FINDING A GOOD WEB PROFESSIONAL

Transcription

1 TUTORIAL 5 FINDING A GOOD WEB PROFESSIONAL This tutrial has been prduced by The Australian Turism Data Warehuse as part f the cmplete nline educatin prgram, Turism e-kit DISCLAIMER: All cntent n this website and publicatin [bth audi and visual] is prtected wrldwide by cpyright and all ther relevant laws. As each business situatin is different n respnsibility r representatin is accepted r given fr the use f cntent in this dcument and each user shuld take their wn prfessinal advice accrdingly. The Turism e-kit is an initiative f the Natinal Online Strategy Cmmittee and is funded by the Australian State & Territry Turism Offices

2 FINDING A GOOD WEB PROFESSIONAL Reading time: 25 minutes Prerequisite: n/a This tutrial will give yu tips t find a great web prfessinal. It will help yu details n hw t put a brief tgether and will review the different csts assciated with an nline strategy. 1) WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT JOB ROLES IN THE WEB INDUSTRY? The Internet has evlved dramatically ver the past decade and frced web prfessinals t specialise in key web disciplines. As a small r medium turism business wner, yu cannt slely rely n wrking with either a graphic designer r a web develper if yu want t give yur nline strategy all the chances t succeed. Yu need t partner with a cnductr, r prject manager wh is an nline marketing/search engine specialist. Wrk with a cmpany that specialises in web design, prgramming and search engine ptimisatin and ensure that the prject manager yu will be dealing with is familiar with all key areas. a) Hw will an nline marketer wrk with me? The nline marketing cnsultant (r cmpany) will be yur first pint f cntact. They will: 1) Assess yur existing nline strategy and website as a whle 2) Recmmend and wrk with yu t utline yur future nline strategy 3) Wrk with yu and the web designer t achieve a design that a) meets the expectatins and needs f yur target market b) will be easily prgrammable by the web develper c) is aesthetically pleasing d) is search engine friendly e) is within yur budget. 4) Wrk with the web designer and the web develper t smthly integrate the design int HTML and CSS and ensure yur site is designed t integrate any future marketing needs. 5) Prvide yu with tips that will help yu write yur website s cpy. 6) Wrk with yu t implement the future nline strategy s that yu website is nt nly visible but als attracts bkings. Tutrial 5-2

3 ONLINE MARKETERS SPECIALISED IN TOURISM WILL IMPLEMENT KEY SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION FACTORS BUT ALSO LIVE AND BREATHE THE ONLINE TOURISM WORLD EVERY DAY. THEY WILL KNOW HOW THE ONLINE TRAVELLER THINKS AND UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES THAT YOU FACE AS A SMALL BUSINESS OPERATOR. THEY WILL HAVE TESTED BEST PRACTICES, BE PROFICIENT AT HELPING YOU GET LINKS FROM RELEVANT TRAVEL WEBSITES, BE ABLE TO SET UP SUCCESSFUL TRAVEL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS SUCH AS HELPING YOU INTEGRATE YOUR TRIPADVISOR COMMENTS ON YOUR WEBSITE FOR INSTANCE. THEY WILL KNOW WHAT YOU DON T KNOW YOU DON T KNOW. b) Why can t I just wrk with a designer r a prgrammer? If yu wrk with a web graphic designer nly, yur website s design is ging t hpefully lk spectacular. Hwever, there is a reasnable chance that n new cnsumer will cme acrss it while searching fr yur prduct! The graphic designer will prbably have a basic knwledge f cding (prgramming) in HTML but they might end up using a technique that is 5 years ld and nt knw hw t install a cntent management n yur site. If yu slely wrk with a web develper, the design might nt meet the requirements f yur target market. Even if yur website s cde is up t tday s requirements, yu will still need t wrk with a search engine/nline marketing specialist t ensure yur website s cpy is written in a search engine friendly manner. This is crucial fr when smene searches fr what yu ffer yur web address cmes up n the first pages f the search engine rankings. 2) HOW TO SELECT A KNOWLEDGEABLE WEB PROFESSIONAL OR COMPANY a) Hw d I find web prfessinals? It is always best t first cntact yur reginal turism rganisatin r assciatin and ask t talk t the persn in charge f the e-marketing department (als called digital) fr advice. They will be able t put yu in cntact with peple wh are nt nly turism web specialists but wh are aware f the latest develpments and practices. Yu can als get n the Internet and search fr turism websites, websites fr turism, turism search engine ptimisatin, web develper fr turism and ther similar keywrds. Dn t be put ff if the cmpany is nt lcal, as everything will be dne via r the web! If yu cme acrss websites that yu like, lk fr a link t the cmpany that designed and prgrammed it. It is usually lcated at the bttm f the hmepage. Then dn t be shy t pick up the phne and call the wner f the website fr feedback abut their design experience! But remember; design is nt everything! The belw paragraph is ging t assist yu srt the gd frm the bad. b) First step: hw t differentiate amateur frm prfessinal Befre even writing a brief, there are a few questins yu can ask t separate the web amateur frm the web prfessinal. Yu dn t even need t understand the meaning f the questin! Tutrial 5-3

4 What versin f HTML d yu use? Shuld be XHTML 1.0 r 1.1 D yu use tables r table-less CSS? Shuld be table-less CSS (using tables is an ld practice) D yu use Flash If they are very psitive abut Flash technlgy and dn t warn yu f its many search engine restrictins, stay away. Flash is nt search engine friendly. D yu use HTML Frames If YES r even the slightest hesitatin, stay away as Frames is nt a search engine friendly way f prgramming a website. Hw d yu make a website SEO friendly? (Use the acrnym n purpse instead f Search Engine Optimisatin as yu are testing t see if they knw its meaning) They shuld mentin keywrds, develping inbund links t yur website, ptimising the cntent, using a search engine friendly cntent management system and setting up a mnthly strategy. Mre imprtantly, they shuld push that search engine ptimisatin is an integral part f a successful website and that it shuld be given great cnsideratin at the very initial stage f the prject c) Secnd step: the brief A quality brief will prvide the web prfessinal with a greater understanding f nt nly yur requirements but als f the utcme yu are after. The brief shuld be dne in writing and answer the fllwing questins: What: D yu require a website frm scratch? Only a search engine strategy? A cntent management system? Integratin with YuTube? Pht gallery? Ask the cmpany yu are appraching fr testimnials r similar past prjects that they have dne. Hw: Hw are yu planning n wrking with the web prfessinal, hw is yur website ging t integrate with yur traditinal marketing strategy, hw d yu plan n updating yur website? Hw can they help yu? Hw is the cmpany yu are appraching planning n wrking with yu? Are there ging t Tutrial 5-4

5 be weekly briefings and updates? Where: Where is yur website ging t be hsted? If yu already have a dmain name, let them knw what it is. Where des the cmpany recmmend yur website be hsted and hw much is it ging t cst yu? Wh: Wh is yur target market and wh is ging t be the pint f cntact at yur end? Ask the cmpany yu are appraching fr cntacts r references that yu can call. Ask wh yu will be yur direct pint f cntact at the cmpany; will it be an accunt manager r an nline marketer? When: When is yur deadline? When will the cmpany yu are appraching be able t start n yur prject? Hw much: Specifying a ballpark figure f hw much yu are prepared t spend n yur prject will enable yur web strategists t prvide yu with a well-suited and realistic plan. If yu d nt feel cnfident t write a brief, simply ask yur web specialist t send yu a blank brief t fill ut. d) Third step: sending the brief ut Aim t send at least 3 briefs via and expect a 2-week minimum turnarund. e) Final step: deciding Review the prpsals yu wuld have received. Cnsider them as if they were jb applicatins. A persnalised, creative, prpsal addressing the pints discussed in yur brief demnstrates the interest and expertise f the cmpany. If yu receive a templated, dull prpsal utlining what the cmpany des and nt respnding t yur questins yu shuld surce ther prpsals. Why dn t yu als Ggle the name f the peple wh will be invlved n yur prject? If they are well knwn in their industry they shuld cme up in search engine results which in turn demnstrates they practice what they preach. 3) HOW MUCH SHOULD I EXPECT TO PAY? Wrking with an nline marketing strategist is nt any dearer than wrking with a web designer and a web develper separately. It will nt nly save yu time as yu will nt be the rganiser between them bth but it will als ensure yur site and strategy meet the requirement f tday s traveller. Tutrial 5-5

6 The chart belw breaks dwn the different aspects f an nline strategy which includes: website design and cntent management system, search engine ptimisatin and nline marketing. Yu will find an indicatin f price belw: Lwer bracket: AUD3,000 initial (simple website) + AUD300 per mnth This crrespnds t an investment f AUD132 per week ver 12 mnths. Higher bracket: AUD6,000 initial + AUD500 per mnth This crrespnds t an investiment f AUD240 per week ver 12 mnths. Carefully review each ffer yu receive based n the brief yu sent befre making any decisin. $3,000 - $20,000+ $200 2,000 a mnth plus yur wn time as investment T keep the cst dwn yu can cnduct many f the abve activities yurself. 4) WHY SHOULDN T I DO MY WEBSITE MYSELF? Designing a website yurself might seem like a gd idea at the time, and perceived as ne that will cut dwn the expenses. Yu will certainly knw sme peratrs wh have tackled it themselves. Ask them hw lng it tk them. Was it a gd return n investment r shuld have they fcused n the cntent and let a prfessinal lk after the develpment? Can they accurately measure the business they are getting frm their hmemade site? Prfessinals knw the tricks f the trade. A web strategy is an integral part f a successful business and nt smething that stands alne n the side. THE CREATION OF A SUCCESSFUL WEBSITE AND STRATEGY DEMANDS GREAT KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE. LEAVE THE SURGERY TO THE SURGEONS BUT WORK WITH THEM TO GIVE THEM AN ACCURATE Tutrial 5-6

7 DIAGNOSIS. LASTLY, FOCUS YOUR EFFORTS ON WRITING COMPELLING CONTENT, AS NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO DO IT AS WELL AS YOU DO! a) I am still cnvinced I can d it Is it as simple as it lks? Micrsft Wrd allws me t save a page as a webpage even! Creating a website fr it t bring the results it is suppsed t bring is cmplex and demanding. MS Wrd and ther prgrams such as FrntPage let yu build basic websites but are nt web prgramming tls. Design: are yu a prfessinal graphic designer specialising in web? Usability: are yu aware f all its implicatins? Marketing: are yu able t build yur website t meet future marketing needs? Technlgies: d yu knw abut all the technlgical requirements (HTML, CSS, and PHP)? Search engine ptimisatin: are yu familiar with the best practices? Cntent management system: will yu be able t add it t yur site? 5) MY FRIEND/NEIGHBOUR/FRIEND S FRIEND IS GOOD WITH COMPUTERS; SHALL I TRUST THEM TO DO MY WEBSITE? Being gd with cmputers desn t necessarily mean that the persn has gt the skill set required t design a website and web strategy that will result in successfully marketing yur business. As a rule f thumb, any gd nline marketer, graphic designer r web develper has at least 5 years industry experience.. Is this smething yur friend can prvide yu with? It is yur business yu are talking abut, nt a persnal website. Yur website shuld sn bring yu at least ne third f yur bkings. A well-planned and executed site will pay fr itself in the first year. Mrever, a web prfessinal will be mre bjective than a friend wh might nt want t pint ut flaws r challenge yur pinin. 6) RELATED MATERIAL a) Related tutrials Organising hsting fr my site Registering a dmain name 101 Dmain name: advanced Tutrial 5-7