As you might expect, as web designers, we’re going to be a bit biased when it comes to comparing the value of websites against newspaper adverts. But we’re going to have a go at explaining just why small businesses should focus their marketing budget on the web, rather than on print.

This is especially true when there is a very small budget available.

Your money gets you more ‘inches’

Print advertising is notoriously expensive. In a local paper, a tiny advert could cost you the same as a single page website and a full page advert will get you a whole website.

 In a full page print advert you’re limited to what you can get across. Your company name, what you do, contact details and hopefully a USP or special offer.

However, in a full website you could get far more information across, which builds trust and engages the customer. It can save you time by answering basic questions directly and avoiding people who aren’t really potential customers. You could include information about your company background, more detail about a range of services  and rates, provide several contact options, display testimonials and even offer free advice to show the potential customer you really know your onions.

Your money lasts longer

The main disadvantage of a print ad is its limited lifetime. Most publications are monthly, weekly or even daily. That means that means that time period has passed, that money is lost forever. However, a website is there indefinitely. If it’s designed well, the same website could serve a small business for many years. There is a small ongoing hosting cost, that that is usually going to cost about the same as the rent for a phone line.

Websites are more targeted

Even if you target your publication very closely (and most people don’t), you can’t be sure that the customers are in the market for your product at that time. And if you just use a local newspaper, the vast majority of the readers will have no interest in your product or service. However, a website appears exactly when people search for it – you can’ get much more targeted than that.

If you're thinking of getting a website designed in Leeds, or anywhere across the UK, then give us a call for a chat about your project. We're happy to give free advice and suggestions as well as quotes and proposals.

There are probably lots of different ways to get from idea to finished website, but here is a brief guide to the process we follow when building a new website. Or see a nifty infographic of the web design process here.

In this article we're thinking about a small business website, of between four to ten pages. The process would be different for an ecommerce or database driven website.

Research

We would start by researching the business and industry. That would include talking to the business owner and relevant staff and looking into the competitors and target market. The depth of research would depend on the budget and therefore time available to be dedicated to the project.

Design

Once we've got all the ideas bubbling around in our heads, we'll start on the concept design. We wouldn't start coding that this stage - but we'd start to pin down colourschemes, layouts, where the call to action buttons will be and what sort of imagery will be used.

Build 

When the concept is perfect and reflects accurately the vision of the client, then we would start coding the site. This involves making a master page and the sub pages in a development area. Using modern html, css and .NET coding techniques and master pages make the website leaner, and it's much easier to make changes.

Content

Now we have a skeleton which is ready to have some flesh put on it - i.e. content. Unless they have requested content generation services, content is usually supplied by the client. Photos are either supplied by the client or we use stock photo banks.

Finalisation

The client is able to view the website in a development area with all the content in place, and they can log in to make changes and get the hang of how everything works. Once they agree that everything is perfect and they give us the nod, we will complete the finalisation of the site. This includes adding the meta-data and on page SEO and checking all domain names, email addresses and related configuration is set up.

Launch

Usually the most exciting part for the client! The website takes its first steps in the real world. It's a busy time for us and we go through our launch procedure, including submission to search engines, hooking up to Google analytics, testing emails and web forms and much more.

Maintenance

When the website goes live we monitor it regularly, and make tweaks where we think it will improve the performance. We will also carry out basic SEO work as standard, including submission to directories.

If you want to find out more about Sentiva web design Leeds, click here.

Many sole traders consider creating their own DIY website as a way to save money, avoiding the potentially high fees of a professional web designer.

However, in the majority of cases, trying to build a website when you don't have the experience, can end up doing more damage than good.

To put it simply, I am a professional web designer, and I can ssure you that if I decided to try to save save money by doing my own plumbing or electrics (those professionals are very expensive, after all), or even cutting my own hair (God forbid!), I would end up with a flooded house, electrocuted and wearing a hat.

If the website is only for a hobby, then it's not a big deal if it puts people off, but if the website is intended as a business marketing tool, then having something bothced could be a very expeneive mistake resulting in countless lost business.

DIY websites are usually not as easy to put together as the programme promises, they won't get to the top of Google, and when people do find them, they'll be put off by the unprofessional appearance.

On the other hand, a professionally designed website can get in front of the right people at the right time, can impress people into giving a call and can build trust with the local customer base, giving an edge above the competitors and paying for itself, before greatly contributing to the bottom line.

So if you think getting a professional website might be expensive, consider how much it could cost you to not get one.

You can read more about web design, and the full length article on this subject in our web design resource bank.

Sentiva are a leeds web design company. We also make web apps and mobile apps, for both iPhone and Android. We offer very competitive web design packages for sole traders and small businesses.