Whether you are building a website for the first time or redesigning your business website, we know it’s an exciting time for you. There is a lot to consider with choosing the right website designer and developer for your business. Often, people searching for a web design agency will begin the process by seeking price alone. They quickly learn that not all local web development is created equal. Along with asking the who,what and why’s of website development, you must also ask the How, When, and Times in order to compare website design agencies accurately.
WEB DEVELOPMENT
WEB DEVELOPMENT
What Sets Us Apart
A Four Phase Process
Adopted from software development, we have a thorough, four phase web design process that guarantees your website will suit your needs and even start generating revenue from day one. We begin by unfolding your daily business operations to discover who your perfect customers are. Using the information from the first phase we begin to design your website. Following the design phase, we begin to build the functionality by using code and content management systems like WordPress. Upon completing the build out, we thoroughly test your website for weaknesses and fix any bugs. An error free, customer approved website is then launched.
A Small Company
Size isn’t everything, we understand. However, larger web development agencies have additional responsibilities of team management that we don’t have. Cheetah Sites is a POD style company. Meaning we (1-2 full timers) have companionships with other specialists that offer focused services like Copywriting, Social Media Marketing, and Photography. This allows us to offer you a suite of services, without the latencies on human resources or poor team communication. Each one of our companions are enthusiastic experts in their field and love what they do.
Minnesota Local Company
Because we work mainly with local companies, and are able to visit their locations during our design process, we have the ability to immerse our team in your business. That means you get a website that more accurately reflects your company, because we have seen your company culture first hand and we know what is most important to you. A non-local web design company would not be able to offer the same level of service due to the high costs of travel.
Focused
Our focused set of skills means we can offer you both speed and expertise that other agencies may fall short of. This is due to our unique company arrangement with other local companies. Similar to a co-op, we have created partnerships with other small local companies that specialize in areas like photography, Social Media Marketing and Copywriting. We maintain the Web Design and Web Development in house and rely on our partnerships to create great content.
What Is A Web Developer?
This is a broad term to describe a professional with the ability to create code that is used to display content on the internet. In the early years of the internet, one could assume that a web developer meant an expert with HTML and CSS knowledge. As technology has evolved, so have the demands of new internet languages (HTML, PHP, JAVA). Today, when you discuss a website project, it is important to determine the internet languages the web development agency specializes in. This will help you understand the scope of your future project with that web development agency.
What Is A Web Designer
A website designer (web designer) has a big role in building your website project. They help paint the picture for the developers to build the functionality of your website. Designing your website is often the longest task attributed to building a website. During our 4 phase process, we devote the first 2 phases to discussing and designing your website before we begin building.
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What Makes A Great Website
Content ~ Imagery ~ Video ~ Downloads
Building a great website is more complicated than choosing colors. Often, clients are surprised to find out that every page of your website needs to be carefully designed to optimize the balance of SEO and customer communication. Your page designs should include well written, easy to understand content, beautiful industry specific images that support the content, and one or more ways for your customers to purchase/communicate a desire to purchase. In addition, videos and downloads are an extremely useful way to drive home your page Authority. Finally, keep in mind that your customers, regardless of industry, will have the desire to share your content on social networks and perhaps link directly with your website pages. All of these practices combined, lead to a profit generator that works for you 24/7/365. A great website will never take a holiday, break, or vacation for the sole purpose of selling for you.
Why Do I Need To Have a Website?
We are excited that you are asking this question. Because, it implies that you have a relative understanding for the need of a website. Yet the answer is not “because every business has a website.” First we must examine the purchase habits of our culture. According to Social Times (http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/81-shoppers-conduct-online-research-making-purchaseinfographic/208527), 81% of buyers research online before making a decision. In addition, 60% of consumers start their purchase by searching Google and other Search Engines for reviews and other companies that offer your services. That number is even higher if you are a B2B company, ranking in at 94% of buyers using the internet to make large purchases. As you can see, choosing not to have a website is choosing not to earn 81% or more of your customer’s business. Second, the old school method of finding a business or service provider by opening the telephone book is no longer available. Search Engines like Google and Yahoo are the digital version of the phone book. Frustratingly, you cannot simply pay Google to list your business first. A great website will naturally be higher in Google listings due to things like customer interaction, content, imagery, share-ability, and more. The search engines will recognize your content as being relevant to seekers of your industry and increase your rankings until you are listed on the first page. Lastly, a great website is like hiring the worlds best sales person. Your website will work for you every day and every night. You won’t have to pay it overtime or holiday pay; it will simply work for you.
Why Do I Need To Redesign My Website?
This is a pretty complicated question and deserves a simple answer. However, everyone’s needs are different. Often the simplest answer is consumers have demanded companies participate in mobility or responsive web design. According to Internet Retailer (https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/04/09/75-store-shoppers-use-their-mobile-devices-store) 75% of store shoppers are using mobile devices in addition to shopping in the store. 53% of online shoppers are using mobile devices to make their purchases. However, 48% of buyers use mobile devices to research B2B companies. You should then ask yourself “Is my website mobile?”
If you can relate to any of the following statements, you should consider a redesign of your website.
My website was designed and built 2 or more years ago.
It wasn’t standard practice to make websites mobile responsive (by Google standards) until May 27, 2015. Thus, if your website was built before that time, you should consider an update.
My website has never brought me any business. Why would I waste money on updating it?
This is usually due to having an outdated website and not having the knowledge of basic
website management along with an understanding of how search engines work. The evolution of search engines is daily, things are always changing and so should your website.
My website is not on the first or second page of Google results.
There may be more reasons for this than just your web design. However, starting with a solid responsive design that works on cell phones and desktops is mandatory (according to Google). Following that, you should consider the content of your pages. Often businesses neglect the content on their website pages because they don’t want to be wordy, redundant, or they believe they have said enough.
My website looks old and outdated.
Well, lets get started right away!
My business has shifted to market a new industry or product.
A website is designed to tell a story about your business and its products. Offering a new
product line or shifting your sales efforts requires an adjustment of your website. You should make sure that the content you have for your website is relevant to the industry you are selling to.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
The essence of effective SEO in the Twin Cities is content marketing. Without good content, you won’t be able to drive more traffic to your website. Our experts are ready to help you fill your website, blog and any other content areas with the information internet users are looking for. The goal is to bring as many visitors to your site by focusing on valuable content, rather than trying to stuff keywords into an article.
Copywriting
Our copywriters are hands down the best for any size job. They have proven time after time to be the experts in any field. Our services start with a brief consultation to understand your needs. From there we spend time learning / Bench marking your competitors. This gives us the upper advantage when forming your content.
Web Development
Our complete website solutions team comes with over 14 years of business to business interaction. We are experts in web design, web development, website hosting, and website marketing (SEO). Our Web Development process is divided into 4 phases; Discover, Design, Develop, and Launch/Test. You will be a major part of each phase to ensure maximum love for your new website.
Social Media Marketing
The power of Social Media Marketing has been proven over and over again. If you are running any light to heavy marketing campaign, chances are, you are using Social Media Marketing to increase your conversions. We have a combined 30 years of Social Media Marketing experience. We have participated in every style of Social network marketing and know exactly what is best with our clients.
Graphic Designer
Every team is incomplete without a graphic designer. No job is too small or big for our graphic designer. All projects with imagery are handled through our graphic design team and approved by you, the client.
Email Marketing
Expert marketers say that content is king. Email marketing falls within that demand for great quality content. This is not a place to have weaknesses within your campaign. All of your emails should contain some sort of call to action. We mark your campaigns success based on your customers email interactions. We track their every move through our marketing platform giving you an educated, qualified prospect instead of a cold lead.