Last time we talked about ‘the design’ and how it relates to the overall cost of a web site. Today I’d like to speak about static sites. A static site is a flat site, pre-designed and then uploaded to a host server. This is an ideal option for a small site that won’t need content changes very often, or for clients that don’t have time or staff to manage ongoing changes to their web site.

A small static web site is usually a lower cost than a dynamically driven site, but the client will incur costs each time the site content requires a change unless they have html and ftp experience and the necessary software available. The cost is still relevant to ‘the design’ as discussed in our previous article.

Next time we’ll consider costs and benefits relating to a dynamic content management driven web site.

We meet clients all the time that want to know what it will cost for a web site. There is never one easy answer to this question. It relates to a number of aspects that make up a web site. Today, I’d like to speak about the ‘design aspect’. Every web site needs a design. Its a visual aspect that is very important. Will it relate to your overall ‘brand’? It definitely should, but for many it doesn’t. If you have an opportunity to create a brand this is a great starting point. Choose a design that will create recognition for your business and product. If you already have a graphic designer, ask the graphic designer to work with the web designer to create a complete concept. If you don’t have a graphic designer, you may want to get one prior to planning the web site or you should discuss branding with the web designer so that the proper graphics are available at a later date when you’re ready to extend the brand.

This does not answer the question “What will a web site cost?” but it will be the first step towards considering your requirements when getting an estimate for a web site. We’ll review more considerations over the next week to help you plan a budget for your site.

We all know that professional photography can make a significant difference in marketing materials – both web and print – but sometimes we need just one perfect image, or we want a photo to portray an idea although it may not be something we can easily photograph within our business. An example is one of our clients who chose to enhance his web site appearance with photos of a killer whale, as well as photos of various areas of the world he does business in.

Our client’s business is Orca Strategy and his site is http://www.orcastrategy.com . Using a stock photo service like Istock Photo (http://www.istockphoto.com), we were able to get a few photos to enhance the visual appearance of the web site without having a hired photographer available to shoot these specific photos at various locations around the world.

We would always recommend hiring a photographer for your business specific photos whenever possible, but sometimes that option is not available to you, and when its not, consider a stock photography option.

Nowadays there are a lot of options for web browsing. The most common browsers are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera. As of October 2009, Firefox was the most used browser, with Internet Explorer a close second although equally split between IE8, IE7 and IE6 at 10-15% each. The problem is that over 10% of users still use IE6, a browser that is no longer supported by the most popular sites, including Gmail, Twitter, MySpace, Orkut and Facebook.

Since its launch in September 2008, Google Chrome has increased its popularity to 8%. Not bad, considering Safari and Opera are still at 3-4% and have been around for years.

If you are still running Internet Explorer 6 its time to upgrade. Security vulnerabilities alone are a good reason. If you haven’t tried them yet, consider checking out Firefox or Chrome.

Local customers already search Google for the products and services you offer. Create a FREE business listing to be sure they find you.

Google Local Business Center >> www.google.com/local

Imagine for a moment you’re comparing two new suppliers. Both are similar in products and prices, however one has poor images where the product is hard to see – the other supplier has clear images that display the product well. As a business owner considering a purchase, which company would you choose?

Every sized business, whether product or service based, can benefit from having photographs taken of their products, services, location, and employees. These can be used in a multitude of ways, including promotional materials – from websites to brochures – as well as having images ready to give to clients and investors when necessary. Having a professional photographer to take care of your photography needs will save time, money, and give you a great product to benefit your business.

There is a company named Domain Registry of Canada that regularly sends notices out to businesses about 4 months prior to the expiry of their domain. This notice usually comes by post and its nothing but a scam. Reviewed thoroughly, the recipient would see that at no time do they suggest they look after the domain, but on quick review it appears to be a renewal notice that has to be looked after. Recipients fill out the form, send in their payment and that begins the process of Domain Registry of Canada attempting to transfer the business domain to their registry.

If you receive one of these notices confirm with your web developer or web host that this is indeed, a blatant attempt to have you move to Domain Registry of Canada, and totally unrelated to any business transaction you have done in the past. If you get fooled and remit your payment, I recommend you contact them immediately for a refund. To learn more about this scam just go to Google and enter “domain registry of canada scam” as your search term. To see a sample of one of these fraudulent letters look here .

This is just one of a number of scams that I plan to report on in the future.

A sandwich board is a type of advertisement composed of two boards (holding a message or graphic) in a triangle shape, hinged along the top and being set up next to the store or on the sidewalk of the building the company resides in.

Sandwich boards are free standing signage that can be placed anywhere and are also a great source of advertising that can be seen by hundreds of people every single day. If you think about it how many signs you have seen in a single day and how many you have committed to memory, times that by one hundred and you can see the impact that sandwich boards can have on your company and just how easy it is to promote and advertise your business.

See a sample… check #5 on this portfolio page.