How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Web Site Design Business
How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Web Site Design Business
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ISBN-13: 978-1-60138-143-9
ISBN-10: 1-60138-143-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brown, Bruce C. (Bruce Cameron), 1965-
How to open & operate a financially successful web site design business : with companion CD-Rom / by Bruce C. Brown and Charlotte Evans.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60138-143-9 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-60138-143-3 (alk. paper)
1. Web site development industry. 2. New business enterprises. 3. Web sites--Design--Marketing. 4. Design services--Marketing. I. Evans, Charlotte, 1981- II. Title. III. Title: How to open and operate a financially successful web site design business.
HD9696.82.B76 2009
006.7068--dc22
2009012666
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Table of Contents
Foreword
Introduction
CHAPTER 1–Web Design 101
CHAPTER 2–Business Basics: A Plan to Get You Started
CHAPTER 3–The Brain’s Right Side: Creativity in Web Design
CHAPTER 4–Web Design for Business: the Virtual Storefront
CHAPTER 5–Planning Your Business Web Site & Location
CHAPTER 6–Pricing and the Prepackaged Deal
CHAPTER 7–The Art of the Sale from Opener to Close
CHAPTER 8–Facing Your Competition and Stacking the Odds
CHAPTER 9–Media Kits and Campaigns That Work
CHAPTER 10–Bookkeeping and Budgeting to Keep You in the Black
CHAPTER 11–Hiring, Firing, and Managing Your Staff
CHAPTER 12–Add-On Services: SEO
CHAPTER 13–Add-On Services: Blogs
CHAPTER 14–Pay-Per-Click Marketing Services
CHAPTER 15–Business at Light-speed: Plans for the Future
CHAPTER 16–Additional Recommended Resources
CHAPTER 17–Case Studies
Bibliography
About the Authors
Foreword
If you are new to the Web design industry, let me be the first to say “welcome.” This is an exciting field – ever-evolving and expanding. It is a field open to all who have the diligence to learn the technology and are inclined to use it for fun and profit. Designing for clients is both fascinating and rewarding, and you have done the right thing by selecting a book that helps you get the most out of your new career. If you are not new to the industry, read on – this book is not just for beginners!
Many books have been written to help you learn the skills necessary to become a Web designer, but there are few that tackle the Web design industry from a business perspective. “How to Own & Operate a Financially Successful Web Site Design Business” does just that, balancing business theory with practical advice any budding entrepreneur can understand and follow.
Authors Bruce C. Brown and Charlotte Evans tackle some very important issues, such as business registration, self-marketing, pitching and proposals, staffing, bookkeeping, and more, always focused on the tasks and challenges unique to the Web design industry. Owning your own business is exciting; watching it grow is even more exciting! Practicing good business management from the start will make your new design career much more enjoyable and rewarding.
This book contains advice, opinions and knowledge from many Web professionals, giving you a number of perspectives to consider, along with an abundance of tools, tips, and strategies for success. No book can guarantee success to its readers, but arming yourself with the knowledge gained through the valuable lessons of others is a great way to stay ahead of the curve. This book mirrors the culture of the design industry in a sense. Certainly once you are established, you will find yourself competing with other designers and firms for business, but in my experience, industry professionals are very collaborative by nature. We enjoy teaching each other, learning from each other, and helping each other achieve success, much like how this book is written.
If you have already made a start for yourself in this industry, then you probably recognize the importance of learning from the experiences of others. This book is not just for fledgling designers. Seasoned Web professionals will find plenty of valuable information contained within these chapters, such as information about marketing services, add-on services related to Web design, and workforce management. You might even find that you can improve your existing business by revisiting some of your own fundamental business practices – getting back to basics.
From the beginning of my own design career, and through the formation and growth of my design firm partnership, I have experienced all the joys and pain that come with being a professional in the Web design industry. I would have benefited greatly back when I started by having the knowledge made available to you now. This industry has come a long way in the past 15-20 years, and yet it is still young and growing every day. I wish you the best of success as you secure your place amongst the ranks of your fellow Web design industry professionals.
Warmest Regards,
Paul Hirsch, Principal
Studio1337
(330) 554-8548
www.studio1337.com
_________________________________________________________
Paul Hirsch
Studio1337, 2001-2009 (previously trading as PLH Media and Equentity LLC)
Paul Hirsch is co-owner of Studio1337, a Web design and development company located in Akron/Canton, Ohio, West Hartford, Connecticut, and Durham, U.K. He is a super-moderator on WebHostingTalk.com, the largest Web hosting community on the Internet, and he is a founder and Core Team Member of the International Web Developers Network (IWDN). Paul is a regular columnist for the Web Host Industry Review, the foremost trade publication for the Web hosting industry and is the resident Web design and development expert blogger for TheWHIR.com.
Paul received his bachelor’s degree from Kent State University in Electronic Media Production, with minors in Computer Information Systems and Sociology. He earned a master’s degree in Media Management from Kent, with a concentration in online media.
Studio1337 specializes in Web design, Web development, Web hosting, graphic design, content creation, and Web marketing. Studio1337 works with many types of businesses, including corporations of all sizes, small companies, partnerships, non-profit organizations, and individuals.
Studio1337 is a joint venture between three internationally located Web developers and marketing specialists. The company is owned and operated by Paul Hirsch, Akron/Canton, Ohio; Daniel Luria, West Hartford, Connecticut; and Paul Riddick, Durham, U.K.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Establishing your own Web site design business opens the door to profits, creative outlets, and helps to establish and build long-lasting relationships with clients. It also gives you the knowledge and satisfaction of seeing your creative Web sites deployed on the Web powering full featured e-commerce Web site, e-mail marketing campaigns, blogs, and providing small and large businesses with their entry on the magnificent world of life on the Web. This book will get you from “thinking about starting a business” to “satisfying your very first client” with a fantastic Web site. To be fair, this book is about the business end of establishing your own Web site design business, it is not a Web site design book. We will cover some Web design basics, and touch on expanding your business by offering services beyond site design such as hosting, blogs, e-mail marketing, and pay-per-click marketing.
As you consider starting your own Web design business, you may wonder what the future might hold for you as you become a business owner and operator. Maybe you built your own Web site and discovered you had a natural aptitude for Web design. Perhaps you learned how to write HTML code or use a popular Web design program, and now, you are reading this book because it is time for you to turn this creative energy and talent into a nice, profitable business. It is a good idea, can be very profitable, is extraordinarily satisfying and best of all is easily achievable. This book will walk you through the essentials of business management, establishing your business plan, performing market research, and ensuring you have all the right tools to arm you for success. No business can succeed on a whim. Before you do anything to put your dreams for a business into the works, you must develop a plan. Learning to think like a business owner first and a Web designer second will swing the odds of success in your favor. Again, I need to emphasize, this book is not going to teach you how to design Web sites, but will arm you with the facts on how to establish a successful Web site design business, and will ensure you have an excellent background in the essential areas of Web hosting, design, deployment, and Web site business management.
For a talented, hardworking individuals, opportunities abound. Web designers are hired on a regular basis by private citizens and businesses of all sizes, from sole proprietor businesses to multi-million dollar corporations. Granted, most of the larger companies go to Web site design teams rather than individuals, but this is mainly because large projects require the focus and attention of more than one person if they are to be completed in a timely manner. The complexity and security restrictions on corporate intranets may limit outsourcing. Even if you decide to work alone on your Web design business, you will not run short of jobs. All you need to do is plan your business well, conduct an effective marketing campaign, and take a few creative steps to stay in touch with your existing clientele. I have operated my own Web site design business for more than 12 years as nothing more than a side business to generate income, keep my talents sharp, and challenge myself as a business owner. Nothing is more gratifying than getting paid for your hard work, especially when the results of your labors are instantly available for anyone to see on the Web. With this book, you will learn the secrets and arm yourself with the knowledge, skills, and tools for success. Best of luck with your Web site design business venture, and be sure to e-mail me at bruce@gizWebs.com with your success stories so I can publish them on my blog.
Best of Luck with your
Web Design Business!
Bruce C. Brown
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
Web Design 101
Most businesses and a growing number of individuals are looking into having a Web site on the Internet. After all, Web sites are much cheaper than regular store fronts and much easier to maintain. They reach a global audience and provide instant access to your products and services from anywhere in the world.
The job of a Web designer is to create Web sites for whoever wants them and can pay for the service. The work involved combines technical knowledge with creativity and a strong marketing sense. Web designers, like any other business owner, have to juggle many responsibilities that are not specifically related to the creative aspects of their business. Remember, being a Web designer does not mean you can’t also be a business owner, and this book will show you how to be just that.
We are going to begin with a look at an aspect of Web design that is often overlooked, not only by design professionals, but by the people who write about the business. We are going to begin by exploring the nature and history of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Both are significant because every artist has to understand the material they are using, whether it happens to be a canvas and paints or HTML and Java script. Similarly, every entrepreneur has to understand the business that they are headed into to ensure they are ready for the challenges and successes ahead of them. Likewise, not every Web site design business owner needs to be a Web site designer; therefore this chapter covers some basic elements about the Web, site design, and takes us down the path towards business establishment.
A Brief History of the Internet
The first thing to consider is the rarely understood difference between two everyday terms used by Web designers and Web users. The “Internet” is not a term synonymous with “World Wide Web.” The two are entirely different entities.
The Internet is a series of computer networks hooked up to each other by systems similar to those upon which we rely for our telephone networks these days: copper wires, fiber-optic cables, and wireless connections.
The World Wide Web, often referred to as WWW, is the collection of data that we all spend our time accessing when we go online. The Web is made up of documents and other resources, such as videos and sound bites. They are all linked up to one another and given specific “locations” via hyperlinks and URLs. The World Wide Web is one of several types of services that we access on the Internet. E-mail and file sharing are two other processes available via the Internet, which entered the spotlight in the 1990s. The earliest Web browser was named ViolaWWW and was based upon a system called HyperCard, an early Internet application program put forward by the company that would become Apple Inc. (then known as Apple Computer Inc.). HyperCard is recognized as one of the first successful hypermedia systems, a precursor to the World Wide Web, and was based upon a relatively simple programming language known as HyperTalk.
HyperCard was brought to the market in 1987 and finally removed in 2004. Its career was substantially shorter than this, however. In popularity, it was replaced as early as 1993, according to some critics. Mosaic 1.0 was brought forward by the University of Illinois’s National Center for Super Computing Applications, and by 1996, “Internet” was starting to become a household name. We can look back to its early days as a technical feature. The massive amount of focus on the general application of the system led to its early popularization. The Internet gradually emerged on the popular market during the 1990s as it linked up computer networks that had been established for some time. The Internet grew by an average of 100 percent per year during the decade.
The emergence of the Internet in the 1990s was the result of a range of developments in communication during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Most of these were established and tested in universities across the United States and in Canada. University Internet communities emerged in Cleveland (Cleveland FreeNet), Blacksburg (Blacksburg Electronic Village), and Nova Scotia. These opportunities for free communication were seized quickly, particularly by students, who recognized the potential for free expression.
As of September 30, 2007, approximately 1.244 billion users were registered to use the Internet, according to the Internet World Stats. At the time, the philosopher N.J. Slabbert called the Internet an emerging basic feature of global civilization.
The General Structure of the Internet
To understand Web design, it is important to understand the general structure of the Internet. Knowing how the Internet works allows Web designers to properly serve their clients. Background information about the emergence of the Internet helps in developing effective strategies for Web site function. In particular, designers need to look at the general structure of the Internet, including some of the most widely recognized features of the World Wide Web, like IP routing and hypertext links.
Internet Protocol, commonly referred to as IP, has three levels. At the lower level, it is known as OSI layer 3. This layer of IP is defined by datagrams or packets. These carry data from one position to another. OSI stands for Open Systems Interconnection. The name itself provides a fairly good general explanation of what the protocol is about. More common than the OSI layer 3 protocol, however, is version 4 of IP protocol, commonly referred to as IPv4. IPv4 and IPv6 are both fairly standardized to provide Internet connectivity.
World Wide Web, which we have established as a different entity from the Internet, is a large database of interlinked forms of information, documents, images, and just about any other form of data you can imagine. All this data is linked together by hyperlinks and URLs, which connect servers — the computers that store the originals of the data — to other computers.
When an Internet user types in a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) address, they call up a specific block of data using its assigned code. Let us take Amazon.com for example. Somewhere out there, the documents, images, and sound files that make up Amazon.com are stored. They are stored on a server computer. When you, the Internet user, type in the HTTP address, www.amazon.com, your computer communicates with the Amazon.com server computer. Data transfer begins: your computer requests information from the Amazon server, which then transmits copies of the original files over to your computer.
These days, the sheer volume of information on the World Wide Web is phenomenal. In 2001, more than 550 billion documents were available on the Web.
A survey of several hundred million Web pages in 2002 found that the vast majority were presented in English (about 56.4 percent). German was the second most common language (7.7 percent), French represented 5.6 percent, and Japanese was used on almost five percent of Web sites. About 75 different languages are used on the Web all together and the volume of Web pages and variance in languages grows exponentially each year.
Internet Users as Your Clients
There are some theories that English is used most frequently because of the relatively limited capacity of early computers. Those used on the Internet were developed primarily in the United States, but they were also relatively incapable of handling non-Latin alphabet characters, which ruled out the Cyrillic alphabet used in Russian, Arabic script, and Japanese and Chinese characters. Accented letters were not supported either, ruling out languages like Spanish, German, and French.
These days, the most requested languages, according to the 2007 Internet World Stats, are English (31 percent of Web users), Chinese (16 percent), Spanish (9 percent), Japanese (7 percent), German (5 percent), and French (5 percent). Approximately 37 percent of the world’s Internet users are based in Asia, 27 percent are based in Europe, 19 percent are based in North America, and 9 percent are based in Latin America and the Caribbean.
As a Web designer, you should always keep your audience in mind. With a good idea of how the Internet and the World Wide Web work, what their respective functions are, and how people go about using them, you can do just that. Remember, you must satisfy your client’s needs to grow your business.
Most people spend their time online e-mailing, reading up on news and gossip, and exchanging information. Likewise, a large portion of the population does shopping on the Web. There is literally no product which is not readily available on the Web from automobiles to phones to books (and everything in between). Communication is the primary function, and you do not have to look far to find venues where people are exchanging ideas and information. Yahoo!, for example, offers plenty of opportunities for sharing information. Yahoo! Answers allows people to register with the site and post or answer questions. The volume of information exchange is relentless and overwhelming.
When you begin working for a client, you have to start by developing a concept for the content of their site. You should brainstorm their needs and desires in the context of what you know about the Internet and the World Wide Web. When you head into a bookstore, the place tends to be organized in terms of book types. If you head to the fiction section, you expect to find novels and short story collections. When you go to the history section, presumably in the nonfiction section, you expect to find books that relate to history. The same goes for Web site content. When your client is in the business of selling used cars, they expect that the content of their Web site is going to relate to this general theme. Their clients expect it too.
The Web site designer is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the content on the site is relevant to the targeted visitors. The designer is also responsible for the site’s look and feel, determined by the features of the site; the mode of presentation; and the use of elements, such as color and font. Every detail from the organization of navigation menus to the colors used on the site is going to impact the experience of the visitor. As a designer, it is important to consider the personal tastes and general vision of the client. This is often the most difficult part of a Web design project – how do you translate the vision of the client into the reality of Web site design package in an efficient and cost-effective manner?
Understanding how the Internet and the World Wide Web function is integral to making good decisions about these different elements and their applications. Before you make any determinations about the design of Web site content, you are going to need to visit the sites of your client’s most notable competitors and get a reasonable handle on the type of business your client is involved in. You also have to consider that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and often, the most sensible approach you can take in business.
The more Web sites you visit, the more ideas you will have stored in your mind for possible use in future projects. Like any professional, you should be looking to stay up to date with the latest trends in Web design so that you can meet the changing demands of the market. You cannot predict the things that your clients will ask for, nor should you be limited in terms of the results you can deliver as technology and trends change. You’ll find you must have a thirst for knowledge to keep up with the blistering pace of Web development tools and innovative design methodology.
In the upcoming chapter, we will explore the best approach to completing a Web site design project, taking you through the various phases of the process, which include the planning phase, the design phase, and the editing phase. Like a writer, a Web designer should get to know their subject, their client (the individual Web site owner), and the general content of the Web site. If you are hired to develop an e-commerce Web site for a travel company, for example, your final design will be better if you take the time to visit other travel company Web sites to see what elements are included in their Web design. You should look for what travel sites with a similar purpose have in common; in addition to what elements they do not have in common. Again, this type of research will help make your design more relevant and will ensure that your general approach to Web design is professional.
Let us assume at this point that anyone can go ahead and design a Web site, even someone who knows virtually nothing about Web design. All anyone need do, in theory, is purchase a basic Web site template from a company like Go Daddy or one of the many other companies out there who offer “canned” Web site design packages which literally let you set up a pretty nice looking site in a manner of minutes. Using a template-type program, anyone can design a Web site. The reason that people pay for the services of a Web site designer, however, is that the superior quality of a Web site produced by a professional designer, is guaranteed to be high. It should be well researched and the purpose aligned to the design in a sophisticated way. As a Web designer, you can offer much more than superior quality Web site design. You should offer Web hosting, email marketing, pay-per-click marketing, search engine optimization, and many other “services” designed to expand your product line, provide better service and results to your client, and expand your revenue stream. We will discuss each of these throughout this book. Let me be clear, success as a Web site design business owner means you need to know (or have staff that knows) how to design professional, custom Web sites using tools such as Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Flash, Adobe CS4, Microsoft Expression Web, and have a strong background in graphics art design applications such as Adobe Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro X2. This book can’t teach you those technical skills, but will teach you the business skills and potential market segments which will garner success and profitability as Web site design business.
As a Web site design business professional, you must clearly articulate to your clients the benefits of a Web site and Web-based business versus (or in tandem with) a traditional brick-and-mortar business. You must demonstrate how, with your services, you enable businesses to tap into the power and potential of the Web to reach existing and potential customers. This will allow you to increase communications, expand your customer base, harness the power of a Web-based storefront, and reduce costs in comparison to traditional brick-and-mortar business models. A Web site does not need to replace a traditional business. Often, it is the perfect compliment. All Web sites do not need to sell products. A great example is a restaurant Web site, which features menus, history, photos, and other intriguing information designed to entice and attract business or simply sell products such as books or clothing. A Web site should inform, entertain, and enlighten. It should be easy to navigate, show up high in the search engines based on keyword searches, and be used to advertise current specials. It should let customers know what products or services you offer, let your customers know how to find you by providing contact information and directions to your business, provide your customers with additional information about your business, your products and services, and how to use your products, and most importantly reach a potentially unlimited customer base at little cost.
What ultimately separates a professional Web site designer from an amateur is the ability to use their creative design talents as business tools. While this may sound easy, it actually involves a significant amount of work, skill, and practice. What works for one company may not be the solution for another. Shopping carts, secure Web sites, credit card processing, real-time inventory, dynamically generated Web content, and much more make hiring a Web site design professional critical to most business ventures beyond a simple static Web site.
In each chapter of this book, we have included “chapter resources”. Chapter Resources are provided as a summary reference or checklist of the key points contained in each chapter.
Chapter Resources
Key Questions
1. What are the principle reasons why people have Web sites?
2. What is the job of a Web designer?
3. What skills are involved in Web site design and development?
4. Briefly describe the nature and history of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Why are they significant to the business of Web site design?
5. What is the difference between “the Internet” and “the World Wide Web?”
Key Points
Table of Contents