Engaging a website consultant A guide for business …...website yourself, but before you proceed with a ‘Do-it-Yourself’ approach make sure that you check your online business

Engaging a website consultant A guide for business operators in South Australia

www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/smallbusiness

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/smallbusiness

The Department of State Development would like to acknowledge the Office of the Small Business Commissioner for their support/collaboration in the production of this guide.

1800 072 722 | www.sasbc.sa.gov.au

http://www.sasbc.sa.gov.au

Contents

1. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2. Purpose of a website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3. The most common pages on websites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

4. Finding a website consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

5. Receiving quotes from website consultants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

6. What to ask when choosing your website consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

7. Website project process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

8. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

9. Further help and assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

P 3Engaging a website consultant – A guide for business operators in South Australia

It is always a good idea to repeatedly refer back to your Business Plan and think through what it is that you are trying to achieve so that you can develop an online plan/ strategy to help you achieve your overall business objective/s.

Overview

In today’s business environment your customers and suppliers will expect you to have at least a basic website where they can find out information about your business, your products and / or services and how to contact you.

There are design template tools in the marketplace for little or no cost that can help you to create your website yourself, but before you proceed with a ‘Do-it-Yourself’ approach make sure that you check your online business plan to evaluate whether you have the necessary knowledge, skills, experience and tools ‘in-house’ to develop a successful website – where the content is easy for you to manage and update (to ensure it is always current, accurate and relevant for your customers), whilst also being easy for your customers to find, navigate to information and complete business transactions.

You may wish to hire the professional assistance of a website consultant (a web developer or designer) to help implement all, or part of your online plan, including the design and/ or development of your website. If you go down this path, you should ensure that you do your research before engaging a consultant and that you work closely with them, remembering that you know your business best. Their job will be to implement your online plan and create a website that services your customers, suppliers and your business successfully.

This guide broadly looks at the main decisions you may need to make and some of the steps to follow when you are engaging the services of a web consultant to help build an effective website for your business. It should be stressed that developing a website is just the first step. Your online business plan should also outline your marketing strategy to promote your website to ensure that your audience can find it (e.g. through search engine optimisation (SEO) and/ or paid online marketing strategies such as pay per click marketing).

You can discuss how you can effectively market your website online with your chosen web consultant and/ or find more information on this topic by visiting the Marketing section of the Australian Government Department of Communications website (https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/digital-business/marketing-tips ).

Readers are advised:• The purpose of this guide is to provide general

introductory information.

• This guide does not purport to contain all the information that would be relevant to any particular business opportunity.

• This guide is provided to interested persons on the basis that they will be responsible for making their own assessment of that opportunity with the assistance of the information provided.

• All figures contained in the guide should be regarded as estimates only based on general samples and may be subject to error.

• The information in the guide should not be relied upon in substitution for professional advice and individual investigation.

• Persons interested in pursuing any particular business opportunity are strongly advised to fully inform themselves by taking professional advice as to the extent of their rights and obligations—particularly in relation to any proposed investment.

• The guide is provided subject to the terms of the formal disclaimer which appears on the last page.

1


https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/digital-business/marketing-tips

A successful website is usually carefully targeted, well designed, enhances your business image, assists your customers and suppliers, all of which will contribute to your bottom line.

Purpose of a websiteA website can do many things, including:

• Help your business be found online.

• Generate leads.

• Educate and provide information about your business, your product offering, your services and your brand.

• Add value e.g. tips and guides or providing information for your customers and suppliers.

• Provide some services online such as taking bookings, viewing portfolios, placing orders.

• Selling products and/ or services directly, e.g. e-commerce.

• Help you to find out more about your customers, suppliers, competitors and market/s.

A successful website is usually carefully targeted, well designed, enhances your business image, assists your customers and suppliers, all of which will contribute to your bottom line.

It is always a good idea to repeatedly refer back to your Business Plan and think through what it is that you are trying to achieve so that you can develop an online plan/ strategy to help you achieve your overall business objective/s.

To ensure that you build a successful website for your business, you need to ask yourself (together with your team if applicable) the questions in the Checkpoint:

2

Question Comment Notes

Purpose What is the purpose of your website?

Do you want to provide information, promote a service, sell a product…?

Objectives What do you hope to achieve by building your website?

Common objectives are to make money or share information.

Target Audience

Your target audience is a key factor.

Are you targeting a specific audience, or a group of people?

Picture the “ideal” client/ customer/ person you want to visit your website and consider their age, gender, interests etc. This will help determine the best design style for your site.

Content What kind of information will your audience be looking for?

e.g. specific information on a particular product or service, to order online…?

Checkpoint


Listing a few websites you really like and some you really don’t will be a great help to the person or team building your site.

The most common pages on websites

A way to help you work out what your website needs to do is to consider other similar businesses to yours, or business models, and see what they offer. You can put together a small list of these things to show your website consultant. Listing a few websites you really like and some you really don’t will also be a great help to the person or team building your site.

Below is a list of the most commonly found pages on websites:

3

Page Description

Home An introduction to your site that tells people what they can find on your site.

About A page about you and your business – what you do/ offer, why, what makes you different, etc.

Contact Contact information including a postal and/ or street address, email address, and phone number – you can have a contact form here too but it is not mandatory.

Products/Services Information about your products and/ or services.

Blog A place for publishing regular stories about how your products or services can help people – a good idea for helping search engines promote your content.

Privacy A page that explains how you use or protect the identity of people who visit your website – your website consultant usually has a standard set of text for this page.

Site Map A list of all the pages on your website in a simple, text-based style – this page is a great help to search engines because it shows them all the pages on your site and how they are connected. Your website consultant will create this for you.


Website consultants help design and develop websites.

Finding a web-site consultantA designer is a person or company that specialises in the design or appearance of a website, whereas a web developer tends to focus on the mechanics and specialised coding needed to make a website work. It is common, especially for simple sites, for

one person or company to build the whole website and create a simple layout using your existing logo or artwork.

Consider the following when evaluating the consultant:

4Criteria Comment Notes

Personal Recommendations

Ask friends, business colleagues or another professional whose judgement and business sense you respect for their recommendations (but don’t rely completely on their recommendation—still make your own assessment).

What is the reputation of the firm and of the consultant?

Location Where is the consultant located?

Do they have a physical presence in South Australia or Australia, or are they an overseas or ‘virtual’ entity? (the latter can be almost impossible to track down if things don’t go to plan).

Whilst overseas companies can often provide more attractive pricing, there are some considerations e.g. the legalities of dealing with a company based in another country, time differences, facilitating meetings etc. Given that communication will be key throughout the project process, someone with a local presence and an actual physical address might be a serious consideration here. This is particularly important if things don’t go as planned. How will you resolve any disagreements with a web consultant that is resident in an overseas country?

Case studies and testimonials

Does the consultant offer case studies and testimonials?

What about referees so that you can talk to their other clients about their services?

Do clients generally come back for more or are relationships short-lived?

Ask to see examples of their current work – is it effective, interesting and allied to your needs and marketplace?

Research Search online for affordable website packages in your area (Note. in business, you generally get what you pay for and the cheapest may not be the best option for you) and investigate who built the websites you like the look and feel of.

HINT: On most websites a link to the person or company that built the site, usually appears at the bottom of the page.

Checkpoint


It is good practice to always get quotes from 2–5 website consultants before making your final choice.

Receiving quotes from website consultants

5

Be prepared

When you first approach potential website consultants, by email, phone or in person, be prepared with as much information as possible so that they can give you an accurate quote.

One common area of disputation is where the website consultant believes that they have delivered exactly what you have ordered, but the site looks nothing like what you had envisioned. This is why frequent liaison and spot-checks are critical in the early stages of the site build.



Criteria Comment Notes

Background information on your business

History, structure, your products / services and brand.

Market in which your business operates

Its size, growth, trends, location, competitor and/ or substitute products. What do your customers know and think about your company, your products / services and your brand?

Corporate image

What is the tone and manner required for communications and what “non-negotiables” do you have which need to be given to the agency (such as size of logo, addresses, style etc.).

Project Expectations

Refer to your online plan – What is your vision and overall objectives for your business? More specifically, what do you hope to achieve by engaging the consultant?

Give some thought to design, style, Content Management System (CMS), pages etc. to provide the basis for initial discussion, and be prepared to listen to the consultant’s suggestions – a good consultant will implement features that support your business objectives.

Project Time-frame

What requirements do you have in terms of timing?

Budget What requirements do you have in terms of budget?

HINT: Never pay for the entire job up-front – and closely scrutinise any web consultant that insists on full payment up-front.

Checkpoint

P 14 Engaging a website consultant – A guide for business operators in South Australia

Professional fees and costs

Be aware that website development can vary enormously in cost.

It is good practice to always get quotes from 2–5 website consultants before making your final choice to ensure that you are paying an appropriate price for the solution you require.

Prices for complete website packages in Adelaide can start at less than $1,000 and go upwards from there into many thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

The full cost will depend upon:

• the amount of design work or coding work needed;

• how complex your website needs to be;

• whether you are paying for the rights to use the company’s own website software compared to open source software like Wordpress.

You can save money and get a website effective with search engines by asking your website consultant to use popular open source website content management systems (CMS) such as Wordpress or Drupal. These types of systems are free for your website consultant to use. This means you will only be paying for their development time and not any licence fees for using their software. Another advantage with popular open source websites is that there are many free ‘how-to’ guides and videos online, to help you learn how to make changes to your website or keep it up to date.

You should be prepared to tell your website consultant:

• How many pages of content you want to launch your site with – 1 or 2 pages, or perhaps dozens?

• What you need your website to do for you – share information, sell things, show picture galleries or slideshows, etc.?

It can be expensive to have your website consultant load more than just the first few pages of content on your website. Be sure to ask what is included in their quote. As a start, the most common pages on websites are listed in chapter:

3 The most common pages on websites

When you receive quotes from website consultants, make sure you compare like with like. If there is something you do not understand, email or phone to ask.

When you decide upon your chosen website consultant ensure that both parties sign a legal agreement that details aspects such as the project’s specifications, deliverables, a payment schedule, timing, intellectual property rights and confidentiality.

IMPORTANT: You should consider seeking professional advice before entering into any legally binding agreement.



Do your research before engaging the services of a website consultant.

What to ask when choosing your website consultant

6


Technical competence / Level of expertise / Experience

Have they completed websites or similar projects? (e.g. in your industry and your type of business?)

Can they deliver you a customised solution? i.e. can they work with the tools and resources that you specify, such as your selected CMS, rather than just one of their pre-packaged solutions.

What promotional activities can they offer in addition to building the website to ensure that your audience can find your website? e.g. are they experienced with search engine optimisation (SEO) (will search engines easily find your content)?, and paid online marketing strategies such as “pay-per-click” marketing?

Qualifications and memberships

Inquire what education qualifications the person has and what memberships of professional bodies they hold.

Keep in mind, however, that such qualifications and memberships do not ensure that the person is a dynamic, innovative or creative consultant with specific experience suited to your needs.

Questions to ask the consultant upfront




Professional fees and costs

(See chapter: 5 Receiving quotes from website consultants – Professional fees and costs)

Project cost – exactly what will you get for your money? Be prepared to negotiate.

Will you be able to add new pages for no extra cost?

What on-going costs are involved, e.g. hosting, maintenance agreements, etc.?

HINT: It is very important to read the fine print around hosting etc. There have been instances of contracts that have locked clients into paying web-hosting fees, even where there has been no web-content developed to post onto the site!!

Philosophy & approach

How do they work with clients?

You need to get a sense that their style and approach will fit with your business and your team.

Capacity & Conflict of interest

What resources (specific persons/ resources or time) will be allocated to your project?

It is important to sense that your consultant will be committed to your best interests and success. Be alert to a consultant who is involved with larger, higher paying clients than you, who may become indifferent to your needs after the initial engagement.

Do they have any conflicting interests in taking on your project?

Questions to ask the consultant upfront continued




Ownership Website hosting and domain name registration:

Confirm that these will be under your business name, not the consultant’s (Read the section below this table for important information on this Criteria: Website hosting and domain name registration)

Intellectual Property (IP): Confirm who will own IP rights in the different components of your website (ideally, you) e.g. computer/HTML code, graphics, text, website design, digital files for creating the site, etc.).

Confirm there are no on-going royalty fees to pay for any artwork used on your website. Do you own it? Do you need to pay a fee to licence any stock photos that are used on your site? These need to be owned or licensed by you – not the website consultant.

HINT: Carefully consider what you need to own against what you only need a licence to use. Ownership might cost you a little more up-front but will save you long-term from extra, on-going costs e.g. maintenance / database access (or images, content items, etc.) for the website.

You should consider seeking professional legal advice to ensure that the contractual agreement between both parties spells out who owns the IP rights for each element of your website.

Website management

Confirm that as the owner of the website, you will have full administration privileges. This gives you more control over your website and means you don’t have to depend on your website consultant for every change, update or modification.

Will the site be easy for you to manage the content and keep updated?

Will your site be secure from hackers?

Future changes to website content, pages and information:

It is critical to ascertain who will be responsible for adding in content in the future (such as written text, images and additional pages etc.). This is so that all parties are clear upfront about any future additional hours and charges. Consider that being able to amend your own website yourself can often be cheaper and quicker than relying upon your web consultant, who may be busy on other tasks.





Support What training and support is available, especially in the first few months of running your website?

Risk factors and legal considerations

Ask about potential risk factors and their prevention strategy.

Check that both parties will be required to sign a legal agreement that details aspects such as the project’s specifications, deliverables, a payment schedule, timing, intellectual property rights and confidentiality.

Are they willing to sign confidentiality agreements with you if necessary?

You should consider seeking legal advice before entering into a binding agreement.


Website hosting and domain name registration

Before you build your website, you will also need to purchase web-hosting and register a Domain name. Your website consultant can do this on your behalf, but before agreeing this make sure you read the Important Notes on the following page.

Website hosting

When you buy web-hosting, you are buying a certain amount of storage space on a computer server that is constantly connected to the internet from where you can build your website.

There are a number of web hosting providers in the marketplace and most rent some space to you for a monthly or annual fee. Prices vary, so make sure you do your research and find a reputable provider.

Visit the Hosting your website section of the Australian Government Department of Communications website (https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/digital-business/creating-your-website/hosting-your-website) for tips on how you can locate reliable website hosting that meets the needs of your website and your customers.


https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/digital-business/creating-your-website/hosting-your-website


Domain name registration

A domain name is a unique string of letters, numbers and symbols that identifies where a particular website is located on the internet.

When you buy a domain name you are giving your website an address which helps people find your website, so when choosing a name keep it simple to ensure that your customers can easily find you.

An example of a domain name could be: www.marksmithsurfshop.com.au

www – means the site is linked to the World Wide Web.

marksmithsurfshop – this is your business identity and should represent your brand.

.com – indicates your business is engaged in commercial activity (other endings include .net, .id, .org, .club – it depends upon the entity of the organisation).

.au – indicates that the organisation is registered in Australia.

For tips on how you can choose and register a web address for your business and associate it with your website visit the Registering a web address section of the Australian Government Department of Communications website (https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/digital-business/creating-your-website/registering-a-web-address#howdom).

To register a domain name or view the rules and policies for registration of domain names visit .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA) at www.auda.org.au (Telephone: 1300 732 929).

Important notes• Your website consultant can get your site

registered, created and hosted on your behalf, but make sure that the domain is registered in your business name, not theirs.

• Insist that your consultant transfer the domain to an account that is exclusively for your use so you become “the Registrant”. They should transfer to you the Domain Password, Authorisation Key (Auth Key) or EPP (Extensible Provisioning Protocol) Key and Username and Password for you to access the domain management section that you will have control over. You also have control over the Name Servers that your domain has listed and you can change them to a different host’s Name Servers if required.

• Once the consultant confirms the transfer to you, double check that you have access to the domain account at the domain registrar by logging in.

• Once logged in, ensure that your domain is secure, change the password, keep it in a secure place and make a backup copy of all account logins and passwords.

• If you ever have to grant third-party access to your registration or hosting accounts, change your password once the work is complete and ensure that you update your backup copies with new passwords.


https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/digital-business/creating-your-website/registering-a-web-address#howdom

http://www.auda.org.au

Two-way communication is absolutely critical throughout the project process.

Once you have engaged your website consultant, the website project process usually involves the following main phases:

Website project process7

Phase Comment

Planning & Design Usually involves an initial meeting (and perhaps further meetings dependent upon the complexity of the project) for both parties to ask questions, fully understand the process and develop a project brief and requirements document. You should discuss the project objectives and vision, target audience, content requirements, technologies, CMS, how long your project will take, and agree upon everything needed for your website to be built; designs, menu titles, wording, extra functionality. This should also include the ownership of intellectual property (IP) and those items discussed in Chapter: 6 What to ask when choosing your website consultant.

Some terms you may come across:

Site Map – maps out the website architecture, defining sections, pages and their flow and relationship to each other.

Functional Specification – details the things the website must do – and how it will do them.

Prototype/Wireframes – provides a simple visual layout of the website pages with the intent to support the Functional Specification.

Full understanding by both parties at this stage minimises the risk to the project – if you are unsure of anything then don’t be afraid to ask even if you think it is a stupid question!

Payments:

During this phase a launch payment is usual, sometimes 25 per cent or up to 50 per cent of the project cost with progress payments arranged in advance or a final payment to be made at the end of the project.

HINT: As noted earlier, be cautious if full payment is required up front. Also be aware that contracts can require that web-hosting fees need to be paid regardless of whether web-content is posted or not. It is critical to understand the fine print in these matters.


Website project process

Two-way communication is absolutely critical throughout the project process. So someone with a local presence and an actual physical address that you can visit might be a serious consideration here.

You should view the relationship with your website consultant as a partnership. Your consultant should allow you to view your project throughout the design and development stages, giving you the opportunity to review, provide your feedback and make refinements where necessary, to ensure that you end up with a successful website that meets your business objectives.

Phase Comment

Development Your website consultant will usually create one or more prototype designs for your consideration and provide you the opportunity to refine/ revise accordingly.

Once the final prototype is decided upon, the web consultant will proceed to create the actual site developing the home page, content pages, CMS, forms etc.

Communication is key during this phase and regular progress meetings or telephone calls, at least weekly, between you and the website consultant should be taking place.

Testing and Delivery

Consultant to complete Quality Assurance Testing (coding and content integration, testing and bug fixes) until satisfied the website is ready to be launched.

You should then have a final meeting, or be given time, to look over the website, before giving your final approval for the website to be launched.

Dependent upon your contractual arrangements, the consultant may provide training in how to use your website and/ or a guide for you to follow.

Final payments and publishing of the website live on the internet.

Support and Maintenance

This will depend upon your contractual arrangements and whether you agreed that the consultant will continue to work with and support you for a period of time following the delivery phase.


1 A successful website is carefully targeted, well designed, enhances your business image, is helpful to your customers and suppliers, whilst also contributing to your bottom line.

2 Your website needs to be designed so that the content is easy for you to manage and update (to ensure it is always current, accurate and relevant for your customers), whilst also being easy for them to find, navigate to information and complete business transactions.

3 Do your research before engaging the services of a website consultant.

It is good practice to always get quotes from 2–5 website consultants before making your final choice.

4 When you have chosen your website consultant ensure that both parties sign a legal agreement.

You should consider seeking legal advice before entering into a binding agreement.

5 Ensure that your domain is registered in your business name, that it is secure, and that you make a backup copy of all account logins and passwords.

6 Ensure that the contractual agreement between both parties spells out who owns IP rights in each element of your website.

7 Agree with your website consultant on the training and support that will be available to you, especially in the first few months of running your website.

8 Two-way communication is absolutely critical throughout the project process.

View the relationship with your website consultant as a partnership – a good consultant will implement features that support your business objectives.

Summary8


Further help and assistance9

Contact Description Telephone Website

.au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA)

For businesses wanting to register a domain name or view the rules and policies for registration of domain names.

1300 732 929 www.auda.org.au

Department of Communications – Digital business website

Practical advice, tips and tools about getting online, creating a website, marketing, security and legal considerations.

www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/digital-business

Department of Communications – Stay Smart Online

Understand the risks and simple steps you can take to protect your business, customer and supplier sensitive personal and financial information online.

https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/stay-smart-online

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC)

This report is for Australian and overseas-based businesses that supply, or intend to supply, products to Australian consumers via the internet. It advises of the steps you can take to address product safety issues and foster better outcomes for consumers.

www.accc.gov.au/publications/consumer-product-safety-online

Office of the Small Business Commissioner

Assistance with dispute resolution and mediation, business to business or business to State or Federal Government, information on businesses’ rights and responsibilities, information on Government services available to small businesses and advice and assistance with retail and commercial leases including bond management.

Toll Free 1800 072 722

www.sasbc.sa.gov.au


http://www.auda.org.au

http://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/digital-business

https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/stay-smart-online

http://www.accc.gov.au/publications/consumer-product-safety-online

http://www.sasbc.sa.gov.au

Disclaimer

The Government of South Australia gives no warranty and makes no representation, whether express or implied, as to the accuracy of information contained within this guide or the suitability of the information for any purpose. Any use of the information contained in this guide (whether authorised or not) is at the users’ sole risk and the Government of South Australia disclaims responsibility for any loss or damage incurred as a result of such use. The information is provided solely on the basis that users of the information will make their own assessment of the accuracy of the information and users are advised to verify all information contained within this document. Any information about the law in Australia or South Australia is provided as general information only and is not legal advice. This guide is a starting point only and is not a substitute for legal or professional advice. While the Department has attempted to ensure the information is accurate at the time of publishing, no responsibility will be accepted for any errors or omissions and the Government of South Australia will not be liable for any loss or damage incurred by any person as a consequence of any use, reference or reliance on this information. Any such use, reference or reliance shall be at the sole risk of that person who should seek their own legal and/or professional advice if required.

Copyright

Produced by the South Australian Government

© October 2015

Department of State Development

GPO Box 320, Adelaide SA 5001

Telephone: +61 8 8226 3821 Email: [email protected] www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/smallbusiness

http://www.statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/smallbusiness

Documents

Engaging a website consultant A guide for business …...website yourself, but before you proceed with a ‘Do-it-Yourself’ approach make sure that you check your online business