Hi again, my name is Holly Vanderwal this is the 4th episode of Coffee on Cloud Nine.
I'm the founder of Cloud Nine Marketing and I'm really happy to have my friend and colleague
Joan Aldrich here.
She is the founder of Junction Creative Studio and does web design and development.
So I'm going to give her the chance to talk a little bit about what she does.
Alright well thanks for having me Holly, my name is Joan Aldrich like she said and I am
the owner of Junction Creative Studio which is a small digital marketing and web design
agency here in Greenville.
We specialize in building beautiful and affordable WordPress websites for small and medium sized
businesses.
And we also offer a variety of supplemental services like SEO and social media marketing
consulting to help people find the website once we've built it.
That's great.
So she is full of information about web development and web design so I have a few questions for
you.
The first question that I would love to have you answer is what is the difference between
a web developer and a web designer?
That's a really good question and the oversimplified answer is that a designer focuses on the front
end of your website.
They are concerned with the big picture aesthetics like topography and the color palette and
the layout - everything that the end user sees on a website.
Whereas a developer specializes in all of the backend parts all of the code that makes
the website function properly.
And to be honest there is a huge overlap between the two.
Many designers do have a working knowledge of code like HTML and CSS and there are many
developers who have an eye for design and do a little of both as well.
So if you are a very large business, maybe you need a large Ecommerce website like an
Anthropologie or somebody like that.
Or you need a membership site like WeightWatchers or a booking website like Air BnB, you're
likely going to work with both types of people and you need somebody that's highly specialized
so you'll either hire both parties or you'll work with an agency that has a team of people
that has a variety of skillsets.
But most of us on the small and medium sized business scale, just need a basic website
to market our services.
Maybe you just need a handful of pages that talk a little bit more about what your business
is about - what you offer.
You need a contact form, you need a blog, you want to sell a couple products, that sort
of thing.
You're likely going to work with one person who has a little bit of both skills.
So a website designer who has a working knowledge of some code and works with a CNS like WordPress
of SquareSpace, and uses a template and has the knowledge to tweak said template for your
needs.
And that's a much more affordable option for most of us.
The added bonus of that also is that if they are working with a cns like WordPress or SquareSpace,
the end result is going to leave you with a back-end that is very user friendly.
So you'll either have the capacity if you are interested in making edits as needed yourself
or there are a lot of people out there who know those platforms and its very affordable
to get someone to help you.
Whereas a large scale custom website is much more costly and you are going to be dependent
on those specialized people to make basic edits for you.
So you mentioned WordPress and I know you work a lot in WordPress, can you just explain
a little bit for people who have never heard of custom vs. WordPress what the difference
would be.
Absolutely.
A CMS is a contact management system so a lot of people really love SquareSpace, a lot
of people use Wix to build their website themselves.
And WordPress is just another one of those.
I started working in WordPress a really long time ago even in just my digital marketing
days because there are so many SEO capabilities of WordPress, that other platforms don't offer.
And its incredibly robust.
And I mentioned the user-friendliness so because it is so common there are all these different
plug-ins and tools that are available that make it affordable to you to make these customizations
to your website.
Like maybe you need an event calendar or you needed to have very specific social sharing
options, you know that little pin hover button on your blog and that sort of thing.
Those are all plugins that are available for WordPress that are very affordable or no cost
at all which is a really great option for small businesses especially.
So what are 2-3 characteristics of a solid web developer?
I guess the first one would be somebody who is a really good listener.
Somebody who asks really great questions.
Having a website built is probably a really major investment for you as a small business
owner.
So, you want somebody who has your goals and best interest at heart.
A creative person may hit the ground running to create something really beautiful, but
if they don't have a long interview with you at the beginning, or provide you with a questionnaire
and ask the right questions about what you want this website to be and what you want
to accomplish, that's kind of a red flag because you want to make sure that the design is being
created to accomodate those needs.
SO another thing to look for that kind of goes along with that is some body who makes
suggestions because there's a good chance that you don't know exactly what you want
and that's why you've hired a professional in the first place.
So not only will they ask you those questions but they also will make proactive suggestions
about things you should consider that maybe you hadn't considered otherwise.
Another characteristic that I would look for is somebody with an eye for design and detail.
So if you are dealing with somebody who is a developer specifically, and I see this happen
a lot with people who reach out to a friend or a family member that they know is their
tech savvy friend, but they don't really know what they can do.
But oh they built their blog I bet they can build mine I bet I could throw a couple hundred
dollars at them and I bet they will take care of it.
That's fine but they're likely not going to necessarily have a diverse skill set, so for
example, back when I was doing digital marketing, I had several people that I work with who
are really savvy coders.
They were wizards with programming and if I threw any technical problem to them with
the website they could take care of it no problem.
But then the end result is always kind of a little janky and ugly so I had to do a lot
of hand holding and give them really specific feedback.
About Hey let's change this font or this isn't really lining up.
And if you're dealing with a developer or somebody who can code who also has a design
eye, they're going to look out for that stuff on the front end and so you're not going to
have to do all that back and forth trying to get those problems vindicated after the
fact, which is really helpful.
The attention to detail side of that is someone who is going to be willing to not just put
the website together and give it to you but also test to make sure its compatible with
all different website browsers and all different devices and that sort of thing.
You know and test your contact form, test your links to make sure nothing breaks after
launch.
The third characteristic that I would suggest looking for is somebody who has a diverse
knowledge base as well.
So somebody with a marketing brain who is a little bit more strategic because if you
are just starting out for example, you probably don't have an internal marketing team.
And if you're not very marketing brained yourself, you are probably looking for some help with
that and you may not have the resources to hire that out.
So if you hire somebody who is a designer/developer or both who has sort of a marketing brain
and approach to their design, then you're going to get a lot of advice and expertise
that you might not have otherwise gotten you know that.
Somebody who is going to make recommendations about how you put your content together, the
calls to action you use or where you should put buttons and where your contact form should
be placed and you get the leads that you want.
So someone who asks lots of questions, someone who can provide suggestions, and somebody
with a marketing brain and a process.
And I would add something to that actually, I think that one of the things that I am really
impressed about you with your work is how you think long-term.
So someone who has a plan.
When you build a website, its not just building the website and leaving it.
Its an active, living entity really if its a good one.
So being able to update it every quarter or whatever or how ever long it takes - I'm not
a designer so I don't know - but having someone who can think long term and towards the future
instead of lets build it and if it breaks we will deal with that later.
Absolutely that's a really good point.
Alright so when a company is ready to build a website, what should they look for when
they start searching for a web developer and/or designer and how do you even begin?
That's a good question, I know that's kind of an intimidating process and one I've gone
through myself back in the day before I was offering the service on my own.
If you just do a quick Google search for website development you're going to get a whole bunch
of stuff and not know where to start, so I would recommend asking around.
There's a good likelihood that you have other friends who has started businesses, who've
maybe have to had website built or maybe your friend who works on the marketing team or
technical team for a bigger company and was involved in their website development and
ask them.
They likely have a pretty strong opinion about their experience with whoever they work with
whether that be positive or negative.
Like yes I'd absolutely work with that person again, or no I didn't really have a good experience
but I've talked to this person who did have a great experience and figure it out that
way.
And if you don't have anyone to ask and you feel really stuck, I've found that if you
do some poking around online and find a bunch of different websites and they don't necessarily
need to be in your industry, if you find a website that you really like the look and
feel of, and you feel like its really professional, then often times the web developer or designer
will be listed in the footer and you can just click through their website and see what kind
of services they offer.
You don't need to be limited necessarily to somebody that's local.
Because we're in a time where any time you have wifi you can kind of do that job.
Certainly you want to have the opportunity to interact with that person, whether its
over a video conference call sort of like we're doing now but you aren't limited to
just the person around the corner and you definitely don't want to just pick up the
phone and call the one person you know that has technical expertise because they'll probably
say yeah I can put your website together for you and you know it will take me a couple
weeks but - and maybe it would be pretty cheap for you to do that.
But if you don't start with a good foundation, then you will kind of just have to redo it
down the road and adds costs so you're not saving much.
So what types of questions should people think about before you can design a website for
them?
I would recommend making sure you should know what this website is for.
A lot of people think okay I have a business or I want to start a business so I need a
website.
But they haven't given thought to what that website should accomplish.
It should be more than just sort of a digital business card.
It should have a goal.
So maybe your goal is to attract leads.
Maybe you convert those leads into selling product.
Maybe you just want to inform a group of people or entertain them but you need to know on
the front end what those goals are or what action you think the users should take.
If you want that action to be that they fill out the contact form then the website needs
to funnel people to that goal.
Something else that you should consider is your audience.
Certainly you want to like your website but you also want your audience to like the website.
You're not just designing it for yourself.
So think about who that audience is.
Think about somebody very specific and narrow it down and make a list of what that person
might be looking for or what sort of perception you want your website to give that person.
Make a list of your likes and dislikes.
Maybe you're not a design person and you really have no idea what you're looking for.
Again I would just kind of poke around and find websites that you think are really compelling
and write down why you think they're compelling.
Even if you don't give your designer any direction, if you give them a list of 5 websites and
say I really like these, they're likely going to put together okay I see that all of these
websites have a little white space and all of these websites use a serif font.
And all of them have a full-width slider on the home page.
So they can kind of make those comparisons and then after they can ask you okay do you
like this because of this and you can say yes or no.
So that gives them some direction.
Otherwise they're kind of approaching it blind and you don't know what you're going to end
up with.
So giving them specific direction and that way will help them get it right the first
time so they don't have to start over.
Lastly I would say how much time do you have to devote to the project?
I think a lot of people get ready to and are like oh I need a website and I need it now
so they hire someone to just take care of it for them and they probably have a couple
weeks and that's not always possible.
People book way in advance for website development and they need it to be an open dialogue so
preferably if you have the availability to A. give them feedback throughout the process
so that they know they they are on the right path and the project happens in a timely manner
and also just supply them with things like content.
So maybe you're hiring them to come up with the content for you but you or someone on
your team will probably still need to be available to be interviewed and ask questions so that
they know they they are on the right track.
So there have been times where I have built a website for somebody and was basically just
guessing and then was given all of the content much after the fact and things had to be changes.
Where as if they had had the content prepared ahead of time that would have been a much
faster process.
Although I know it is very challenging to know what content you need to come up with
so a good designer will probably give you at least sort of a basic structure to work
with.
Say alright this is sort of the mock up of a design that I think would be good for your
needs, and here's some blocks that I would need to fill in with content.
Maybe here's some pieces of content that you should consider.
So what is the timeline process?
I think to give yourself at least a month expect about a month for a website.
It may only take the person a couple weeks to do it but leaving that little bit of buffer
room like maybe you go on vacation or take a long weekend or you change your mind about
the direction you want to go.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét