I recently met with a prospect and we were reviewing their website in the meeting and he said something to me that stuck in my mind. He said that when they got their website developed they told the website developer exactly how they wanted the site to be laid out and that is how they setup the website. I thought to myself that does not make a lot of sense, sure the customer knows what content they want in the website but what does the client know about how to organize the content and provide navigation on the website.
If you build your website this way you are not utilizing the expertise of the web development company and using their experience of what works on the web and what does not. Now there are still quite a few web development companies that do not have the expertise to properly consult with a client and offer advice on best practices with regards to navigation, conversion and graphic design.
I have said this in an other post and I will say it again, website development is a collaborative process. You need the input of the client as they understand their business the best. Then it is up to a professional web development firm to advise how to market their message. This is where the one man show web developer has trouble producing optimal websites. When I think of our process, we include several staff with different expertise in order to setup your site to look good, be easy to navigate and most importantly drive leads or online sales. Included in our process are:
- Search Engine optimization experts
- Graphic designers
- Conversion consultants
- Business consultants
- Programmers
- Quality control
- Training
Collaboration from all of the above and the client makes for the best website. A website that is the foundation for your yearly online marketing strategy.
