Website Professionalism and Net No No's
My grandmother was the Queen of metaphors during my childhood. One of her metaphors has served as the overarching theme for how business is conducted at Unorthodoks Marketing: "Business is like a ham and egg breakfast so, always remember to model yourself after the ham." This probably does not make sense to anyone outside of the Davis household so I'll explain it in laymen's terms.
Both the chicken and the pig play an integral role in making the breakfast. The chicken that laid the egg contributed, but the pig that gave the ham was really committed...he gave his life. At Unorthodoks Marketing, we emulate the commitment of the pig when presenting our company to the public. Unorthodoks Marketing provides Internet marketing & Web design services to organizations that want to reach the online African-American community. Along the way we've encountered too many organizations that seek assistance in promoting their products and/or services, but they have not taken the small steps that would make a world of difference.
Businesses need to be educated about the importance of credibility and how it can best be achieved. Because we are an Internet marketing firm, we'll simply focus on the online points that need to be addressed: Not purchasing a domain name, usage of free email services for business purposes, placing a web counter, frames or unnecessary Flash animation on your site and broadcasting that your site is not updated are all "Net No No's".
The biggest mistake that can be easily avoided is not purchasing a domain name for your company. Domain names could be purchased for $70 during the dot-com explosion, now domain names can be purchased for about $35. Owning www.unorthodoks.com doesn't necessarily mean we're more committed to professionalism but not purchasing your own domain name gives potential customers the impression that you could be a "fly by night" organization.
We've received numerous business cards and emails from people interested in connecting with us. Unfortunately, my perception of the business acumen of too many of these organizations are skewed because of email addresses that list John_Doe@yahoo.com or Jane_Doe@hotmail.com.
Employees of Fortune 500 companies do not use free web-based email services so neither should your organization. If you've already paid for your domain name and are paying a monthly fee for web hosting, talk to your hosting company to get your POP accounts to enable you to send and receiving email with Your_Name@yourcompany.com. If you don't have a site or if it's still being developed, you can still use the POP account to present a professional email address. Even if you aren't in the process of building a site, purchase a domain name and use email forwarding.
When it comes to website design, it's important not to make the mistake of getting caught up in all the bells and whistles that can be put on your site. Enough with the web counters that says I am visitor number 12,754 when there are billions of people surfing the net; several thousand visitors doesn't tell me you're successful. Remove all the frames from your site; on one hand they're not visually pleasing, on the other, most search engines cannot properly put your site in their listings.
Don't have an extravagant Flash intro that is going to take too long to load; you only have a precious few seconds to grab and keep your target market's attention.
Take a look at any of the well-known sites, you'll notice that none of them are doing any of these things simply because they hurt more than help.
Now that your site is up and traffic is coming to your site at a healthy rate, let's not alienate visitors by telling them that you don't update your site often. We'll save that discussion regarding the importance of keeping your site current for another time, but if you're not keeping the content fresh, don't yell it from the rooftops. Unless your "Last Updated" line has today's or yesterday's date after it, take it off your homepage. Pay attention to the copyright information at the bottom of your pages and make sure it shows the current year. People won't consistently come back to a website if they don't believe it's not being updated.
All the blood, sweat and tears put in building your organization could be for naught if these issues and others just like them are not addressed. Paying attention to these details may not bring more business in the door but, not taking them into account could definitely keep it out.
Both the chicken and the pig play an integral role in making the breakfast. The chicken that laid the egg contributed, but the pig that gave the ham was really committed...he gave his life. At Unorthodoks Marketing, we emulate the commitment of the pig when presenting our company to the public. Unorthodoks Marketing provides Internet marketing & Web design services to organizations that want to reach the online African-American community. Along the way we've encountered too many organizations that seek assistance in promoting their products and/or services, but they have not taken the small steps that would make a world of difference.
Businesses need to be educated about the importance of credibility and how it can best be achieved. Because we are an Internet marketing firm, we'll simply focus on the online points that need to be addressed: Not purchasing a domain name, usage of free email services for business purposes, placing a web counter, frames or unnecessary Flash animation on your site and broadcasting that your site is not updated are all "Net No No's".
The biggest mistake that can be easily avoided is not purchasing a domain name for your company. Domain names could be purchased for $70 during the dot-com explosion, now domain names can be purchased for about $35. Owning www.unorthodoks.com doesn't necessarily mean we're more committed to professionalism but not purchasing your own domain name gives potential customers the impression that you could be a "fly by night" organization.
We've received numerous business cards and emails from people interested in connecting with us. Unfortunately, my perception of the business acumen of too many of these organizations are skewed because of email addresses that list John_Doe@yahoo.com or Jane_Doe@hotmail.com.
Employees of Fortune 500 companies do not use free web-based email services so neither should your organization. If you've already paid for your domain name and are paying a monthly fee for web hosting, talk to your hosting company to get your POP accounts to enable you to send and receiving email with Your_Name@yourcompany.com. If you don't have a site or if it's still being developed, you can still use the POP account to present a professional email address. Even if you aren't in the process of building a site, purchase a domain name and use email forwarding.
When it comes to website design, it's important not to make the mistake of getting caught up in all the bells and whistles that can be put on your site. Enough with the web counters that says I am visitor number 12,754 when there are billions of people surfing the net; several thousand visitors doesn't tell me you're successful. Remove all the frames from your site; on one hand they're not visually pleasing, on the other, most search engines cannot properly put your site in their listings.
Don't have an extravagant Flash intro that is going to take too long to load; you only have a precious few seconds to grab and keep your target market's attention.
Take a look at any of the well-known sites, you'll notice that none of them are doing any of these things simply because they hurt more than help.
Now that your site is up and traffic is coming to your site at a healthy rate, let's not alienate visitors by telling them that you don't update your site often. We'll save that discussion regarding the importance of keeping your site current for another time, but if you're not keeping the content fresh, don't yell it from the rooftops. Unless your "Last Updated" line has today's or yesterday's date after it, take it off your homepage. Pay attention to the copyright information at the bottom of your pages and make sure it shows the current year. People won't consistently come back to a website if they don't believe it's not being updated.
All the blood, sweat and tears put in building your organization could be for naught if these issues and others just like them are not addressed. Paying attention to these details may not bring more business in the door but, not taking them into account could definitely keep it out.
posted by Daze at 12:03 PM
2 Comments:
I honestly wish I could :)
It's frustrating as I visit Black website after Black website who actually have good content or quality products but, I am turned off by the presentation.
Similiar to the way no one wants to eat the gourmet dinner from the unkept chef, no one wants to purchase luxury items from the website that was designed by your neighbor's son who took web design class in high school.
There's something to the adage, "You get what you pay for." Not to say website should cost thousands but, you should invest several hundred dollars into your business.
I disagree. Don't flashy, professional websites take away from that small, hometown, connection. I do not want to buy a luxury boat from a small business with a poor website, but homemade jelly just seems richer, more well made if its a website with an old womans face on it, and a list of her natural products. If the website flipped, spun, had graphics and looked too commercial, I would fear its authenticity. I disagree with you and the poster. We need to save the online "mom and pop" feeling. Everyone doesnt want to be the WALMART of the internet.
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