Mistake #2 - Paying your neighbor’s kid or your nephew to build your Web site

Trust me, it will look like you did...

Many companies select a Web vendor based on the lowest possible price.  This decision can have a lasting impact on your business as you are entering into a relationship with a vendor that will support your Web site over at least the next few years.  It’s about a lot more than price.

For example, would you want to hire the cheapest attorney or one who writes contracts in their “spare time” after their day job?  When selecting an attorney you will most likely try to find someone who has been in business for an extended period of time and will continue to be around years down the road so you can count on them to support your business. 

You’ll pay more for an established Web firm, but you should consider the extra money an insurance policy that you are getting an on-time, on-budget bid from a firm that will be around to support you in the future the same way you would expect from your attorney.

Mistake #3 - Relying too heavily on your marketing or branding firm

They’ll make it look good, but...

You’ve most likely used a marketing or creative design firm at one point or another to create your logo, business cards, or brochure.  Marketing firms are very good at understanding your business and your brand in an offline world and are often very eager to extend that knowledge to the Internet, but it has grown more and more evident (even from within this community) that these firms don’t have a high-level of expertise at Internet best practices and Web technologies.  These firms often will focus on “what’s cool” without enough focus on usability (can users actually find what they’re looking for?) and long-term maintenance costs while having less day-to-day experience in designing for the Web than a firm that only focuses on the Web.  Marketing firms will have limited or no ability to extend your Web site to ecommerce or any database driven applications that may integrate with your current business processes to help you make or save more money.

Mistake #4 - Don’t under fund your Web site

Most companies will budget a half to 1% of their annual revenue for their Web budget...

Research shows that while marketing budgets approach 5-10% of revenue depending on industry, very few companies have established a metric for what to spend each year on their Web site.  Is that appropriate in this day and age?

Some informal research we have done has suggested that most companies (and maybe your competitors?) are spending a half to 1% of their revenue on their Web initiatives per year.  This may include all internal staff, hosting, software, emarketing/advertising and outside Web consulting.

Depending on size of revenue and using the mid-point of that range yields:

$1 Billion X .0075 = $7.5 million annual Web budget
$100 Million X .0075 = $750,000
$1 Million X .0075 = $7,500

How do you fit into those categories in terms of spending?  How does your competition?  These percentages may be wildly off-base depending on your industry, what you sell, and your level of priority of Web effort, but you should at least base your budget on how big you are and plan how to best leverage your dollars from year to year.

Mistake #5 - Don’t buy a Swiss Army knife...

It may seem like a two-for-the-price-of-one type of deal, but...

You may be familiar with some of the tools out there that perform web functions like Content Management Systems (CMS), Document Management Systems, Ecommerce, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Learning Management Systems (LMS), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), etc.

It’s tempting to buy a Swiss Army knife that “does it all,” but you will end up with a knife that isn’t really all that sharp and a screwdriver that is too small and gets stripped after turning one screw.

Instead, create a toolbox that gives you optimum functionality in each area, while allowing you the flexibility to upgrade each tool independently rather than have to buy a bigger Swiss Army knife and find yourself in the same predicament three years later.  For a more in-depth look at this issue, see our Summer 2005 enewsletter titled “Looking for the wonder application to solve all your Web needs?”

If you have any comments or questions about any Aware InSites, feel free to contact us at info@awarewebsolutions.com or call 800-783-8919.