Web Design & Website Development
Why do I need a website?
Each and every business needs some kind of online presence. Not only is it expected by potential clients, it's also one of the easiest ways to expand your market. If you don't have a website, how will potential clients find you online? And, if they're not finding you, who are they finding instead - your competition?
Advantages to having a website include:
- Answering Questions - Save time and money answering the same question over and over by phone by providing your products and services on your website.
- Communication - Website visitors can contact you by email or contact form without the pressure of dealing with pushy salesmen. You can respond to their inquiries when it is convenient for you.
- Compete with Big Business - Smaller businesses can look bigger than they are with a professional website design. Now the small guy is on the same playing field as the big guys!
- Cost Effective - The costs to develop, maintain and distribute a website are extremely low when compared to the cost of other forms of media and advertising.
- Easy to Maintain - Your website can be updated daily, weekly, monthly or whenever you need to revise your information. The information on your website will always be accurate and up-to-date.
- Extended Business Hours - With a website, your business is now "open" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Your website is working for you!
- Global Market - A website is accessible globally and can be viewed by anyone on the Internet. You can't get the same kind of market reach with print, radio and TV advertising.
Using database technology on your web site enhances visitor interactivity. For example, a visitor to your site can sort out only the information they need or the products they are looking for. You can automatically notify customers of new products or specials, or forward web-generated leads to sales representatives and distributors instantly.
Features you can provide on your web site by implementing database technology include:
- Online Product Catalogs
- Self-Managed Calendars and Events
- Self-Managed Photo Galleries
- Forums and Discussion Boards
- E-Commerce & Online Retail Shopping
- Newsletter and Mailing List Opt-ins
- Online Scheduling and Registration
Database-driven websites like our GeekGroup allow the business owner to update and maintain their content easily. Our GeekGroup site uses a content management system that has an easy editor and image upload built in so all web page content can be updated when needed.
Why should I hire a web design professional?
With the advent of do-it-yourself HTML software, it is relatively simple for anyone to create a functional web site. We all know someone who can "design web sites" as a sideline using DIY web design software. This also explains why there are so many poorly designed websites. (If someone has a paintbrush, it doesn't make them Van Gogh!) Your website does not have the professional look that is evident in your other marketing pieces so the first impression might not be a positive one. Your site could be cumbersome for web site visitors to navigate and the pages might take too long to load, causing people to leave your website without contacting you.
The real problem? From their first impression, website visitors do not take your business seriously and they choose to take their business elsewhere - to your competitor, perhaps?
Web development is a unique design medium and requires extensive knowledge in designing graphics specifically for the Internet. The optimization of each page for the search engines is ongoing since all of the search engines change their algorithms and indexing methods constantly, requiring a great deal of continuous education. Properly marketing a site online continues long after the launch of the site and, again, online promotion requires a great deal of time, of which you might have very little to spare!
Hiring a professional web design team will save you time and money in the long run and will bring you the results and performance your business needs for online marketing.
Why should I hire AlphaGeek Web Design?
Our goal has always been to provide professional services for today's market at a truly competitive price that any business can afford. By listening to what our business community is looking for, we continue to develop new products to meet today's online marketing needs.
The design team at AlphaGeek Web Design stays on top of current trends for all things web-related. The Internet is an extremely new industry that changes constantly. Areas of web-related education that we focus on include:
- Database Development - PHP / MySQL
- Web Development -
- Graphic Design - Trends and software updates
- Internet Marketing - Search Engine Optimization, or SEO
Our services are constantly evolving so that we can meet our goals of providing web development for today's Internet. Most importantly, your success online is our success.
E-Commerce for Online Retail
What do I need to run a secure online shop?
In order to start selling products online, AlphaGeek Web Design recommends that each retail shop owner has the following:
- Professional website design with e-commerce (shopping cart) database
- Products that can be easily purchased online
- Method(s) for shipping products to customers (UPS, USPS, FedEx)
- Ability to process credit cards with an online payment gateway or manually in your shop
- Secure Certificate to encrypt and collect payment information
- Website hosting that is secure, reliable and local
What are the advantages of having an E-Commerce website?
E-Commerce websites....
- ....allow business owners to operate their business without the traditional obstacles of time or distance.
- ....sell more products are being purchased daily with e-commerce.
- ....help a business sell products which are unique and not easily consumed in a local market.
- ....have shown to be the most cost-effective means of doing business.
Search Engine Optimization
Why can't I find my current website on Google and Yahoo?
70% of websites online are not optimized for the search engines, resulting in poor online performance. Chances are, your web developer used "old school" tricks that are now having a negative effect on your placement in the search engines.
Websites that are created by AlphaGeek Web Design are optimized as part of the site build and consistently rank high in the search engines. We employ safe techniques that are accepted by the search engines for continued indexing.
Should I subscribe to a monthly submission service?
Do not subscribe to submission services that offer thousands of submissions since the majority of these services are set up to collect e-mail addresses for resale to SPAMMERS. In the website promotion process, quality is far more effective than quantity. (We constantly update our list of search engines to make sure that your site is submitted to only the search engines that will drive the most qualified traffic to your web site.)
It is also imperative that your web developer constructs a content-rich website that is optimized for the search engines without the use of any types of tricks, gimmicks or magic. Once the website is live, your webmaster should hand-submit your URL once to the basic search engines and qualified directories for inclusion.
What is search engine optimization, or SEO?
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is how we configure web site content for maximum exposure to the search engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN, for example), ensuring proper placement of your web site in their database and search results. By optimizing your web site for key phrases that are important to your business, the search engines will send you highly-targeted visitors who have shown an interest in your industry, products, or services.
When researching web designers for your project, find out how often they participate in accredited seminars such as Search Engine Marketing conferences. The AlphaGeek Web Design SEO team attends conferences and participates in online webinars to stay on top of ever-changing trends.
Search engines change their algorithms and indexing methods constantly, requiring a great deal of continuous education on the part of your web designer. The AlphaGeek Web Design SEO team participates in conferences, forums and discussion boards to provide content rich websites for today's Internet. Then we let the search engines increase your website traffic, naturally.
Will you provide SEO for a site built by other web developers?
The SEO techniques that we utilize have been developed by AlphaGeek Web Design and are proprietary to our business. Our company has invested a great deal in developing a successful SEO service package for our clients and our SEO techniques allow us to remain competitive with other web development companies.
Since your web design and database development companies are involved in the ongoing development of your website, we would decline the invitation to provide SEO since our competitors would have direct access to the propietary techniques that make us successful.
For future reference, we recommend that a company works with one web development company that is well-rounded when it comes to design, database development and SEO, such as AlphaGeek Web Design.