Double Glazing Blogger: Website 3

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Website 3

Last week I told myself I've got to get this website done! So I've set myself a target of Christmas to try and complete it, and the end of January to get the website polished and up live on the web. The problem I'm fighting against is time. While it remains busy, my time available to work on the website is seriously reduced, so I'm back on to the night shifts to try and make some decent progress.

Once the website is up and running properly, it needs to be backed up with an effective awareness campaign, getting as much traffic to the site as possible. From there it will be expanded with customer testimonials, some new, some fairly recent ones from 2009. As the months go by the picture library on the site will become larger and more in-depth, allowing customers more possibility to find exactly what they require.

One thing that won't be on there will be anything flashy, brash or any in-your-face 'offers' or 'discounts'. We've had feedback from our customers and they've explained to us that even though our existing site may not be the most modern or slick, it's clear, concise and they are able to view more options on doors, conservatories and windows than any other double glazing website.

Labels: Website

7 Comments:

RCG said...: Hi DGB

I'm sorry, but I can't keep a lid on this. I realise you compete with WYW and I'd be better keeping my mouth shut, but I feel you need a reality check here. I also quite like your style, even though you're a competitor.

If I'm correct, you're a salesman and not a website specialist. So, why are you in charge of creating your company's website? You should be working your leads.

Your existing website might not have the flashy bits like some of your competitors, but the reality is that it CAN NOT be getting any sort of business. Seriously, I know you like me to think that I don't know who you are, but get a grip here. Your existing website is not doing the business for you, and you're losing business to competitors. I realise your company is strong at one side of Wakefield, and because your company is established and well respected you get loads of recommends. But, anyone who doesn't know of your company is unlikely to contact you because they are unlikely to find your site, and if they do, then they are unlikely to respond. If you disagree, please feel free to comment on the WYW website as a comparison.

You seriously need to think about investing in a specialist company to build you a website within a few weeks, rather than dithering and losing business in the meantime to your competitors. You've been talking about this website for ages now, and you're still giving yourself 4 months to complete.

Having read your posts regularly over the last few months i think you have a lot of strengths. In many ways you are the real renegade conservatory guy. But trust me on this - get a specialist to build your website.

RCG; October 6, 2009 at 10:54 PM
Double Glazing Blogger said...: Firstly, leads always come first. The website is being worked on in the evenings or if I get a spare half hour or so during the day. The website isn't my main priority. We are processing more than enough orders not to worry about what we MAY be losing via the internet.

Yes you are correct, I am a salesman, not a website specialist. But the company would rather have me in control of what we want, how we design it and the content it has. You've not seen it yet, so don't judge until you've seen it. Though I fear you would still tell me to get a specialist, no matter how good the quality of the site.

Now unless you can see the number of results or leads our website generates, how can you say we CAN NOT be getting any business?

I'm not the real renegade conservatory guy, but if you know who I am, tell me.; October 6, 2009 at 11:22 PM
RCG said...: Ha ha. That would spoil the fun, wouldn't it.; October 7, 2009 at 8:28 AM
David Bingham said...: LOL. This is funny. I have personally been designing and developing websites myself for years and I can make them look pretty good.

However, RCG's advice is worth its weight in gold. I paid specialist developers nearly £10K for the conservatoryland.com site.

Presentation is everything and functionality is paramount, the user should have an impressive experience.

Further, you need a lot of knowledge to build a completely SEO friendly site, it needs to be coded correctly as well as just loads of keywords on pages and in image tags.

Then there's flash, java, asp development, auto-response emails for form enquiries, spam protection on forms, and a knowledge of sql databases. All very important.

If you're really serious about generating business from the web (and you would be mad not to be), don't mess around, get a specialist every time. :); October 7, 2009 at 9:54 AM
Double Glazing Blogger said...: I value everyone's advice. But from a cost point of view £10k is an amount we don't want to spend. I'm learning as I go along and honing my skills quite well. We don't need an industry-beating website, we need one that does the job we want it to do well, efficiently and clearly. The owners think I'm capable of this so that's why I'm doing it.

All views appreciated though!; October 7, 2009 at 11:31 AM
RCG said...: Dave - you've spent lots of time and effort honing your seo and website knowledge to a position where you could build your own website which will perform successfully.

JT - the fact that you are saying all this is great news for WYW, knowing that one of its main competitors can't afford to invest in a website. WYW invest close to £10,000 every month in its website. I realise your company is busy at the moment, but if your owners do not keep up to date with the way the world is developing then you could be left behind.; October 8, 2009 at 8:23 AM
Double Glazing Blogger said...: Who's JT?

When did I ever say 'can't afford'? You're very good at spin, should be a politician!; October 8, 2009 at 10:45 AM

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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Website 3

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