Lowcountry Web Solutions

How often have you had to change something on your website (a date or price, perhaps) only to wait days or weeks for your developer to get around to it? There is a way to bypass the waiting game–and it doesn’t involve you learning how websites (and html) work. You need a content management system (CMS) so you can quickly and easily change the information on your website to reflect the status of your ever-evolving small business.

There are three steps to having a website that you can edit yourself:

1. Find a web developer with previous experience in using a content management system.
2. Make sure you know how to make changes to your site.
3. Change and add content on your schedule.

Find a Developer With CMS Experience

You need to find a web developer with at least some experience developing for some type of content management system. If you pick someone without that experience you’ll just be paying them to learn a skill they’ll take to their next client.

There are many different systems for content management but the basic ideas behind them are close enough that you don’t have to pick the exact CMS before you pick a developer. As long as the developer has worked with one CMS he or she should know what they’re doing. As different CMSs have different primary functions and available plugins, knowing what you want your website to do will help your developer decide on which CMS to use.

You should also specify in your agreement that you want an open-source content management system to be used for your website, as proprietary CMS software isn’t always reliable and can be hard to manage by a new developer, should you part ways with the current one.

Add Training to the Agreement

During negotiations you need to make the developer aware of your need for training to make changes to your website. A content management system does you no good if you don’t know how to manage your content. For this part of the process it’s helpful to have a local developer, but not necessary if you are willing to learn the abstract methods via online tutorials. When your developer comes to train you, you should already be familiar with the front end, which is what regular visitors to your website see. Pay attention to the content and purpose of the different pages and make notes about those you are most likely to edit. During the tutorial make sure you ask about those specific pages and take notes. You don’t want your developer to bill you every month because you can’t remember how to change the specials.

If possible, add the training to the agreement with your developer so you are not suprised that he charges a $500 fee for onsite visits. It’s not easy to find someone cheaper to try to teach you a system they know nothing about.

Change and Add Content on Your Schedule

Finally, if you go to the trouble of having a website that you can update, don’t let your Christmas announcement stay on the website until July! Log in and make those changes you always wanted to. Add directions to your new location or change the name of your supplier if you switch. Check your website thoroughly every week to make sure all the information is current and complete. Make sure your employees communicate to you comments your customers make about the website. If you run weekly specials or put something on clearance, now you have the opportunity to publish it for free. Put it on your website so your current and, more importantly, potential customers can know about it.

If you want to have a dynamic website without waiting on someone else, you need to:

1. Find a developer with CMS experience
2. Get trained in the process of making changes
3. Add and remove content when needed.

No matter what type of business you run,  your relationship with your customers is dynamic and you need to be able to communicate with them. Whether you are thinking about getting a website or have one that you can’t change, you should talk to a developer with CMS experience.

If your website isn’t getting the traffic you want you have two choices.

1. Ignore it and let your mediocre site stay that way.
2. Buy Naomi’s SEO School ebook and fix up your site.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting the book.

Have you listened to the local commercials on the radio lately? Has anyone else noticed that some of the small businesses are listing their web addresses in addition to their phone number and/or location? Why do they even bother? Since they’re local, people will just stop by or call, right?

Not necessarily.

For one thing, the right domain name will be more easily remembered than a phone number.

The chain stores all have websites, so why shouldn’t the little guys? The Internet is the great equalizer. You have to let your potential customers that you’re keeping up with the national competition.

Free up your time to do work for actual clients. If you only provide your phone number to the public you’ve got people calling for a lot of basic information instead of visiting a website that has your hours of operation, location, products and more.

If your small business is in need of a website contact Caanan today. I’ll be happy to help you make a plan to establish your online presence.