Finding The Right Webmaster For You

Starting a new business is exciting and scary all at the same time!

When you are a first time business owner, you second guess yourself almost at every corner... until you get a good understanding of exactly what direction you want to take your business in. I know this, because I did this too!

As a website developer, I know how important it is for you to make a great first impression! Finding the right webmaster to create and maintain your website for you is an essential part of having a business online because you only have one chance at that first impression!

When you are considering investing your time and money into a website... finding just the right web design & development firm (webmaster) to help you with your web development needs is absolutely essential and can make all the difference in the world when it comes to the success or failure of your website and business. With thousands of website design/development companies in the online world to pick from... it can be difficult, even impossible, to figure out which firm (with the best reputation) would provide the best service at the best price. It is especially difficult if you are not aware of the details involved in the world of website development! Many new business owners try to go the cheap route with the "do it yourself site builders"... only to realize later that site builders are extremely limiting and they don't provide any type of SEO (search engine optimization).

Developing the perfect website for your business is one of the most important first steps to establishing a strong online business presence. The key to your business success is to set yourself apart from your competitors. It is essential that you create a website that accurately conveys the essence of your business, your personality, and your unique niche in a positive, professional manner that instills impressions of stability, trust, safety, and reliability in the minds of your customers. It's also very important to develop a website that catches your viewers attention as many people will remember who you are and what you provide by the memory of your website.

Pricing of websites can vary greatly! Some web designers & developers will charge you alot of $$$$ and some will charge a reasonable amount of money. I have seen websites priced as high as $2000 - $2500. Yep... it's a fact. I charge a more affordable rate for a website package because I want everyone to be able to afford our services and because owning a website is not just for those who can afford the big $$$ anymore!

When you think you have chosen your webmaster, you need to look at any examples they might have of their work. Make sure you take a look at their portfolio if they have one. Ask questions before you decide on the webmaster because while some may have designing abilities... that does not mean they know what they are doing when it comes to creating an accurate structure of a website or providing effective organic SEO for the websites they create!!

A webmaster who performs SEO on the websites they develop... is a huge asset to you as a business owner! A webmaster who performs SEO will ask you to give them at least 3 to 6 months to achieve ranking. When it comes to ranking in the search engines there are NO guarantees. If you trust your webmaster and they are willing to do your optimization for you then you should definitely try that first. A good website designer & developer (webmaster) will have the abilities to perform SEO on your site and will submit your website for you to the search engines... which are all very time consuming tasks.

Many website designers simply build you a website and that is where they feel their responsibility to you ends. Some web designers will offer to purchase your domain and hosting for you and when you decide you want to leave and go somewhere else with your domain and website.... you can't because they own your domain name and website. Please don't allow yourself to fall in that trap. Make sure you purchase your own domain name!

Quality web designers & developers will work hard to tend to their clients needs and wants. There are some webmaster’s who are so dedicated to their business that they have done the research themselves to know how to accomplish the very difficult task of doing the SEO for their clients. They will help you to get your website in the search engine rankings. The “search engines” such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN (among many others) are difficult to get listed on.

The thing to watch out for is if you have a SEO specialist promising you major results! Some SEO's will promise to get you listed in the top 10 rankings. Yes, they do that sometimes and it's not legit! There should never be a promise (if they are honest) to get your in the high rankings because optimization requirements change so often that it is ludicrous for even an SEO specialist to promise you will rank. If someone is promising to get your site ranked high in the search engine results... they should not be trusted unless you are willing to take a risk. Some manage to actually do it, but many do not. The price range for SEO assistance is very wide. It can start at $70.00 per month, as high as $400.00 - $500.00 per month, and sometimes even higher depending on the results you are looking for!!

Some webmaster’s offer to add link exchanges or adding top 100 voting buttons to your website for you. This is something you must ask for them to do for you. Alot of webmasters (web designers who maintain your website for you) do not do advertising for their clients. It is imperative that you participate in banner/link exchanges to be ranked effectively in the search engines! It is very important that you either tell your webmaster that you want them to arrange for link exchanges for you (if you are too busy to arrange them for yourself). Please understand that you will have to pay your webmaster for this service.

Creating a website, adding products, shopping cart features, etc.... can become very time consuming and tedious. Many times one project can become an all day struggle! They do not always go smoothly and can be extremely frustrating at times! It is very important that you as the client realize this and understand when there are times that a request may not be handled immediately because of complications out of your webmaster's control. As a webmaster myself, I can tell you that it takes strong dedication to my business to accomplish many of the tasks assigned to a webmaster/optimizer/advertiser!! I love being a webmaster! There is nothing like creating the pages of a website for my clients with my own two hands and seeing my visions come to life! The world of website development is an amazing world to be in! Being a webmaster can often be a struggle but it's also an extremely fulfilling experience at the same time! : )

A responsible webmaster will complete your website modifications in a timely manner. Not immediately of course because they will have other clients to tend to as well... but in a timely manner. No client should have to wait a month to get their revisions completed. You will want to find a reliable webmaster that will keep you informed well in advance of any long periods of absence. A website is an on going investment in your business. There is so much involved beyond the initial creation of a website. Never ever allow your domain to be suspended. This can cause you to lose much of your ranking stability. If your domain is not available when the search engine spiders crawl for new material you will not be ranked and may fall into the crater of the lost ranks.

If you can find a webmaster who is willing and able to create your website from ground up, maintain your website for you, offer you SEO, then you have found what most people never will. Please note... some types of businesses or products are more difficult to “get ranked” because of their popularity and the level of competition in the online world. You can only expect your optimization specialist to do their honest best.

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Thanks so much for viewing this post... I wish you all great success!


Lisa ~ Owner of My Colorful Treasures Web Design & Development
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