Their old site was being hosted on a free site that posted ads.  This gave the site a very unprofessional look.  PMG is now ready to grow their business and realized they needed to present a more professional image.  That is why they contact Virtualtech.  We create a simply yet elegant site that provides information about their wedding services.

Be sure to check out there site at http://www.puremilkgenius.com

After you have determined your target market you will then need to find out why people decided to buy your product or service. Did they buy based on price? Service? Reputation? Availability? Once you have established your target market and why people bought from you, focus your website to emphasize those people and reasons.

If children are your target market your site will need to be fun, colorful, and attention grabbing. You may want to use animated graphics or create a fun cartoon character to use throughout your site. On the other hand, if you are a funeral home your site needs to be done in softer colors, giving the feeling of support, understanding and comfort with a clean organized look.

Another aspect to think about when designing your site is the ability of your target market to have the latest and greatest in technology. Let’s say for example you are targeting children and you decide to add a demo of your newest video game. In order to run the game the visitor must download a large file, which only takes a minute to download at your office with a T-1 line. However, this same file will take 30 minutes to download using a slow cable connection or even dial-up.

You also need to look at the programs you incorporate into your site. Programs like Flash can create really cool effects. However, in order to view them, the site visitor needs the plug-in. If the site visitor does not have the plug-in, they must leave your site and go to where the plug-in is, spend the time to download the file, install the file, possible reboot the computer, and then return to your site. All this could take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. Would you do it? If your target market are people in the computer industry, they will most likely already have the plug-ins, but if your target market are teachers who are using the Internet at school they most likely will not have the plug-in and may be unable to download the program because of a firewall.

Whatever your product or service is, you have a target market that is looking for your site. Sites that are user friendly and are appropriate for the product or service tend to do much better then sites that just use the latest and greatest technology because they can.  Be smart with your design and programming and don’t get talked into anything that your gut tells you is a bad idea.  Less is still more.

Check out their site at http://www.electrolysisexclusive.com.

Make your site look professional and clean
Would you buy your groceries at a store that had dusty items and sticky floors? Of course not.  If your site is cluttered and unclean (Unclean meaning graphics are fuzzy or distorted, colors of site and/or text hard to read, etc.) then visitors are going to move on to the next website. People do “judge a book by its cover” and most people decide whether to stay at a site within twenty seconds of getting there. So you need to capture then quickly. Invest the time in learning how to create a professional looking website or invest the money in hiring a professional. You wouldn’t hire anyone but a professional to rewire your house, so why would you settle for any less in the marketing of your business?

Use correct grammar and spelling
Nothing says, “Unprofessional” more than misspellings and grammatical errors. To prevent this from happening, use your spell checker and then have several people read through your site.  Reading pages backwards is another great way to proof.

Make contact information easy to find
Have you ever been at a site ready to buy but could not find their phone number?  Frustrating wasn’t it?  On-line businesses come and go so quickly today, that if contact information isn’t easily found it puts up a red flag for most people. Your phone number and email address should not be more then one click away at any given place on your site.

Tell people who you are
An “About Us” page is the best way to accomplish this. This page should give a brief history of the company and a little bit of background about you and the members of your staff. I recommend including pictures of yourself and staff, if that isn’t possible, at least include photos of the people answering the phones and email. The “About Us” page helps to personalize the impersonal world of the Internet. Plus, the more people know about you, the more willing they are to trust you.

Use Testimonials
Testimonials are proof that you not only have clients, but that you have successfully completed satisfactory transactions.  For testimonials to be most effective, they should be factual, as specific as possible, and include the person’s name.

Offer a guarantee on your products or services
Offering a guarantee with “no questions asked” will do two things for your site: First, it will remove risk for the visitor, so they have nothing to lose in trying your product. Secondly, it builds trust with the customer, because if you are willing to give them back their money, then you must believe in your product.

Publish a free E-zine (newsletter)
It’s been proven that a customer must see your business name seven to twelve times before they remember and recognize it. They must recognize the name before they will buy. By offering a free newsletter, you decrease the time it will take for them to start to recognize your business name. An added bonus is that the subscribers of your newsletter will start to see you as an expert. The thing to remember here is to offer valuable and useful information. Give your readers something they can turn around and use right away.

Be Honest
Tell your visitors what you will accomplish for them and how it will benefit them.  People are tired of the hard sale and want answers to their problems. Tell them exactly how you will accomplish this. Sometimes you might even have to tell then how to do something for free and run the risk of losing a few bucks. However, this will gain their trust by showing them that you are more concerned about their business then you are about your own.

Respond to requests for information
Just as you return phone calls in a timely manner, you should also respond to e-mails quickly. On thing about the Internet is that people use it for instant gratification: they want information and they want it now. You should be answering e-mails within 24 hours

Badgerland Buildings is a general contractor recognized throughout Wisconsin for their commitment to excellence and multitude of professional construction solutions including: conceptual planning, building design, construction, construction management, and general contracting.

With many energy efficient Green and LEED building options, our commercial, agricultural, and residential buildings and barns can be found throughout Northeast Wisconsin including the Appleton, Oshkosh, Green Bay, Wausau, Manitowoc, and Shawano areas.

The new site features more examples of their work and several more pages to give visitors more information about the building projects Badgerland Buildings can help them with.

Check out their site at http://www.badgerlandbuildings.com.

Artistic Cakes and Cookies offers cake decorating for weddings, birthdays, graduations, baby showers.  A decorated cheesecake is their specialty.

Their new site features more pages and more examples of the fabulous cakes they have decorated.  Visitors can get a “taste” of the talent and imagination Artistic Cakes and Cookies offers.  Visitors can also find a map to shop.

Check out their site at http://www.artisticcakesandcookies.com.

Virtualtech redesigned their site to be easier to navigate and showcase some of the items they offer.  We also made it more search engine friendly.   Be sure to check out their site at http://www.naturalencounters.net.

In theory your subject line can be as long as you like. But in general, people will be able to see about 50 characters. That’s all you have to use to attract their attention and convince them to open your email.

If you plan to send monthly emails, then create a subject line that is recognizable. Something that people will see and go, “Oh, cool, the Virtualtech Newsletter!”

Consider a descriptive name for your regular emails (newsletter or updates) and then expand on it.

For example:
Virtualtech News – New Search Engine Strategies
GD&T Tip – Consider a Corporate Addendum
Belsnickle Announcement – 2007 Pieces Releases

Clear and concise. If you want to be creative, you can be, but don’t be so creative that people don’t know what it is about. You also want to think about people keeping the email and having to find it later. So make a subject line that will help them archive your emails.

Virtualtech redesigned their site to be easier to navigate and offer more images of the trophy deer that live at the preserve.  We also added an online calendar and online reservations.  Be sure to check out their site at http://www.littletexhunts.com.

The same should hold true when deciding who will design and market your website. It is true that with a basic HTML course anyone can design a website. But not just any one can create a website that will present the image that your company is professional, trustworthy, reliable, and someone to do business with. But even beyond the basic design of the website you need someone to market the site, so people will find it, and someone you can rely on to be there when the site needs updating.

Ask these questions when interviewing a website design firm:

• Visit websites that they have designed. Ask people you know to visit those sites and give you their opinions. Would you buy from the company whose website you are looking at?
• Ask the Web designer for some of their ideas as to how they will lay out the site, what graphics and colors they will use. Are you able to give your input or will they just design a site and say “here it is…money please”.
• If you are thinking of an e-commerce site (on-line store) ask the designer the URL of other stores they have created. Do you like the way it is laid out? Is it easy for the visitor to make a purchase?
• Get the names and phone numbers from at least three of the Web designers clients. Call them and ask if they would hire the person to work on another project.
• Do they have a contract that outlines the agreement, what they agree to do and what your responsibilities are? Get everything in writing. What will be the final cost and when are payments due? How long will the whole process take from gathering the information till you see your first proof? How long will it take to make the changes from the proof?  How many proofs are you allowed to make changes on before there are additional costs?
• Will the site be submitted to search engines? If so, get a list of what search engines and make sure they are ones you have heard of. How often will the site be resubmitted? Will you receive a report showing that the site has been submitted and how it is ranking? Are there other on-line marketing solutions they offer? What are they and what are the costs?

The main thing is do your homework.  You want to find a designer who will create a site that positively reflects your business and that also brings in business.