Questions about website techs...

[Kevin Brown]

1. How does one go about finding a person that is able to competently operate or modify a website?

2. What is the going rate for someone that knows how to:

• Build a website
• Maintain a website
• Create or modify graphics
• Position a site so that it can best target its potential customers

Here's the deal...
A friend of mine in So-Cal had a pretty nice website built. A reputable company did the work and the site operates well, so no problem there. Now that it is up and running, the sales are far lower than the company that built the site thought they would be.

It seems that although the company has built a site that is very capable, they either do not understand how best to market the site, or charge WAY too much do do the tasks my friend has asked them to do. Some of the basic things he's asked them to do seem like they should not take nearly as long to do as they say it does, and that is a problem because they charge a pretty high hourly rate.

So... He is thinking of hiring a capable person to do the job full time.
I think he is going to need someone that understands the ins & outs of websites and design. The prospective employee should also have a keen eye for graphic design, and know how to create or modify pictures and graphics (via Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand, and the like.) They should also know how to create small videos and things that flash movements or colors.

A lot to ask, perhaps.
However, the company is solid and my friend does not have a problem rewarding a person for a job well done.

Since I helped check out the company that built the site, I want to see that it gets the attention it needs so that my friend's company can build another site (in house), once this one gets going.

The next site will be even bigger than the current one.
Any help is certainly appreciated.

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Questions about website techs...

Find a site that you like, click on a link for "site map" and look for another link titled "website admin", or maybe even "questions or problems regarding this site". Ask to have the site designer contact you (provide an e-mail addy) to discuss building your site. Other than that, you might want to google a search using website design and your locality as your search parameters.

[danponjican]

Re: Questions about website techs...

What you should look for is a highly skilled SEO specialist. An SEO specialist can postion your site in the top SERP (Search Engine Results Placement) for the given set of keywords you want to market your products against.

I've used this firm and must say, they are one of the best.

http://www.partner-to-grow.com/

Ask for Laurel LaFlamme and mention mention my name. She usually provides a free consultation.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Questions about website techs...

Whoever you end up going with, one suggestion is to keep the site simple, don't buy off on creating a website with all the newest doo-dads touted to make a whiz-bang website.

There's a lot of reasons for this, here's one,

The more complicated the website, (the sources code), the more limited you are to people that can work on it for you behind the scenes and typically the more it will cost you for someone to maintain or modify a complicated website.

Here's another reason,

If a website is about selling a product or service, your customers don't really care about how fancy the technology is behind the what they see, they just want to find the information they're looking for easily so they can make a decision and either buy or move on.

People are scanners, you have seconds to capture their attention and then get your most wanted response. Figure out what your most wanted response, (MWR), is and then build the website around the MWR.

A blinking, spinning animated gif may look really cool, but if your website doesn't tell your customer what's in it for them, with a click of the mouse they're gone.

[3Fitty]

Re: Questions about website techs...

What you should look for is a highly skilled SEO specialist. An SEO specialist can postion your site in the top SERP (Search Engine Results Placement) for the given set of keywords you want to market your products against.

+1 here with a small addition. Any reputable SEO (search engine optimization) company should be full service (meaning administering email, website etc...).

I've used several companies and found these guys http://www.mannixmarketing.com/ to be best. Remember and SEO doesn't need to be anywhere near where you live, because their work exists in cyber space.

So, the guys at Mannix are full service and reasonably priced compared to some I've seen, although costs will also depend on service. My office had first page placement on every major search engine for our desired keywords or phrases.

[GoodKarmaGuy]

Re: Questions about website techs...

A friend of mine has a number of website from which he makes his living. He hires everyone off Elance and has been extremely satisfied. He said the key to getting to getting things done the way you want is to be VERY clear of your expectation in the proposal. I put up an RFP for a simple website and had 25 companies bid for my business from around the world.

Good luck.