Frequently “Should-Be” Asked Questions

I’m a big proponent of having an FAQ page on your website. If someone lands on your site, they probably got there for a reason and not because they clicked through on a cat meme. They probably want more information and probably have some questions. And studies show that if you can answer their questions they are more likely to take the next step. So the FAQ page actually does help convert website visitors into paying customers.

However, the FAQ page answers the questions that people are asking a lot, it doesn’t answer the questions they should be asking when it comes to website design and development services. And there are a few that I think are important so I thought I’d address those here.

What questions should you be asking before you start a website project?

1. How much will I be involved?

   Guess what? Hiring a company to create a website for you doesn’t actually mean that you don’t need to work too. I always tell people that the website design and development process is a collaboration. And that means you’ll be involved a lot. We’ll have questions we need answers to. We’ll have questionnaires you need to complete. We’ll need your feedback. Oh, and you’ll have to write content (unless you  hire a copywriter.) So you’ll be involved a lot, so you’ll want to plan to make time for that. Don’t put it off until the last minute!

2. How will I know if my website is working?

   Having a website made is a great first step, but it’s important to know if it’s working for you. That means, you need to have a goal in mind and a way to track that goal. Very few people starting a new website project have put much time into that, because often times the mantra of “If you build it, they will come” is the assumption.

   Guess what? It’s not true. If you build it, they might come. But how do you know? We need to establish metrics to measure the success of your website, so you can tell what’s working and what’s not working.

3. Will there be technical aspects that need to be maintained or updated after we launch?

   Yes. Yes there will be. Long gone are the days of set it and forget it. All software will have patches, updates, upgrades and more, so it’s important to understand that this is an ongoing thing that you will have to think about. Will you want to do those updates yourself? Will you want to purchase a support plan to take care of it? You’ll want to assess your ability and time needed to take care of these tasks and make a commitment to having it done, whether that’s on your own or having someone else do it.

4. When does my content need to be ready?

   Yesterday.

   Seriously, start your content before you start looking for a web design company. We really shoot to finish websites in 6-8 weeks but the most common reason for a delay is clients who don’t have their content ready. It’s going to take longer and you’re probably going to run into more obstacles than you expect.

5. Who sets up my domain and web hosting?

   You do. But we’ll help. A lot of web design companies will resell hosting for you. We used to do that too. It’s an easy revenue source and actually makes it easy for you since you don’t have to worry about finding a good company. But…. if we take care of all that for you, and the hosting account is something we maintain and own (and bill you for), then if something were to happen to us, you wouldn’t have access to that at all. You’d be stuck.

   So it’s important that you own your own web hosting account and domain name. BUT – once you have it, we’ll help you set it up and configure it how it needs to be configured to work.

There are a lot of things to consider when starting a new website project, and the questions everyone asks are easy, but it’s the questions you don’t think to ask that you really need answer for.

Think of something I’m missing? Let me know, and I’ll add it to the list!