No, its not a SEO keyword trick (though I am sure it won’t do any harm).
Crush keeps winning website projects! Currently we have four / five on the go, all to be delivered in March. Busy, busy, busy (this post is getting repetitive).
I say four or five as we are waiting on quiet an exciting project to be ready for the Channel 5 Gadget Show!
I’ll keep you posted.
Crush Design are delighted to be working with the Mortgage Advice Bureau on their new website design, brand develpoment and internet strategy.
Here is my rough and ready guide to planning and budgeting for a standard size website;
£0 to £500 Build it yourself or get a mate to help you. Choose an online template build service, there are loads about, though I have used and can recommend moonfruit. I would also recommend using a blog service for some.
£500-£2,000 There are companies and freelancers that specialise in quick and inexpensive build. Find a good one and you will get value for money. Just be conscious of the difference between flat html sites and content management sites. Its cheaper to build a flat html site but that will mean going back to your web designer for every little change. Content Managment System give varying amounts of control back to you for text changes / updates.
£2,000-£5,000 The amount most established SME businesses should be investing in their website. For this amount you will be getting both design & technical support. The designer will help you with the look feel and navigation of your site. A technician will advise you on the best CMS system to use and configure the software to suit your needs. Working together they should consider and advise you on your web strategy, planning SEO, PPC, data capture, email response and so on. However this is only advice.
£5,000-£20,000 When you spend more money on a website you are buying expertise and their time. For this level of spend you will get a full three stage design process, online brand development, bespoke CMS planning, search optimisation, data capture, integarted web strategy (including blogs, forums, social networking advice and email marketing).
£20,000+ At this level of spend and higher your website agency would be delivering a complex site, a tailored CMS solution and / or sophisticated design work, e-commerce facilities, planning of you internet strategy and ongoing support and SEO.
Written by Jonathan Worsley of Crush Design
I am always checking out websites, partly because it’s my job, but also because it is the quickest and easiest way of judging a potential supplier.
Whilst researching in this way I like to think that I am reading the content and making rational opinions of a would-be supplier, but researchers into buyer psychology have clear evidence that facts are not the first things on my mind.
The evidence was gathered by scientists at the University of California by observing brain activity through EEG caps and brain scanners as volunteers surf the internet. They found that when the volunteers first laid eyes on a new site their rational brain remained largely dormant and it was the emotional part of the brain that was doing the work.
Furthermore, neuroscientists believe that this ‘emotional response’ is more dominant in the decision making process than rational facts by up to 80/20.
So does this mean that sites should be highly creative? Absolutely not. The brain is quickly suspicious of gimmicks and promises that do not match expectations.
What this does mean is; websites that “do not feel right” need changing. And it is not my or your opinion that matters, but your customers…..And the only way to find that out is by asking them!