Content is defined broadly as all information contained within your website and/or application. It can come in the form of text, images, audio/video and animation. This is where your company is provided with amazing opportunities in showcasing what you can do. However, it can be one of the most challenging and complicated tasks a company has to deal with and organize. This refers to a robust system designed to facilitate clients managing and updating their website content to varying degrees.We in web land call that a Content Management System (CMS). Managing content online is vastly different than in  other traditional forms of marketing. Plus, today’s consumers are used to highly functional websites containing tons of fresh and up-to-date content. They thrive on it!

If content management is something your company is considering, here are some questions to keep in mind.

1. What will your formal and informal policies for content inclusion be?

2. How will content be entered and stored in the system?

3. What technology needs do you have?

4. Who is your actual audience? Internet is a pretty big place!

5. Who will maintain your content? Will you need to hire new staff?

6. How is your content management process going to evolve over the next year, 5 years or 10 years? Better know where you’re headed!

One of our Content Management Solutions involves blogging. Blogs allow for immediate interaction between you and your clients and can be a great way to run a proactive website as well as having the ability to update the content on your website as often as you like.

Building a website can be very overwhelming and has many facets of development. Smart Image Media offers comprehensive consulting services for taking a website from conception, to launch and to final SEO and marketing. In order to launch an effective campaign, you must have a clear definition of goals, extensive planning and expert execution. Even if you currently have a website, you must know what your goals and future direction are. We are here to help

In order to identify your goals and make sure they are met, we organize our consulting and actual development planning into 5 phases. Through these 5 phases, we are able to get the right questions answered and develop a concept of the project as a whole.

Research, Strategy,Design, Implementation, Administration

While Smart Image Media would always like the opportunity to develop projects we consult on, we understand that this is not always the case. We can prepare documentation to help guide you through this process of realizing your website’s goals and making it successful. Companies are ever-evolving and we are here to make your online future a bright one.

Here is a story from my own experience:

A major firm decided they wanted to overhaul their website adding a significant amount of complex functionality e and wanted the project to be completed in a 4 month period.  The goals and objectives of the site were very vague and no planning was done to validate the time line.  In other words the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing, all they knew was they wanted the site up and running in 4 months! Our web team jumped in feet first in order to reach our deadline, without an approved plan of action and clearly defined goals. We were playing a constant cat and mouse game to get the information we needed in order to execute the project successfully. At the end of the day the project could not be completed in the expected 4 month time period, deadlines kept getting pushed back and the client was unhappy to say the least.

That being said I offer the following advice……………..

The most successful websites have one thing in common, a disciplined approach to project planning and execution.  Most business owners feel they don’t have the time to plan so they jump in feet first without defined goals and expect the website to be up and running in an unreasonable amount of time. The end result is they are not happy with the outcome because the proper planning was not done up front.  There is a better way!

Get the goals and strategy first, what is the purpose of the website? The best execution on the planet cannot save a failed strategy.

Execute the project in phases, everything does not have to be done at once. With goals in mind you can prioritize and identify the features that are most important to the project and schedule them out accordingly.

Don’t over simplify when it comes to site functionality and outcomes. Down the road all that really does is push problems to the end of the project where they will multiply and end up blowing up your project budget and most likely stress out the individuals involved in the project.

Insist on a project plan, set deadlines and create a plan to back it up before beginning any work, if there is no plan there is no reliable launch date and expectations will not be managed effectively.

At the end of the day you want to win consistently and the way to do that is be the BEST rather than the FIRST!

Smart Image Media insists that our clients do proper planning before commencing a web project . We are happy to assist them in doing so – it’s part of our company’s process of delivering excellence.

Why should you be using video on your website? A well produced video can allow your visitors to connect with you much more effectively they feel that they get to know the essence of the real you.  Video can allow you to be more persuasive and users have come to expect to see it.

The key to creating an effective video is the preparation; many people don’t put enough thought into it before filming begins. Who am I trying to attract? Am I trying to sell a product or service? Am I sharing my expertise? Preparation may take time but careful planning can really help in sending the right message to your target audience and will be an asset to your business it will allow you to connect to your audience more effectively.

Here are some steps to follow so you can ensure that you create an effective Web Video:

• What is the objective of the video?
• Who is your target audience?
• How do you want to present your topic?
• Plan the structure of the video, the opening, the message, the closing.
• Keep it short!
• Who will manage the project; assign the right tasks to the right people for the best end result!
• Set a deadline for completion.
• Make sure you have all of the proper elements and information to include in the video.
• Have a script!  Flying by the seat of your pants works sometimes but NOT in this case, Plan, Plan Plan!!

Grab the users’ attention! People move quickly from site to site so catch their attention with a call to action, striking images, graphics and headlines.

Tell it up front! Explain who you are, what you do, why you do it, and how they can contact you on the home page.

Navigation should be simple and intuitive. People will leave a website quickly if the navigation is confusing in any way.

A well designed site with quality graphics will boost customer confidence. If a visitor perceives your site as amateurish, they will move on.

Place important information “above the fold” so people do not have to scroll to read it. This term is borrowed from newspaper publishing where lead stories are placed in the top half of a page or “above the fold”.

Images should be optimized so they download quickly on the web.

Ecommerce websites should make online ordering fast, easy and secure.

Respond to messages and orders from your website quickly. Usually within 24 hours.

Give people a reason to come back by providing fresh content.

As a programmer, I usually love my job.  I get a new project, slice up the images from the graphic designer, whip up some standards-compliant XHTML and CSS code, and my efforts are rewarded by a beautiful result in my Internet Explorer 8, my FireFox 3 browser and the Safari browser we use to test.  All is good in happy in programmer land.

…then, I usually remember a few minutes before we go live, I need to test the site in IE6!  So I open my Virtual PC, pop open the dinosaur browser, and without fail, the site looks nothing like it was intended.  Things are shifted all over the place, graphics that are supposed to be transparent are not, some JavaScript doesn’t even work well.

This is the hardest part of the job.  Usually sets me into a mood where I start wishing I was a rock star or even just a simple farmer with no browser issues to worry about.  But I press on, find some hacks and get the site to work in IE6.  When it’s all said and done, it usually works out OK, but the frustrating part is this browser should be long gone.  It was written over 8 years ago.  Do you remember what computers were like 8 years ago?

But I digress.  Let’s forget about the poor programmers who are losing their hair too early and lets talk about YOU.  With so much money spent on anti-virus, firewall programs, identity protection, etc… these days, why not upgrade IE6 to something more secure?  Take a look at the security flaw found in IE6 on July 8, 2008. With patching schedules, this issue wasn’t fixed until over a month later.  Want to read more?  Check out this article.

I’m thankful for sites like YouTube who display this message on their page: “We will be phasing out support for your browser soon.  Please upgrade to one of these more modern browsers”…

If you’re on our site, you probably have an up-to-date browser, but if you know someone still in the Precambrian period, lets get them to upgrade. With everybody’s help we can move the web forward and make it a better place for all!

1. Determine who will be involved

How will you select the right company to build the website for you? Will someone in your office update the website?  What company will host the site? Will a consultant or advertising agency be involved with the project such as an SEO expert or a copywriter?

2. Define the purpose of the website

What is the goal of your website in order to reach your target market? Will you sell products or services on the website?  Will you accept credit cards? Do you need databases? Are you providing information or expertise maybe a Blog is a good idea to share your knowledge and advice. Do you want a content management system? Get out a legal pad and start making a list of pages.

3. Design and Layout

The design and layout should be created first incorporating your logo/brand, colors and graphics.  Keep in mind you should have an outline of the proposed content for the site in order to make sure that everything is accounted for and has it’s place to ensure nothing is missed pr forgotten. If visitors have an unsatisfactory experience, they won’t come back.

4. Promote, Promote, Promote

Even if you are familiar with some web marketing techniques, a web marketing professional can determine the right strategy for your website. There are many web marketing options available, selecting those that will be most effective for your website will save you time and money. You should also create and use an email signature which includes your website address. Send out a press release or launch and email marketing campaign to promote your new website.  Give people a reason to visit, whether it be to educate, get a free sample, or enter a drawing. A “Call to Action” is very important in getting visitors to your site and to keep them engaged while they are there.

5. Maintain and update the website

As your website evolves, pages will be added and removed. Regular maintenance should include looking for broken links and missing graphics. Old price sheets and outdated articles will destroy your credibility. If you want to keep people coming back, you’ll want to regularly update the website and add new information. No one will be interested in returning to a stagnant website.