This list will continue to grow. Please comment or post your suggestions for this list.
- Don’t build a website.
Do build an online presence.
A website is not an Online Presence: A website is not enough today. These days, you need an Online Presence - a website is only a small part of that. Researching your online marketability and determining what your total online presence should entail will set the groundwork for your project plan. - Don’t outsource others to do your research and planning.
Do outsource others to follow your research and planning.
You want to maximize your ROI? Do your research and planning in-house. Research extensively. Determine your goals and the best way of reaching those goals. Solidify a budget and write up a proper project plan. Then - and only then - are you ready to outsource professionals like designers, programmers and
Follow this advice and not only will you be sure your plan meets YOUR goals, you'll be saving money by not paying outsourced project management fees and inflated prices for unknowns. - Don’t plan to accomplish everything on first try.
Do plan flexibility for future phases of development.
Now if you're on the ball you've probably figured out that all that research and planning is obviously going to take either quite a bit of time to learn the market or quite a bit of money to pay someone who already knows it. Right? Well, not exactly...
This is where smart spending comes in. Like it or not, this isn't going to be the last time you spend money on your website or your online presence. Both need to stay fresh to keep pace with your audience.
The trick is planning. Your future spending can all be planned for or unplanned for. Unfortunately many companies do this the hard way and literally develop a new website every few years, repeating the same mistakes each time by not following steps one and two above. They spend thousands of dollars each time outsourcing an agency or a freelancer to "redesign the website".
Because of a lack of planning, the money spent is money wasted. The result is often a misuse of the entire budget on a website that lacks the necessary flexibility.
Instead, the same budget could have been used on a long-term, goal-oriented plan and a first stage of development that accomplishes some of those goals.
