Your 5-point checklist for website project success

Your 5-point checklist for website project success

by | 22 Oct 2021 | Outsourcing, Websites

The importance of being on the same page can be the difference between a website project that succeeds or fails. Not being aligned can lead to miscommunication, ambiguity, reworkings, wasted time, and even unsatisfactory outcomes. But there are ways to avoid these common pitfalls so you can set yourself up for success.

At Winch Websites, we make use of a number of tools to help smooth and guide the transfer of details, information and ideas, to keep everyone in the loop, and to provide feedback. These include (among others) templates for processes, templates to gather data and directions, and easy-to-use commenting right on the website project pages.

Here’s our 5 most important areas to focus on, to ensure you get what you desire from a website project.

Roles and responsibilities

A clear understanding of roles and responsibilities is key to a smooth project. When there’s a breakdown in who’s responsible for what, projects tend to go awry. Make sure you’re clear about the role/responsibility of each team member before a project begins — and don’t pick up tasks you’re not supposed to be doing!

This might translate into;

  • who is ‘the voice’ for the project on your side, to be the main conduit to the website creator, the graphic designer, or the content writer?
  • who makes the final decision to move to the next stage, or if there are differing opinions?
  • who will be reviewing and assessing what’s been done, and suggesting changes/improvements?
  • who will write the words, source the images & photos, decide the colour-scheme, design the layout?

Vision

It’s a good idea to have a clear vision for your startup before you begin. It can be difficult to make progress without some kind of guiding principle. If all of the people on board with the project know what the mission is, they can keep each other on task and moving toward success.

This could be making sure that all concerned know what the ultimate objectives for the website project are – is it to sell online, generate leads, build an email list, or create awareness? How will you know you’ve achieved your objectives? Putting numbers to it makes it easier for people to see where the project is headed – for example, a 50% increase in online sales.

Budget

It’s always good to have a budget prepared. But the budget shouldn’t be so specific that it cuts off potential opportunities or unforeseen expenses. You should have enough wiggle room to make changes to the project’s direction if necessary, but try hard not to change it willy-nilly. Everyone involved in the project should agree on the budget beforehand for transparency and clarity among all parties, and aim to stick to it.

If significant changes look to be beneficial though, be ready to adjust the budget accordingly. You’ll definitely want to avoid expectations that the scope and size of your project can simply adapt as you come up with new ideas, without impacting the budget and the timelines.

Timelines & Scope

Speaking of which… the biggest challenge of any web development project is setting realistic timelines and milestones. A project should have clear timelines even before the start of the work. If anyone plans to get involved in the project or if there are any challenges that could come up, update these timelines immediately. If you update it often, there should be no scope creep and everyone will be aligned with timetables.

The last thing we want is someone expecting a website to be launched on Day X when it’s been pushed back due to agreed changes in scope – particularly if that person is telling others it will be ready!

You and others involved in the project will likely have plenty of other stuff to do besides the website project. Be sure to allocate appropriate resources and time of your own to keep up with what you are expected to do in the agreed timeline. No point getting stressed because you can’t fit in what people need you to do – it’s better to over-estimate the time required than under-estimate. Everyone loves to come in early on a project! 😀

Scheduled Check-Ins

Scheduling check-ins is one of the most vital parts of running a business. Communication is key to success; you can’t manage what you don’t know, and regular check-ins are excellent opportunities to share and listen.

By setting up check-ins at certain intervals (weekly, monthly, or quarterly), you can ensure everyone concerned is on the same page and any potential roadblocks are identified before they become problems.

At Winch Websites, we provide a project update email every Friday; what’s been done, what’s being done next, and what you need to give us in the next week. And of course, phone or videoconference calls can happen on top of that if there are particular aspects to discuss further.

Like A Bit More?

If you found this quick overview interesting and useful, you might like to download our free guide to learn the secrets to a successful website project, featuring tips that you can implement straight away. It expands further on what’s above, plus you’ll get a series of bite-size emails to build up your awareness and capabilities even more.


Get 5 Steps To A Winning Website Project
5 questions you’ll want to ask me about website care plans.

5 questions you’ll want to ask me about website care plans.

by | 15 Oct 2021 | Outsourcing, Take Care, Websites

One of the most fundamental things you can do for your website is to prevent it from breaking. Alarmingly, there are still many business owners who don’t take web maintenance seriously enough. It’s natural to think that, since you built it, you can manage it. But having a hands-on approach to your site care simply isn’t sustainable over the long run.

How much do you know about website care plans? What are your questions on professional website care? If you’re seeking answers to these questions, read on.

1. Why are care plans so important?

Your website is powered by software, just the same as your phone and your computer/laptop. And as you are well aware, software needs to be kept up-to-date to keep the bad guys out, to fix bugs and problems that have been discovered, and to add new features and capabilities.

So your website is no different, there are constant modifications and improvements to its software that you are highly recommended to keep up with. While it may not be so important to add all the latest bells & whistles, it is vital to ensure that your website won’t fail when a visitor tries to use it (for example, buy something, send you an enquiry, or sign up for your newsletter). It is equally vital that you don’t let others break in and take control of your website through security faults in the software. Just think, if you found one of your windows at home wasn’t closing any more, you’re more than likely not going to leave it that way or you risk someone burgling the place. So it is with your website, don’t leave those back windows with broken locks.

This is real-world stuff too, and I’ve had a number of clients come to me after being stung. One organisation had recently launched their new website, it was hacked and defaced with less-than-pleasant content, and they lost the whole investment. Website security and maintenance wasn’t their ‘thing’ (and absolutely no reason for it to be) but they paid a hefty price for just assuming everything could be left alone once the site was published.

2. My website isn’t that big or complicated, do I still need a care plan?

No matter how simple your website, as mentioned above, it is powered by software – and someone needs to look after that software to keep it updated. I’m a big fan of continuously making small updates, rather than waiting for long periods and then catching up with everything in one go.

Waiting longer means risking your website getting attention of the wrong sort while a security hole has been discovered, even though there’s a fix which you haven’t got yet. It also means there are more significant software changes which risk incompatibilities or untested jumps from old version to latest version.

Small updates often is the go!

3. Can’t I just run the updates myself?

Of course you can! You can service your own car too. And fix your own plumbing. And a myriad of other DIY tasks, at work or at home.

But here’s the thing – what’s the best use of your time? I know for a fact that you have exactly the same 24 hours in every day that I do. What would be the best way you can spend your work time and avoid losing your leisure/family time?

I would guess that while most updates are quick and easy, sorting things out when there’s a hiccup is not going to be a favourite activity of yours.

Outsourcing your website care to a professional who has the tools, the knowledge and the experience to keep your website humming is an investment in your business, freeing you to spend that time on growing and building your business.

4. It doesn’t seem that complicated, so what’s included in a care plan?

Website care from Winch Websites is more than simply ensuring that the website software is updated every so often. Those updates are an essential element, but on top of that, all websites under our website care have a range of additional “add-ons” activated to make sure the website is all good.

For example, daily backups that are independent of webhosting. What if there’s a fire at the data-centre where your website (and its webserver backups) are housed? That was an event that took out thousands of websites in March 2021. Eek! 😱

Website security is another benefit of website care by Winch Websites – if your site is hosted with us, you already get excellent security protections, this is stepped up for website care clients.

Higher website care plans include blocking spammers from using your website forms, and 24/7/365 monitoring with auto-alerts (to us) if your website disappears for any reason.

One thing may particularly appeal to busy people is that all plans include some time to make changes to your website – update that paragraph, amend that pricing, replace that photo etc. Send an email and it’s taken care of for you.

5. Doesn’t my hosting company do that?

Horses for courses. Your dentist is good at teeth, but I don’t know that you want to be buying home-made toothpaste and/or toothbrushes from her/him. Hosting companies may provide some elements of website care – you should certainly expect them to be maintaining the underlying webserver that powers your website software, for example.

Hosting is not a high-profit-margin business though, so one way or another you’d need to be paying for additional attention given to your site. Your site is unique, with its combination of words, images, functions and tools. It’s not an environment that works particularly well for highly automated mass-scale operations.

So while you could expect site backups, good security, and reasonable performance, investing in someone who is familiar with your site, can give it one-on-one attention, and who can help you make sure your website is doing positive things, is an investment that will pay dividends.

For more info about website care by Winch Websites, take a look at the range of plans available and what they include. These are structured to help you as the owner of a website be confident that it is doing what it should and that there’s someone on hand for when it isn’t, and to assist in keeping it accurate, correct and fresh. Get in touch if you’d like to chat about website care for your website.

I would especially love to hear from you if you have ideas and advice on what else a website care plan needs to be of value to you.

5 Tips For Working With A Website Creator

5 Tips For Working With A Website Creator

by | 6 Aug 2021 | Outsourcing, Websites

Investing your time, energy and money into a website project offers big benefits but comes with significant risks. Even if you’ve had a website created before, it can be difficult to know how to ensure it is successful, with different people, processes and technologies involved every time.

So what do you need to have in place, for a website project to run smoothly?

  1. Know what YOU want – One of the most important things you can do is be clear on what you are trying to achieve with your website. Best advice is to choose SMART goals, that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, a 50% increase in sales within 12 months of publishing the new website. Having a clear brief lets you and your website creator stay on the same page and move you towards your goals.
  2. Find a web professional you can trust – While it is very important to find someone with the skills, experience, tools and ability to create the website you have in mind, it is also important to see if their personality is a good fit for you and yours for them. It is so much easier to communicate effectively and work together if you get on with each other. Are they happy to answer questions, and are the answers put in terms you understand? Are they interested in you and what you’re trying to achieve? Are there examples of previous work with their name on it? Is that the sort of thing you want them to do for you?
  3. Follow a process – Having a timeline in place is crucial for a project to run smoothly. Be clear with yourself and with the website creator on how long the project is expected to take, and that appropriate time & resources will be allocated. Map out how you and the website creator expect the project to run, and what communication and collaboration tools will be used. Will that suit you?
  4. Have a clear budget – Decide on the level of investment you are prepared to make for your website. Obviously, a $300 website is very different to a $30,000 website. Both are common! Agree your budget with your web creator before you start any work, and what that is going to provide – a formal signed proposal is a good way to proceed. Expect any additional features or changes that are outside the initial scope of work to require additional investment. Don’t be tempted to go for the cheapest option, it is cheap for a reason.
  5. Be prepared to get involved –You are unlikely to get what you want unless you are able to give constructive feedback, it is the lifeblood of a good web design project. Try to ensure that you provide feedback on each step of the process and especially when asked. It helps you and your website creator to stay on the same page. Provide feedback in a way that moves the project forward – so not “I don’t like the background colour”, but rather “I prefer a light blue for the background colour”.

Hopefully these quick tips are useful when you next look for a website creator to assist with your next website project. If you’d like to learn how to make your next website project a winner in more detail, why not download our free guide to learn the secrets to a successful website project, featuring tips that you can implement straight away.

How low are YOUR barriers to entry?

How low are YOUR barriers to entry?

by | 2 Sep 2019 | Outsourcing, Take Care, Web services, Webhosting, Website Building, Website Care, Website Design, Websites

Let’s focus on my business for a bit. Usually, I’m all about my client’s business (the “if they do well, I do well” perspective), but we’ll flip it around for a change.

The websites/web-marketing industry is undergoing huge changes. Has been for years, of course, along with technology in general. Ask a website designer/builder to go back 5 years and recall how websites were built, and compare to today’s tools and techniques. It’s chalk and cheese.

  • faster
  • easier
  • slicker
  • more effective.

And cheaper. Like most technology (except iPhones, it seems…!).

In the last couple of years, there have been 2 major developments that have led to a massive surge in the number of people who say they are available to build you a fabulous website. “Page builders” which greatly reduce or even eliminate the technical knowledge needed. And “Software as a Service” which lets you subscribe to functions & tools & facilities that you need, when you need them, without having any hassles with installation, maintenance, upgrades or backups.

You may have seen the Wix ads, or Squarespace, or GoDaddy. Yes, you can DIY – build a website right now, and it will indeed look good, at low cost (to start with). Get up and running in an hour or two. They don’t lie.

So we have a huge number of ‘experts’ out there now. The web industry has such low barriers to entry that it has become an enticing side-gig, a part-time activity that fits in with the full-time job or study. All you need is a reasonable internet connection.

The result is apparently a reverse hourglass effect. Squeeze at the bottom of the market (lots and lots of competition for low-priced projects), squeeze at the top of the market (high-ticket projects attracting increased attention from mid-range players who can easily access more advanced capabilities).

In the middle, though, there seems to be a more positive effect for business such as Winch Websites. A project can now include functions and facilities that would have been financially out of reach to small and micro businesses or non-profits. It’s here that clients typically already have experience with owning a website, and recognise the skills, expertise and benefits that a professional brings to play. Websites are no longer about the technology – it’s about what they are there to achieve for the organisation. More sales? More signups? More donations? More enquiries or leads? The focus is on the outcome, not the tool. Find out what the outcome is first, then find the best tool to make that happen. Then fine-tune and optimise, forever. Something worth investing in, in other words.

Anyway, what I’m getting at is that although the website and web-marketing industries have very low barriers to entry (and therefore many, many participants), it doesn’t mean that getting something good is easy and cheap as chips. A decent investment really should pay dividends.

However, riding shotgun with the low barriers to entry is the lack of regulation and control. If you haven’t come across outrageous claims already, you won’t have to go far to find some. Think “website in a day”, “Google page 1”, “10x your sales”.

How about your own industry? How easy is it for a newcomer to come along and think “Hmm, that looks like an easy way to earn money. I’ll say I can do it and then work it out from there!”?

If you too have low barriers to entry, you’ll be familiar with all of the above. And like as not, you too will have had customers who’ve tried the cheap and the quick, been burned, and are now looking for experience and knowledge.

When you go looking for website and web-marketing services, please bear in mind that there’s little to stop people saying what they like in internet-land. Take claims with a small pinch of cynicism and maybe do a bit of due diligence. Ask or look for evidence that your chosen service provider has done this sort of thing, and that it’s worked. Be ever-so-slightly distrustful of reviews and testimonials unless there’s evidence to back them up as genuine customers.

At Winch Websites, I’m well aware that the competition for your web-marketing dollars is global, huge, and a minefield of options, technicalities, capabilities and playing with the truth. I aim to provide honest and accurate advice, and if we aren’t a good fit for each other in terms of outcomes and objectives, I’ll happily refer you to services or businesses that are.

I want to take care of your website so that you can take care of your business – over the long term, ongoing. That’s not going to happen unless you get great value from Winch Websites. So next time you’re looking for website design & build, website care or email automation services, please get in touch. At the very least, you’ll get something to compare against. And I’d love to hear what you think when you do compare, business feedback is so hard to come by!

Good luck in your business, and may low barriers to entry be no barriers to your success!!

Interested in working with us?

Get In Touch Now

I used to service my

I used to service my

by | 26 Mar 2019 | Outsourcing, Take Care

Once upon a time, in the ‘good old days’, I had a Triumph 1500. Cream-coloured saloon, 4 doors, double headlights, manual, leather(ish) seats. Great first car.

(photo: By Charles01 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11341226)

I did all my own servicing on that car. It was like a giant Meccano set (for those not familiar with the brand, you had all sorts of metal shapes full of holes that you could bolt together to make fabulous machines, the big-kid version of Lego). In that Triumph, you could take stuff apart, clean it, replace worn out bits, put it together, and it was better than before.

I do have a mind that likes taking things apart and putting them together, I will admit. All the same, the Triumph 1500 made it quite easy. Generally, access to things was easy enough, spares were easy to find. I was a Mechanic!! (and now I’m regularly on a big red fire-truck, but that’s another story…)

My next car was a much more modern Ford hatchback, I forget the model. It had electronic ignition, was packed into a small engine-bay. First time I tried to tune that Ford, I stuffed it. Because now you need specialist equipment, skills and experience.

So I gave up my car maintenance hobby and let the professionals do it. It costs me to get a car serviced by someone, of course, but a) it’s easy and b) I can be reasonably confident it will be done properly and quickly.

I’m sure I could still do it myself. However, I have other things I could and should be doing – including newer hobbies like family, doing up this house, learning guitar. Servicing my own car would no doubt still give me a sense of achievement, but it would suck up time and need a bit of learning plus some new equipment and gadgets (hmm, there’s a thought…).

This same principle is almost certain to apply to you. What are you doing, where are you spending your time, effort and funds to do something yourself that someone else could do more quickly, more effectively? If you enjoy it, stick with it. But if in a perfect world you could stop doing it, it’s worth considering the benefits of outsourcing.

Weigh up the cost of getting someone else to do it against what you would do with that free time, alongside knowing that it has been done properly (no left over bits!).

An example is book-keeping. Are you catching up on your accounts on a Sunday? Imagine just handing that over to someone else. Checkout Roneta’s services at Enhanced Power for what I mean.

Another example might be your website. When are you managing that? Are you adding new content every now and then? More importantly, how often are you making sure all the components are updated with security and bug fixes? Backups? Again, all of this can be handed over to someone else for around the price of a couple of hours of your time per month.

At Winch Websites, we offer a Website Care plan that looks after all the technical stuff (updates, security, backups, search-engine basics, speed & performance) and also lets you make any changes you like simply by sending an email with what you want done. Your website hums along all tuned-up. Easy and stress free.

Sure you could look after your website yourself. A great many do. This isn’t about whether you CAN though, it’s about whether you SHOULD. You’re running a business, it’s a business judgement you need to make – at what point is your time worth more doing other things? Are you going to build and grow your business more through DIY website maintenance or have you reached a point where it’s more cost-effective to hand it over?

I did really enjoy looking after that old Triumph 1500. The cars I drive now though, I’m not interested in getting under the hood. Aside from a wisp of nostalgia, I can’t say I regret that, with a lot else to do instead!

Interested in working with us?

Get In Touch Now