Web site design from Web Technik Ltd
Starting in the mid-1990s it has rapidly became the case that a pre-requisite for any successful business is a web site. Before that the first thing a new business would acquire was a business card.
I expect you will have worked out the economics: a well targeted half page magazine advert will cost several hundred pounds and will be in the recycling bin next week. What is the value of a 5 page starter website in comparison?
- Many times as much information as in that magazine advert.
- Available for a few years.
- Easy to change (what happens if a magazine advert has an error in your 'phone number?).
- Not limited to the readership of the magazine.
- Visible to anyone with a computer and internet access. That now means just about everybody in business and anyone with money to spend.
- Interactive, you can include video, forms, calculators.
- Measurable - you can have meaningful statistics showing not only how many readers you've attracted but how long they spent on your pages, what actions they took.
The budget approach to business cards was DIY. I have seen business cards which have been typed and cut out or printed with a rubber stamp. A web site to do credit to your business is much more important - but also costs rather more than a pack of business cards. That acts as in incentive for some to take a DIY approach. Or if they are too busy or find it's harder than they thought there's always an enthusiastic nephew who considers himself "a real whiz" on computers. We understand: times are hard, cash is short, your new business venture may not work out. On the other hand the web site is your shop window to the world, is it the best thing to economise on? Where is your time best used - learning a new skill to save a few hundred pounds so you can devote more time to building a web site yourself or actively looking for paying customers, exercising your expertise to serve them well and generate income?
We do offer some "budget website" options - we'd rather a struggling start-up business had the best chance to survive, grow and recognise the support we gave by coming back to us as their needs and aspirations develop.
Whatever you decide just remember the name of Web Technik. If you do feel forced to take one of the cheap options at first, there will come a point when you understand that you need something better. Maybe you just need some problems fixing (see our Web site Rescue page), or maybe you need to step up to a more professional website with additional functionality.
One reason we started Web Technik, back in 1996, was that we saw businesses paying thousands of pounds for web sites that should only have taken a day or two to create. Smaller businesses couldn't afford those rates - but in any case they were unjustified. We calculated that we could produce good quality work at affordable prices. Our aim was that our web sites for small and medium sized businesses should only differ from those of "household names" in terms of size. There is no reason why a small start-up business should not have a professional quality web site.
A few examples from the thousands of projects we have completed since 1996
AG Wind Power
Webtechnik have been working closely with AG Windpower to develop a new
website showcasing the wind turbine erection, operation and maintenance
services they offer.
Since the creation of the site it has undergone continual development to
achieve and maintain a high search engine ranking and to keep pace with
developments within the renewable energy industry.
AG Wind Power and affiliate company Access Training Services both use
Webtechnik to manage their websites promoting the range of work at
height and turbine access and rescue training courses they offer.
ECUS
An Environmental Consultancy business, originally established by Sheffield University. This contract for the web site was won against vigorous competition by Web Technik in a competitive tendering process managed by Sheffield Business Link. Bespoke programming handles course bookings. A packaged product provides integrated "news" items with headlines on the home page and full stories on news pages. The client is able to make some updates to the site, but for more complex tasks they rely on Web Technik's web site maintenance services. This site was completed in early 2005. As a result of a relaunch of ECUS' marketing and changed requirements a major revision was commissioned in 2009 taking the site from about 30 to 90 pages whilst incorporating up to date standards and improved search engine compatibility.
Unosand
Unosand is a Sheffield company which saw a gap in the market which they could address with their extensive expertise in abrasives primarily for manufacture of timber products. They developed a range of consumables for industrial sanding machines. Some manufacturers now ship Unosand consumables and recommend them. Unosand has a growing international market and realised that their previous web site was not projecting the professional image of the company. In the first instance Unosand approached Web Technik for our expertise in bespoke on-page calculators, they were considering a utility to help potential purchasers select the best abrasive configuration for their needs.
Dawmed Clinic
Dawmed International is a widely respected manufacturer and supplier of equipment used in hospitals to thoroughly decontaminate, cleanse, dry and store major items of surgical equipment such as endoscopes after use. Web Technik were approached to produce a web-site for a new product aimed at Dental surgeries. The initial contact was made through Sheffield Business Link tendering process and Dawmed were reassured by Web Technik's involvement with other medical web sites. There was a need for interactivity which was provided by two calculators and animated product images.
Following the successful completion of the Dawmed Clinic web site Web Technik was also employed to build a site for the parent company - similar but distinctive in it's own right.