When it comes to having a website built, you have the option to hire a professional company to build it for you or to choose from one of the many companies that offer software to allow you to build it yourself. You may be tempted in the software that allows you to build your own website especially since many of them are free or low cost and allow you to pay a monthly fee, but you do need to carefully consider the limitations that may include. For example, many of the free websites only allow you to choose from a set number of templates. This means that there are potentially thousands of other websites out there that have the same look and feel as yours. They are often restrictive in how much you can edit them, or you may find that in order to edit it as much as you need, you then need to go up to a different package which will cost a substantial amount more.

Even if you want to use a free CMS system like Wordrpess, it is still worth hiring a professional developer to build the site for you. They may even have access to paid for software that they are able to use on your website without you have to pay for them again.

Often people will be tempted in by companies that offer them a free website. There are a number of companies out there that allow you to design your own website for either a very small monthly fee or even for free. You may wonder what the catch is with these sites and if they are ok to use. Although some of these sites can give people a cheap way of having an online presence, they are not very good if you are serious about competing online. They often are made using a basic template than can only have a few small amendments made to it. You usually have to create the website yourself using a drop and drag function. The problems start when you have issues with the site not displaying as it should on one browser or you cannot get an element to fit exactly where you need it to. Unless you have coding experience the chances are you will not be able to fix a lot of these issues yourself. You may then have to pay for their programming team to rectify it for you or try and hire your own. Even if you do hire your own, they may not be able to have the access to the code that they need to change.

Advertising can be expensive, but it is often needed in order to bring in results. You need to ensure that you are advertising your business in the right way and on the right platforms in order to get the most return on your investment. Some avenues of marketing will work better for some industries than others but often it is a bit of trial and error to see where’s best to invest.

If you have spent the time to create great content then it makes sense to distribute it across as many different platforms as possible to get the most exposure. You can of course do this manually but to save time you can invest in software that will allow you to do this automatically. Software such as Hootsuite allows you to connect all your social media accounts in one place. You can then share your content instantly and manage your profiles though one dashboard.

A coordinated campaign can help to achieve results by targeting a wider audience, but also attracting the attention of the same people in various places. Catching the eye of an individual on Facebook and then again on Twitter, can reinforce the message that you are trying to convey.

If you are in the process of designing a new website then there are certain factors you need to consider in order to ensure that your website is a success. Below are a number of simple, common mistakes that you should try and avoid when it comes to planning out your new site:

1. Not knowing what you want

This may sound obvious, but so many companies jump in to having a website built without really considering what it is they want it to do. It may be that you want to bring in leads or possibly sell your goods online – these two goals will require very different websites so you need this information before you start.

• Going with the cheapest site

Prices for websites vary drastically depending on who you use and what you want but be wary about always going for the cheapest option. You’re in business and want to be cost savvy but opting for free or really low cost websites comes with it’s limitations and you often come up against barriers rather quickly.

• Going for the most expensive website quote

Same as going for the cheapest, going for the most expensive is also often not a good idea. Bigger agencies may have larger overheads and therefore will charge a higher hourly rate for their expertise. This doesn’t necessarily mean they will offer you a better service though.

It is essential for any successful business to have a web presence in order to successfully market their business and if possible should be a website and a social media business page but with the cost of paying a professional website designer beyond the reach of small business owners starting up it is a sensible idea to try designing and setting up your own electrical contractor’s website.

Online there are a vast array of tutorials which help the novice designer and so it is a good idea to find other electrical contractor sites and evaluate these before you start. Make a note of the common features and anything that is particularly inspiring in terms of content, layout and colour schemes and collate your ideas.

Many sites offer templates to get you started which can be customised to your electrical company with your business name and logo. Your content which may include the services you offer, examples of work completed, and reviews can be uploaded easily and should include a mixture of images, photographs and text. SEO tools are built in to enable your website to rank higher when potential clients search online for your business.

It is essential that your website is up to date and links that are set up to other businesses work correctly as visitors will click elsewhere if this is not maintained.

Using websites with pupils in a classroom setting has many benefits as it can be an effective cross curricular way to integrate technology into lessons in a range of subjects. Children are highly motivated when using computers in their lessons and it is useful to be able to use this motivation to enhance their learning.

When choosing appropriate websites for pupils to use to carry out research or find information it is essential that the teacher has previously viewed the site to check for suitability and relevance. If the website has been designed well and is working correctly the pupils will have a positive experience and have minimal frustration.

It is important to teach the pupils about search techniques so that the websites they use are relevant and useful to them and provide them with the information they require. There are child safe search engines that pupils can be directed to use so that the search results are appropriate to the age of the child.

Using the links on the website effectively to direct the pupil to pertinent pages is an important skill for them to master as often there will be an abundance of information on the home page which may not be relevant to their query.

If you run a small business with a limited marketing budget it is essential that your website is cost effective and that the purpose for having a website is clear.

The first thing to consider is whether your website is attracting visitors. Your site should be well thought out and professional looking. This is a reflection of your business and will for some customers be their first contact with you. All the links should work and direct the customer to the relevant pages. There is nothing more frustrating than links that don’t work.

Your business name and contact details should be clear and accurate. A map is a useful addition to have if customers are coming to you.

Having a page for positive customer testimonials is a good strategy as they are often read by potential clients and can be invaluable to the success of your business.

If it is possible to negotiate with other related businesses to have inbound and outbound links this will indicate that you are a useful resource and it can help improve search engine results.

Social media links are an essential feature of a successful website and these should be prominently displayed on the home page.

If you are a business owner then you may decide that you need a website or you may already have one but want to make some big changes to it. Most web design companies will start off by taking a brief from you. From this they can usually provide a cost for the design and build of the site. If this cost is agreed, usually the next stage is to crate visuals. These are usually flat graphics that can either be printed or displayed on a computer which will show the layout of the site. You may be able to chose from a selection of designs or adapt one to ensure it fits with what you want. Only once this visual has been agreed should programming commence.

Once programming has begun, it is not a good idea to keep making changes. Small changes such as text changes or colours may be ok, but if you want to start changing the structure of the site then you may incur additional costs. This is because much of the programming work that has already been completed may have to be scrapped or drastically changed which will take time. Programmers charge out their time so the longer it takes, the more it will cost. If you are not happy with something in your design point it out prior to programming and if you do need to change it, be prepared to pay.

A mobile version of your website is definitely something you need to consider carefully. You need to ensure that your site displays and works correctly on all mobile devices and that doesn’t limit the functionality too much.

People only ever used to use a PC or laptop to view websites but with many of us having smartphones that can access the internet, the need for a mobile-friendly website has never been greater.

You can have just one version of your site that automatically converts to a mobile version when viewed on devices with a smaller screen. This is a mobile-friendly website. If you want to go an extra step you may consider having an App for your customers to download which can be more streamlined to offer a better browsing and buying experience on mobile devices.

If you have video on your site then you should consider if they will enlarge when played or whether they are clicked to link through to Youtube for example.

It is important to keep an eye on your website traffic through to your mobile site. If you notice that there are certain pages which have a high bounce rate or that are not compelling people to take the action that you want them to, it may be because your mobile website is not working as it should.

It is vital that when having a website built you keep in mind what the main aim of the site is. It may be that you want to sell products or services online through an ecommerce website or it may be that you want to give people information about your products and services to try and gain enquiries either in person, through enquiry forms or over the phone.
Many business owners get carried away with installing gadgets and moving banners etc., forgetting what the main purpose of the website is.
You may worry about costs and want to try and build a site as cheaply as possible and therefore end up cutting the budget down so much that you end up with a site that is not really functional or that cannot be found on the search engines.
Make a list of all the things you want your site to offer to your visitors. Go through and prioritise the It may be such things as live chat options would be nice to have but not an essential part of the site. You can speak to the programmer who is building your site and get an idea of how much these will cost. This will then allow you to see if they fit within your budget without having to compromise on something else that is important.