It used to be a case that simply having a website for your business was enough to give you a competitive advantage. This is no longer the case as now the vast majority of Irish businesses have a website – so to gain competitive advantage, your site needs to be better than your competition. We see a lot of good websites and a lot of bad websites and while this can be subjective, below are the top 10 common mistakes we see on business websites.
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The 10 questions you need to ask your web designer
If you’re in the market for a new website one of the initial steps will be to shop around for quotes. There is no standard template for web design agencies to respond to quotes so it can be difficult for you to understand what the quote entails. The quote itself will show you the estimated price, but that doesn’t tell you what you’re getting for that price.
With this in mind we have created a list of questions that you should ask as part of your quote request. This should help you identify how much bang you’re getting for your buck.
Free Logo Anybody?
If you didn’t have enough reasons to work with us on your next project (proven track record, quality, value for money etc.) here’s one more for you. For the remainder of this month we are offering a free logo design for websites and apps. We will provide you with 3 proof designs and you can select your favourite.
A logo is an important tool in building your brand – it’s far more than just an image on top of your website or on your stationary. Very often your logo is the first thing that your potential customers will see of your business so it absolutely needs to make a strong first impression. It should let your customers know that your business is professional and that your company can be trusted to deliver the products / services required.
A Website is for life – not just for Christmas
They live an unloved existence in the shadows. Forgotten by their owners & creators, scoffed at by visitors. They were once the golden child, shiny, bright and new – admired and showcased. But now they go unnoticed, uncared for and abandoned. These are the orphaned websites.
An orphaned website is one which is in need of maintenance but the owner struggles to find somebody to carry this out. Every month we get a number of queries in from website owners who set up their site with a different web designer or an online website creator and they’re looking for our help to make changes to the site. Unfortunately we don’t take on this business, our websites are built to a certain standard that not all web designers follow so we politely decline maintenance request contracts from customers who have sourced their websites elsewhere.
Would you like fries with that? The dangers of online website builders
This post is mostly cantered about why I don’t like online website builders. Am I biased? Of course I am! Is a part of me jealous of these companies? Sure. Is the technology impressive? Absolutely. Am I a website snob? Maybe ….
That said, I genuinely don’t believe these solutions are good for most businesses for a number of reasons that I’ll outline here. But first we must go back in time to 2006.
I established ClearSoft in 2006 and had visions of developing a product that would provide an affordable set of tools for non-technical people to create a website from nothing. This system would be web based and while it would work for sports clubs, community organisations and personal sites – it was specifically aimed at small business. Sound familiar?
Your Website – How many miles do you get to the gallon?
One of the key decisions when shopping for a website is value for money. You can pay from as little as a couple of hundred euros to tens of thousands of euros. One thing to be careful of is understanding that the terms ‘value for money’ and ‘cheap’ are very different things.
All websites are not equal in the same way that all cars are not equal. If you were in the market for a reliable & safe family car, you wouldn’t open up a search engine and type in ‘Cheap cars for sale’. I think most people would have a fair idea on what makes and models they had in mind and this would shape their budget. So if you want a brand new German jeep, you’ll have different expectations and search parameters than if you wanted a second hand family saloon. You’ll see the difference between both – shapes, colours, comfort, technical features, power etc.
The same tells aren’t necessarily visible in a website. So when it comes to a website (and let’s stay with the car theme here), you may be in the market for nice new Mondeo but if you don’t ask the right questions, you could easily buy a 15 year old Fiesta that has 4 bald tires, a rusting engine and no NCT!
DJ Hanleys Website Goes Live
DJ Hanleys is a Co. Wicklow based removals and storage firm. They had an existing website that needed upgrading. We were delighted to work with the team to deliver an eye catching and modern design for them that is both beautiful and functional.
Check it out here :- https://djhanleys.ie/
New Haven Physio Website Goes Live
Newhavenphysio.com/ went live this week. This is a modern design for a physiotherapy practice based in Drogheda.
Macarten O’Gorman Law Firm Website Goes Live
Macarten O’Gorman is a law firm based n Gorey. We recently refreshed their website to a more modern design.
Check it out here – http://www.mogormansolicitor.com/
Cooke & Kinsella Website Goes Live
Cooke & Kinsella is a law firm with offices in Arklow and Carnew. This week we’re delighted to put their new business website live. Check it out below
Some Of Our Clients
