Kwok Talk

If you have ever needed a new website, then you may have written a request for proposal once or twice, otherwise known as an RFP. An RFP minimally consists of information about the company, project requirements, and a proposed timeline. It is a lot like a dating profile in that you are not just soliciting potential web design agencies to respond to you but you are also hoping that they pick you as well. You are trying to intrigue them to learn more about what it would be like to have a relationship with you. Just like online dating, you can get a sense if the prospect is the fit or not just by reading the RFP.

If you are like most people, you have dreamed of quitting the rat race and starting your own business. The thing is, a lot of successful business owners have started their companies on the side with nothing more than a website, myself included. Remember that the best time to plant a tree is today. Here, we have compiled a checklist of what the basic things you need to start a new website.

Anyone who has hired a web designer or creative agency knows that the price of a website can vary a lot. If you don’t know what I am talking about try getting a few companies to quote for a ten page informational mobile-friendly WordPress website with the exact same requirements you will get quotes ranging widely from $500 to $50,000 or more. Below we discuss the various reasons why these huge discrepancies occur.

The key to a successful website and driving more sales is high engagement. When you create unique and entertaining content on a regular basis, your visitors will always come back for more which will increase sharing and your page rank in organic search. By increasing website engagement, you can more effectively convert your prospects into customers. Below are some simple ways to increase website engagement and improve user experience to better hone in on your target market.

So if you have ever considered a WordPress website, you have probably seen the millions of premade WordPress themes out there. A premade WordPress theme can be purchased for about $60-$100 which means you can save thousands on your website, right? Well, not exactly because these short-term savings can hugely reduce sales long run as premade themes are riddled with issues, which we have outlined below. You get what you pay for so buyer beware…

A lot of our clients are curious as to what we predict will be hot and new next year. We anticipate that all the web design trends for 2015 will continue to play out in 2016 with everything revolving around responsive web design and the mobile user experience. For the majority of companies who survive on business driven by their websites, forward-looking is the only way to approach a redesign project. Below, we have outlined some of our web design predictions.

We always get calls from companies where web designers have run off with their deposits or suddenly gone missing. Worse yet, some opt to save a few bucks and hire their friend or relative to do it for “free” only to realize that opportunity costs were far greater than the savings. Running a web design business, I get these kinds of frantic fix-it calls everyday, which is why I have decided to share my best tips for hiring the right web design firm the first time around.

We spend a lot of time talking to companies about their websites here. Over the last four years, we have talked to over 500 prospects in many different industries from young startups to established corporations. We have pretty much heard it all. Unfortunately, a lot of people make the same mistakes. Although we recommend that you perform your own research, interviewing and due diligence, we have outlined some common mistakes people make so you can learn from them.