Thanks to the Internet, businesses no longer need to outspend their competitors to outperform them on the marketing front. Small companies can go toe-to-toe with established, deep-pocketed enterprises, virtually overnight.

But how? By leveraging the value a well-versed website designer brings to the table. Regardless of a business’ size or industry, a proficient website designer can help:

• Achieve a desired image and appeal to specific markets
• Enable prospects and customers to quickly find relevant information and easily complete tasks
• Build a customer base and increase leads, sales and revenues

Oddly, businesses frequently fork over significant marketing budgets to PR firms, radio, TV, and print publications. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, businesses spend about $400 billion on advertising annually, much of the money going to traditional channels, like television commercials. However, when it comes to their website — the marketing hub that pulls all marketing operations together — business owners often tighten the purse strings.

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Before you start your website’s development, it’s a good idea to determine who will be in charge of website updates and how much time will be required to stay on top of them, suggests Brad Haima of Circle, an Abbotsford-based Vancouver web design firm.

“Many companies have great expectations but are often too busy to do simple website updates,” said Haima. “Having a good game plan ahead of time will allow you to prepare for how much time and staff you are willing to commit to website updates.”

He points out there are a number of pros and cons for each site editing option:

Outsourcing to a Web Design Firm

Pros:
1. Work will be done professionally and reflect the image your company deserves.
2. Because each page is edited manually your site can have a unique look throughout rather than a website that uses the same template over and over on every page.
3. Many web firms can also provide automated software solutions.

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SEO copywriters are facing an extremely competitive landscape as an increasing number of businesses are realizing the vast value of  search engine optimization.

There are now more than 14 billion Internet searches made each month, according to comScore. Moreover, Google has noted its index comprises more than 1 trillion pages.

To view for yourself just how competitive the Web is, Google a term like website design New York, NY which brings up 13.8 million search results. That’s for a website design search specifically geared toward New York, NY! Even a search surrounding a much less populated Canadian city like website design Winnipeg generates 704,000 search results.

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Web designers can make or break a business. In fact, a good web designer can be just as valuable to a company as any director or VP.

The reason is a good web designer can make your business look established and credible on the increasingly popular Web.

Some 15 years ago, if you wanted to build a successful brand, you had to hire architects and trades people to build a facility, and then spend major dollars on print, radio and TV promotions.

Today, quite often, all you need is a well designed website.

Even if your business is just coming out of the gate, a relatively small investment can get you a professional presence on the web, allowing you to out-brand and outperform an established company in almost any industry.

Don’t undervalue what a good web designer brings to the table. With approximately 70% of the population using the Internet, a professional web designer can help you connect with prospects all over the globe, efficiently and with minimal cost.

And when seeking a quality web designer, remember the web design market has no boundaries. Whether your business is located in London, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Toronto or Vancouver, you can work with a web designer or web design firm situated in any city or country. That’s the beauty of the Web.

Partner with a professional web designer. Your brand will flourish and your bottom line will benefit, too.

Forrester Research recently evaluated web design capabilities of top interactive marketing agencies across 18 criteria, and reported that Sapient, imc2, Razorfish, IconNicholson, and IBM Interactive led the pack for transaction-led projects.

This was due in large part to the “high usability scores earned by the client reference sites they supplied.”

Organic, just shy of the leaders’ circle for transaction-led projects, received impressive scores for its online branding work, which boosted it into the leaders’ circle for image-led projects.

New to Forrester’s rankings this year, Ascentium, Blast Radius, iCrossing, OgilvyInteractive, Resource Interactive, and Rosetta emerged as strong performers, a category rounded out by returning agencies Critical Mass, Molecular, R/GA, VML, and Whittmanhart. Arc Worldwide completed the research firm’s list of evaluated web design and development firms.

Don’t have half a million dollars to invest in your website? Don’t get discouraged.

While these web design and development agencies are out of reach for most small businesses, there are many reputable smaller scale web designers and developers that deliver high-quality websites that perform well.

In fact, if you do your due diligence, you can get a basic website professionally designed and developed for as little as $5,000 to $15,000.

Web Designer Wall recently featured an article surrounding a Webcopyplus web poll, which indicated more users are demanding good web design. It sparked a debate at a recent workshop, where web writers, designers and developers started debating which is the king of the Web: web content or design.

While I’m on record for suggesting web content is the king of the Web, I believe both are royally important. In fact, if you dig deeper, I’d have to say consumers are the true ‘kings of the Web’ because they ultimately dictate what succeeds and fails on the Internet.

As web specialists, we need to keep reminding ourselves that a website is critical in how people perceive, understand and interpret a company and its offerings. And everything counts. Quality web writing can’t compensate for poor design, and good design can’t save poor web copy.

Web designers, developers, web writers – and anyone else involved in creating websites – need to respect what others bring to the table. It’s best to put egos aside and collaborate. That way, everyone involved wins – especially the client.

To ensure the world doesn’t miss out on awe-inspiring or useful words, writers should always jot down ideas as they surface.

Inspired by lyrics? Someone said something captivating? Capture it! I recall an interview with Radiohead, where the band explained how a mutual friend said: “The best you can is good enough.” They were moved by the phrase, and eventually worked it into their lyrics for the tune Optimistic.

Sure, there are the BlackBerry, iPhone and generic microrecorder routes, but old school notebooks can be practical and fulfilling. In the cold digital age, tradition can be enchanting. In fact, you should check out MOLESKINE, which offers simple, legendary notebooks that have retained the thoughts of creative heavyweights like Van Gogh, Picasso and Hemingway.

Too much noise in your life? Pick a time of day when you can write without disruptions, and make it a habit. When you’re enjoying your morning latte? Late in bed? Whatever works for you. Find your time and try sticking with it.

Can’t seem to get inspired? Just dive in! Grab a blank sheet or screen and just start writing. If ideas or leads don’t emerge, try something different, like playing around with contradictory headlines. Try seeing things in a different perception.

Don’t let a brilliant thought get lost. Document your ideas.

Too often, businesses don’t get the website they require. Webcopyplus recently spoke to Tamara Brooks of Vancouver’s Syntric Design about how to get the most from your web designer and attain a website that will serve you well.

WCP: What are the first steps to creating a well-managed web design project?
TB: Creativity is subjective but the process should not be. A professional web design firm will desire a strong briefing document, and this is the groundwork of any successful project. In addition, be sure that you have the decision maker at your company interacting with the account representative at the design firm.

WCP: Can you elaborate on creative briefs?
TB: It’s a complex structure, a briefing document clearly articulates your company’s design needs. The process for developing this understanding precedes the web design stage and is one of the most important factors in the outcome of a website. It establishes a mutual understanding of the scope of the work, the project objectives and specific deliverables. It defines the tasks to be completed based on the agreed on estimate or proposal. If the website is complex and includes a large budget, this design brief should be agreed on and signed by both the design firm and the client, and should also be reviewed at a meeting with all stakeholders prior to project commencement.

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When it comes to web content, many business owners believe they can accomplish everything a professional web copywriter can — and more. However, when business owners attempt to write their own web copy, it often leads to frustration, lost time and missed opportunities.

In fact, many businesses come to Webcopyplus looking for a web copywriter after struggling to complete their web content for weeks, sometimes months. In the interim, they get their web designers to upload their old web content, or just put the project on hold. Regardless, the final outcome is usually substandard.

Since web copy development often causes designers major hassles and delays, it’s baffling to find web designers who simply don’t grasp and appreciate the value a well-versed web copywriter can bring to a project.

An article written by a Maine web designer was recently brought to my attention, in which she stated (verbatim):

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Lacking inspiration for your latest website design? Escape from reality, and fuse fantasy and technology by looking to these intoxicating Sci-Fi TV shows:

10. Buck Rogers

Paint on some spandex and help Buck Rogers solve some of earth’s dilemmas, like clients who continue to insist on music-filled Flash intros.

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