Why do I need a web consultant?
Why do I need a web consultant when everyone says I can do it myself?
You can build a website yourself using tools like Wix.com, Shopify, Weebly, and Squarespace.com. Either of these will work fine if that is what you want.
Before you decide, ask yourself the following questions:
- What is google analytics and how do I read the reports?
- Why is my website loading so slow and what can I do to speed it up?
- Where are my visitors coming from?
- What pages are my visitors viewing?
- How long are my visitors staying on my site?
- What can I do to promote my site?
- What is SEO and why do I need to know it?
- How can get more visitors?
- How do I make my site mobile?
- Why do I want my site mobile?
You can build websites by yourself. However, there are many things you may not know or want to understand about building a website. You are the professional for your business, do you want to take on another career as a web designer/consultant? Don’t get lost in the forest. Use a professional to help you. Here is a list of questions you should think about before you work on your web design.
You will need to consider many items before work starts on your website. The following questions are for starting a new website. Your question list will grow as the site develops. How do you best use newsletters or auto-update notifications? Do you want to administer the website? Will it be easy to update, change, or correct a typo you made? Also, will you be able to test a new idea and not jeopardize your website?
Why use a web consultant?
So many questions and you only want a simple website that will allow you to advertise your business and attract customers. Why is everything so complicated? If you don’t think it is complex and you have time while still running your business, please feel free to develop your website.
When you work on developing your business, instead of your website, that is the time to call a web consultant. I use the term web consultant, not a web designer, web developer, or webmaster.
There is a difference:
A Webmaster oversees your website. This person may or may not know how to best design or develop the site to meet your needs. This person ensures that your site is up and running with no issues. Your webmaster gets notified when a visitor has a problem with your website. The webmaster also handles the DNS records, setting up your email server, and other functions. Your webmaster is the person who performs the ongoing maintenance to keep your web functions up to date.
The Web Designer is the person whom you work with, and the developer is the person who codes the website to get the look and feel you want. A web designer knows the coding, how to tag pictures, add alt text, and understand the w3c standards. The designer is the one who really can speed up your website and address the loading time and speed. They know why you use an SVG instead of a tiff or a jpeg file and also how to get your CSS file to load faster.
A Web Developer builds/codes the back end of the website. The back-end is the program scripts powering your site, the storage of the data, what data to store, retrieve, and when. A web developer builds what database you are using and the best methods to access it.
A Web Consultant knows all three areas and will work with you on the best ways to design, develop, and maintain your website. The consultant can/will train you and your staff on the steps to maintain your site. You can hire a consultant to do the website updating.
Additional Resources:
35 Ways a Web Consultant Will Improve Your Website