Articles

Search Engine Optimization

This article appeared in the October 2005 Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce Newsletter

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of examining a website to determine whether it reaches its target market. In other words, SEO is marketing for the Web.

Internet marketing is very different than marketing for advertising and print. In order to reach your target audience, your site needs to appear on the first few pages of the search engines results or you may need to consider using pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, such as Google's AdSense package.

Review of TikiWiki Content Management System

For Spotlight on Lake's website, we wanted a Content Management System ("CMS") that:

Would allow our users to post articles or add events to a calendar,
Included a website directory,
Had flexibility as an advertising medium, and
Would allow a custom design instead of a "cookie-cutter" template.

After making CMS comparisons at CMS Matrix and testing various CMS demos at OpenSourceCMS, it was determined that TikiWiki offered all of the features we wanted.

Do-It-Yourself vs. Professional Web Design

More and more people are opting to "do-it-yourself" for many types of projects, such as redesigning the bathroom to include a hot tub. Some people are tackling brand new projects, like building a bookcase from scratch. There are people who think that designing a website is an easy do-it-yourself project, and this may be the best option for a personal web page or photo album of your trip to the Bahamas. However, for a business or professional organization, there are many important items, such as validating the web pages and designing for usability, that probably won't be considered by a novice doing web design.

Other Design Considerations

You've completed the research and are now ready to get started. For both projects, how much time do you have to learn how to use each tool correctly and in the proper sequence before you start?

Ready-Made vs. Professional Web Design

For both projects, you will need to be able to follow the product's directions on how to put it together. This can be a frustrating experience when Part 1A doesn't fit into Slot 4D on the bookcase or when the script you copied and pasted into the HTML code just won't function correctly.

Amateur vs. Professional Web Design

Hiring a friend, relative or amateur may seem to be a cost-effective solution for your website project, but there are inherent drawbacks that you should consider before you proceed. Ask yourself the following questions:

MsDetta, Inc. provides its clientele with many professional web design services. For more information on these services, please use the Contact form or call 219.629.2909.