-earned money? We have a few tips that can help:
New to the Internet? Need some help getting started? Yes - we can help! We will gladly research local Internet Service Providers in your area that will provide you with best rates and quality service for DIAL-UP ACCESS, WEB PAGE HOSTING and DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION SETUP. We will also research to determine if the domain name that you choose -- is currently available! Once you select or approve an ISP that we recommend, we will remain in contact with the ISP to ensure that all technical aspects and follow-up is coordinated.We work as an INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT for YOU, our client - and ONLY recommend ISP's that best fit your requirements and have a solid history of customer support. To create your own 'domain' - is similar to having site that you name (such as www.<yourcompanyname>.com) for your own business. This name will travel with you - should you ever change ISP's. Why is this important? When KCRI publishes your site - we will publish with a specific address of where your webpages are located. This address can be something like www.<yourcompanyname>.com (if you create a domain) - or www.<yourISP>.net/~<yourname> (if you just place a page within your ISP's site). If you did not create a domain, and were to leave <yourISP>.net -- you would have to start the publishing process all over again - because you would have a new address for your web pages! Hosting KCRI can also host your site for you with one of our great hosting plans. Our client network is among the best networks in the world. Our provider uses only proven and high-quality equipment such as Cisco routers and switches. The data center where our web-hosting servers are located has the best state of the art facilities to ensure the best possible uptime:
For those who want to 'do it themselves', your first step in domain name research is to decide on what your domain name should be. You can test any domain that you choose (to make sure that it has not yet been selected) - by clicking on the following URL: (Please don't register your domain at this time -- just verify that the domain you want is not currently in 'use' ...it's best to have your domain name registered by your own ISP) Check to see if my domain is available - NOW! Note: you can only use .COM extensions for a commercial domain, .ORG for non-profit organizations. Typing/ Text Conversion Services We encourage you to provide text to us in either ASCII or a standard word-processing format (see Tips). However, if you can only provide text to us in hardcopy format, then we will convert each page of text for the specified fee amount. Need some help with using the right words for your WEB audience? We can assist you! We can quickly turn your thoughts and concepts into web advertising copy. Our rates are per page of copywriting. Do you need additional Internet, browsing, setup, proxy server, FTP, or custom site application development assistance? As seasoned developers, we can provide consulting services via telephone, fax, email or on-site if desired. Note: Additional on-site fees such as travel and lodging as applicable may be incurred. Have you already had your web site designed? Perhaps your web site was designed over 5 months ago? Are you now 'WAITING' for some action on your site? Would you like to see MORE action on your site? KCRI can help. You have to give people a reason to buy on the Web. If it's the same as buying in person they're not going to take the time or the risk. If a site can't make the shopping experience faster, easier or cheaper... forget it. The 'internet' as a marketing medium is constantly changing - as new web pages appear, search engine listings grow, and search engine listing requirements change! What was 'working' for your web site a few months ago - may no longer apply! We will review your current web site and make recommendations for 'changes' that will improve your 'standings' in the search engines and directories. With your approval - we will then implement both 'behind the scenes' as well as visible marketing changes to all of your web pages that is targeted to bring you more 'hits'! We will then submit your web site (BY HAND - assuring careful attention to EACH unique feature of every search engine and directory) to 300+ search engines! While we can't guarantee that your site will receive a TOP 10 listing (not EVERYBODY can be in the top 10!) - with our recommendations we will dramatically improve the visibility and 'hits' to your site! We will also work with you in many other marketing areas (listed below) to help you grow a successful business from the internet: Components of Web Site Marketing To successfully market your Web site you need to run an on-going campaign, just as you would for a product or service. We've identified 11 components which we cover below. Not all apply to every Web site, and the emphasis on each component may vary according to your situation. They include: 1.Announcing your Web site with Internet search engines and directories A bonus of running a Web site marketing campaign is that it introduces you to the advantages of using the Internet as a marketing medium for all your products. For example, you can send press releases to editors by e-mail, or conduct direct e-marketing campaigns that invite prospects to in-store specials. 1. Announcing Your Web Site with Internet Search Engines and Directories The objective here is to get your Web site listed in the Internet's equivalent of the yellow pages. This is probably the most cost effective way of reaching prospects who otherwise may not be aware of your company. Once listed, prospects who search on these directories can find your site. There are hundreds of sites where you can announce your site. Each typically falls into one of six categories: 1) search engines; 2) announcement sites; 3) general directories; 4) geographic sites; 5) specific-interest sites; or 6) selective sites. Always announce your site the day it's published as it will take from a day to several weeks for the search engines to include it in their databases. It's best to not announce before your site is published, however, as prospects who click to a site still under construction are unlikely to return. As your Web site changes and grows you may want to announce additional Web pages to the search engines. For example, if you create a new section of your site for a new product, you may want to announce the main page of that section. A press release allows you to reach prospects through publications that cover your topic of interest. A release needs to be coordinated with the launch of your site (or it's not news) and may be distributed by e-mail, newswire, fax or mail. The four keys to a successful press release are: A newsgroup is an electronic bulletin board where people with shared interests can communicate. There are over 20,000 newsgroups on the Internet with millions of daily participants. Done right and with care, posting to a newsgroup can generate tremendous, almost instant, word-of-mouth. If you want to post, target only those newsgroups that cover topics associated with your product. First determine if the newsgroup accepts postings. If it does, monitor the postings and participant response. When you post, provide useful advice or information, not an advertisement for your product. Be specific and keep it short. You can end with a mention that your site has useful information on the topic you are posting. If possible, become a known participant by posting frequently with both advice and questions. And don't forget to include your signature on every e-mail or posting. If you have an announcement be sure to post it to the "announcement newsgroups" which are designed for announcements. Finally, if there's sufficient interest, you may even want to create your own newsgroup. 4. Participating in E-mail Lists An e-mail list is much like a newsgroup. The key difference is that messages go directly to a participant's e-mail box rather than the participant going to the newsgroup to read the postings. For that reason, posting to an e-mail list requires even more caution than a newsgroup. Otherwise, newsgroups rules apply. 5. Obtaining Links From Other Web Sites There are two types of links: 1) one-way links to your Web site; and 2) two-way links where you provide a return link to the other Web site. Getting a link simply requires finding sites that have a reason for pointing to you, then asking for the link. If a site acts as a resource for information that resides on your site, the owners of the site will probably want to point to you. If you can't get them to point to your main page, then ask for a link to your page that contains the specific information. Seek out partners for trading links including vendors, suppliers and providers of complimentary products. 6. Purchasing Ad Banners on Other Web Sites As more links appear on any given page, advertising increasingly becomes a way to stand out from your competition. You can sponsor another site through barter or direct payment. In either case, you can find appropriate sites to sponsor yourself or have another company find them for you. Join LinkExchange for free Internet advertising. Running events on your site is an excellent way to encourage repeat traffic. You'll want to begin running events once traffic from your site launch begins to fade. Examples include contests, games, on-line interviews, chat sessions and audio broadcasts. You can ask site visitors to sign up for a newsletter, then distribute it by e-mail. An e-newsletter allows you to keep visitors up-to-date on site changes and new offerings. It also serves as a channel for delivering valuable information related to your products that can help convert prospects into customers. 9. Conducting a Direct e-Marketing Campaign Direct e-marketing on the Internet is in its formative stages. You can send your message in e-mail or HTML format; solicited or unsolicited. We do not recommend using unsolicited e-mail as the receiver bears the cost. The trend in direct e-marketing is in "push" technologies and services. These allow you to send regularly scheduled messages and other content to individuals who have signed up to receive it. The business models for these technologies are still in definition, but they deserve attention and testing. 10. Integrating Your Traditional Marketing and Sales Programs Start by including your Web site address on your flyers, letterheads and brochures. If there are advantages to delivering services, programs or information through your Web site, then provide an incentive in your traditional materials to get customers to go to your site for fulfillment. To measure the effectiveness of each component of your campaign, first determine where your traffic originates. Then measure what individuals do once they get to your site to determine if traffic generated from one source is more valuable than others. Note that this is different than measuring the effectiveness of the site itself. With data in hand, you can begin the process of fine-tuning your Web site marketing programs. |
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