by Katie Cannon

Creating a website can be a fun and inspiring project, but can also become a headache if the right steps are not taken. Having an online presence is more important than ever. With more individuals beginning the buying cycle online, an easily findable, informative ans functional website can make a world of difference.

At Zer0 to 5ive, we find developing an effective website is a tightrope walk between creativity and delivering up to the standards mandated by your client. Remember you have been hired by your client and the ultimate creative vision is their’s. This does not mean you cannot be creative or engaging. Communicate the client’s key messages in a professional, yet original and innovative way will help set your site apart from the millions of other .coms in the space.

Here are a few tips I have learned from experience that can help you take your website development to a new level:

• Connect with your client. Get into their mind – what are they looking for? What image and message do they want their website to convey about their company? Connecting with the client from the start is crucial – getting on the same creative page as your client will save you countless headaches down the road and make each stage of design, development and implementation a breeze. Ask them for sample art, photos and other sites to draw inspiration from

• Luckily, there are millions of new Web 2.0 features available for free to no cost. Investigate what features and widgets would help you best achieve your client’s goals. Think about what you can provide to your client that will keep visitors engages. What can you present that will make your client standout in the marketplace? How can you help give your client the WOW factor? Consider social media, embedded videos, click to chat, rss feeds blogs… the list goes on and on.

• Your home or landing page is the first page a consumer sees and without engagement, site visitors will quickly abandoned the site. This is why creativity is so important. Being able to engage or interest the visitor immediately will go a long way. Think outside the box and have fun with the design. Yet, keep in mind that the website should still come across professional, clean and innovative.

• Communicate with your client. Make sure you understand what they want and how they want it done. Website development is a long process – not having a set communication method will only make the process longer. A timeline is crucial during the site launch preparation. Have weekly update meetings to ensure you and your clients are on the same page and creating a friendly repartee with clients can help plant the seeds for future working opportunities.

• Keep it search-friendly. Now-a-day’s an overwhelming number of consumers search through today’s major search engines. If you are building your site in an outdated language implementing other elements that impede search engine rankings, your site will be impossible to find, this means you are missing out on some major dollars! Come download our FREE SEO white paper to learn more about how you can garner visibility on search engine result pages.

• Provide ongoing customer service – it’s all about the experience, and working well together. Your job is not done after launch. A good web-development team will continue to be on hand to assist with any potential bugs, upgrades or staff difficulties.

• Double check all of your work! No website should ever be launched without making sure all your i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed! Use all the resources available to you to proofread site content. Provide internal links to appropriate pages and be sure that every page can be found every time.

If you understand the importance of communicating and connecting with your client, then you should have no problem designing and launching a website together successfully!

Katie Cannon is a Marketing Strategist ant Zer0 to 5ive

by Michael Levey

At Zer0 to 5ive our “out of the box” strategic thinking has really made an impact in our media coverage.  Most recently, it was pitching reporters with briefing times.  We’ve grown accustomed to getting great news from clients less than 24 hours before the news will go live (i.e. a Fujtsu announcement that reached our radar in February right at the start of a 26 inch snowstorm!).   And finding out at the last moment presents a challenge for sending the “last minute” press release to the typical reporter on deadline with two stories and sifting through 47 incoming pitches.

Instead of relying on the press release to reach the reporter, the Zer0 to 5ive team re-forwarded its original emails with the press release to reporters with specific dates and times for a quick 15 minute briefing – no long emails, no deadlines and no demands that the reporter must write a story.  The end result: 11 interviews scheduled within a 24 hour period including PC Mag and even a television personality who has agreed to feature our client in a segment later this month. Our client deserves a special shout out: the CEO’s willingness to share his schedule made this process a smooth one. That’s another great thing about our work – building mutually beneficial relationships with our clients and the media.

We spoke with PC Mag’s Managing Editor Eric Griffith who offered insight into the value of pitching briefing times. “Any time pitches for a briefing can include a variety of times to pick from for a quick phone briefing, that’s always preferred, especially if it comes well ahead of an embargo date/time,” said Griffith.  “It’s no guarantee, but it’s nice to know our time is seen as valuable (and busy).”  We’ve found that most (if not all) reporters who accept briefings write something, whether it is an article or blog post.  Sometimes taking that initial pressure off a reporter to write immediately does the trick. It gives your client a chance to show off a great personality while fostering a longer term relationship with the reporter – and lets all parties in Northern climates enjoy those 26 inches of snow!

Michael Levey is a Senior Strategist at Zer0 to 5ive

Image courtesy of Zer0 to 5ive