Benefits of a Website include...

Immediate access to a large number of customers.

Certainly we know that tens of millions of people access the Internet daily - and that is just in the US and Canada. You are not limited to North America however as your site has the potential to be viewed worldwide.

Users of the Internet tend to be educated and relatively affluent. And they prefer the convenience of browsing for information and services on-line versus resorting to a phone book or other hard-copy sources.

More for your advertising dollar.

Print advertising can be expensive and there are constraints regarding the amount of content that you can reasonably include. With a website you can include an unlimited amount of information. And websites are flexible - you can start small and add or change content as the need arises or time allows.

Reduce the cost of serving your customers.

For example, by storing commonly used forms and documents on-line your customers &/or employees would be able to download as needed at any time. And it is easy to keep your documents current.

You can also reduce the overhead of phone calls or in-person contact by providing the answers to commonly asked questions and concerns on your website. And all of this is available to your customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Reduce the cost of your printed material.

You will probably still want to make use of print advertising, but you can keep it short and refer your customers to your website for more information and details. There would no longer be a need to send out a full catalog of products or services - instead announce specials or new highlights and refer customers to your website for your full offerings. You can send a postcard and save on postage too.

Keep your customers informed in a timely manner.

It is easy and fast to make changes to a website. So you can make sure that your customers have access to the most current information in a timely manner. This might apply to schedules, pricing, events, sales and any number of things.

More...

There are many more ways that a website can benefit your company, this is just a subset to help illustrate some of the more common benefits of having a web presence.

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Considerations of a Do-It-Yourself vs Custom Website

Time & Energy: For starters do not underestimate the effort and learning curve involved with the websites that you build yourself using "easy tools". If you happen to be quite technically savvy and feel competent with presentation software packages such as PowerPoint, it may be easy and worthwhile for you. But most of these packages sell themselves as "point - click - done" while in reality they are challenging, time consuming and can be frustrating for most people to create.

Professionalism: Next consider the value of the experience that we bring to the table. Certainly you have seen websites that are too busy, unorganized, too verbose, not visually appealing or any other number of detractors that turn you away from the site. It can be a challenge to organize and present yourself and your business in a professional and easy to navigate manner. We have the experience to ensure a professional look to your website.

Cost Considerations: Do you really save money with the Do-It-Yourself approach? The small monthly fee may sound attractive. But will the company be around in a few years? (if not, what happens to your website?) Will their rates remain stable? And how long do you expect to have your website? Mosaik Web aims to be an affordable alternative. Most of the websites you see on our sample pages were in the range of only a few hundred dollars. Which may be more than a Do-It-Yourself alternative, but not as prohibitive and you might image.

Lastly do you really want to look like everyone else? The templates provided by the DIY sites ensure a cookie-cutter look to your website, while Mosaik Web offers a custom designed website created just for you.

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A Basic Web Page

There is actually no hard and fast definition of a "basic web page". What one viewer sees on their computer will look different on another computer based on the size of the fonts they use for viewing and their monitor size among other things.

Mosaik Web pricing is based on "basic web pages" which for our purposes means that the content is simple text, photos and links, and up to about 2 full screens worth of data (which can be somewhat subjective as noted above). A shopping cart or an embedded photo gallery would be examples of advanced features.

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WordPress is a popular application for creating blogs. However it has also gained popularity as a Content Management System (CMS). A CMS gives you easy access to add, delete and modify your website content with an easy to use editor. You login to your CMS Administrator page via the Internet to proceed with website updates.

With a regular website (non-CMS) to make changes requires that you download files from your server, make HTML edits, then upload the changed files back to your server. This requires knowldege of FTP (file transfer protocol) and HTML (hypertext markup language). Which is why many people are turning to WordPress as a CMS for their website platform.

To manage your website using WordPress its as easy as Login, Select and then Edit as shown below.

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Search Engine Optimization

Creating a website is no guarantee that anyone will ever see it or that search engines (such as Google or Yahoo) will be able find it. So when designing your website we will make use of techniques that help the search engines be able to find your site when someone is searching using terms related to your business and your website.

We further assist you by submitting your site to the major search engines as well as providing appropriate files (such as a sitemap) to facilitate the process.

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Website URL and Hosting

Your website's domain name, or URL, is the "address" for your website - for instance in our case it is: www.mosaikweb.com. While website hosting is where the content (a collection of files) that make up your website physically reside.

We prefer clients to purchase their URL and website hosting because it gives them 100% ownership of their website once its developed and implemented. Mosaik Web will create your custom website and then upload the files to your web host.

Certainly we will be happy to handle purchasing the URL and hosting as part of your website development package. But realize that if down the road you want to work with another web developer or even do it yourself, there will be overhead involved to transfer ownership to new entity.

We use and are quite pleased with Website Hosting by Lunarpages The "Basic Hosting" includes a Domain name and will meet all of your needs.

You can shop for less expensive hosting packages, but personally we have found some of the issues to be: slow website response time; a 800 number 24x7 customer support line; ease of use when installing applications and implementing or maintaining the website.

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Considerations for your Website...

1. Purpose

The first step is to consider what is the purpose of your website?
Typical examples include one or more of the following:
- Attract new customers by advertising your services and qualifications
- List updated event & class schedules
- Showcase special skills, awards and so on
- Announce specials and offer discounts or coupons
- Provide contact information and maps
- Receive customer input/feedback via forms or email
- Provide detailed product information or documentation to existing clients

2. Audience

It is important to design your site with your intended audience in mind. Is your site intended to introduce your business to new clients? Or are you hoping to enhance your relationship with existing customers? Certainly both are possible. Additionally you may be an employer or organization that wants to keep guidelines and training material online. Your website's content will be driven by your purpose and audience.

3. Image

Your website presents a visual image of your business and sets a tone. For instance a yoga studio might want to project a zen-like mood by making use of calm and soothing colors & images. While a mountain bike shop would most likely prefer a site that feels bright and energetic while showing off their bikes in action.

4. Publicize

Putting a website online does not automatically result in people viewing it. Your website will need to be announced and promoted.

Mosaik Web will initiate on-line publicizing by submitting your site to the major search engines: Google, Ask, Yahoo, and DexKnows. This will help the search engines know your sites is out there so it can be found when a web user is searching for specific information.

From your end, you will want to include your website's address (URL) on all of your regular business correspondence - brochures, business cards, invoices, receipts, advertisements, letters and faxes. Anywhere that you would publish your phone or address would benefit from including your new web address.

Additionally including your web site in online directories or organizations that are specific to your business can be useful. For instance you can see that our sample site (Whisker Watch, a pet sitting business) is also listed in the directory for Oregon Petsitters and Portland Petsitters.

5. Maintain

Over time you may feel the need to make changes to your site. For instance if you frequently get asked the same questions by new customers, that might lead you to want to update your site to add that information either prominently or perhaps by utilizing a "Frequently Asked Question" (FAQ) page.

Also information may change or become obsolete, and ideally you would make updates to your site to keep it current. Mosaik Web offers you the ability to maintain your own site, which is only recommended if you know you that will have frequent changes (schedule changes, product changes, etc) or if you are very comfortable with the Internet and computers in general. Otherwise for the occasional update, you can request a "tune up" to make changes or possibly even expand your site.

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Content for your Website

Basic Information that all sites should include start with who you are and how to find you:

Business Name, Description, Address, Phone Number and Email address.

Typical additional information might include (but is not limited to) any of the following:

- "About us" to reflect your business philosophy
- Professional associations (BBB, AAA rating, and so on)
- A menu of your services, products or specialties
- Pricing information
- Hours of operation
- Schedule of classes or events offered
- Monthly newsletters
- Professional bios of business partners or associates
- Testimonials & endorsements from clients
- A portfolio of past work/projects
- A list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and answers
- Discounts or specials you are offering
- Anything you wish to share with the public

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About Monthly Analytical Reports

Your monthly report will be a report generated by Google Analytics. Website analytics are a way to see how many visitors come to your site; whether the visitor was referred from another site or used a search engine; any search terms used to find your site; which pages were viewed and so on. It is a useful way to see if your site is effectively reaching your customers.

Your website will include code which collects data for the traffic to your site, and on a monthly basis Mosaik Web will email reports to you that summarize the collected data.

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