When is the Best Time to Launch a New or Redeveloped Website?

1. Does your site meet or exceed the standards set by the competition? Every commercial website, regardless of the industry it pertains to, will have competition in some form or fashion. Analyze your competitors' websites and see whether or your not your site compares favourably to theirs.
2. Does your website possess a unique property that will enhance your business in comparison to those of the competition? Every business needs a way to distinguish itself in order to "bring it to the front of the pack
   Failing To Plan Is Planning To Fail!
   Ok most of us have heard this statement, possibly even have it on a poster on the wall or even used it within internal training sessions to your staff. But I find this one of the most ignored business statements there is. You would be surprised how many businesses start without a business plan written down in an organised form, covering all of the business issues. The truth is, had many of these businesses took the time to do this; chances are many may never have been started in the first place. Take for example marketing. A business owner might in his head know what he wants to sell and how much he is going to sell if for, but never once considers it would take money to promote or market his services or product.A structured business plan would have shown this. Take banking charges, seasonality or products, Christmas time when businesses shut down, holiday time when potential customers are away on holiday are all factors that should be written into a structured business plan. When the question is asked the answer nearly always is, “I do have a business plan, it’s just not written down but in my head”. When you
   The Common Misconception

   On September 1, 2005, I was contacted by Ivan Schneider of Award Kitchen Refacers. Award had confirmed participation as an exhibitor at the National Home Show in Toronto at the end of the month and wanted to have a website, logo and set of business cards that could be presented to the public to support their offline marketing efforts at that time.

   Ivan and I sat down the next week and went through the various materials and sketches that Award had come up with for use on the website. Some of the sketches contained layouts and rough copy for the body of the Award Kitchen Refacers website.

   There was a fairly large volume of material to encompass, and I wasn't sure if I could cover all aspects of it along with other client work. I asked Ivan, "I'm not sure if I can complete the site, cards, and logo by the end of the month."

   "That's okay."

   "What do you mean? You want to go to the home show with a completed site."

   "No I don't. I'd be happy with the opening page, and a couple of the writeup pages. You can worry about some of the other details after. And over the next few months, we're going to keep improving on it anyway."

   It was then that I realized something that had been engrained in my mind over my six years as a web designer/developer was totally incorrect.

   The misconception: "A website should only be revealed to the public when it is complete."

   The truth: "A good website is never truly 'complete', and is a constantly evolving entity unto itself."

   One of the unique aspects of the Internet is that designers and developers are constantly pushing its boundaries from both the design and development standpoints, discovering new and more efficient ways to accomplish tasks, developing new coding standards, improving their graphic abilities, and taking advantage of newer technologies and programs as they become readily available to the populace.

   This, in conjunction with the continued growth of the businesses that said websites represent, creates a state whereby effective commercial websites are in a continual, Darwin-like state of evolution. Content is added; functionality is improved; new features are implemented; graphics and site layouts are tweaked and, when necessary, completely redone. All of these things considered, the question becomes: When is the best time to launch a new or redeveloped website?

   When is the Best Time to Launch a New or Redeveloped Website?

   1. Does your site meet or exceed the standards set by the competition? Every commercial website, regardless of the industry it pertains to, will have competition in some form or fashion. Analyze your competitors' websites and see whether or your not your site compares favourably to theirs.
   2. Does your website possess a unique property that will enhance your business in comparison to those of the competition? Every business needs a way to distinguish itself in order to "bring it to the front of the pack"
      How to Find Your Way at eBay?
      Despite its colossal size, navigating through eBay pages is not a problem at all. Here is a quick summary of how to find your way at eBay.If you want to sign up at eBay (that’s the first thing you will have to do, if you want to take active part on eBay), look for ‘Register’. If you have already registered yourself with eBay, click on ‘Sign in’ to enter into the most exciting market place in the world for participation.If you want to buy something on eBay, look for ‘Buy’ on the main page. Once you have selected an item for purchase, and you happen to be the highest bidder after the expiry (delisting of item), you have to click ‘Pay’ to facilitate the payment for the item won by you. Similarly if you want to sell something, simply clicking ‘Sell’ on the page will redirect you to desired place.After having registered at eBay, your account is opened at the market place. This can be accessed by clicking ‘My eBay’. EBay’s efforts on making the website user friendly are laudable. You can have help two ways – through ‘Help’ or having a live help (through chat).EBay also offers host of other servic
      tp://www.awardkitchenrefacers.ca">the Award Kitchen Refacers website.

      There was a fairly large volume of material to encompass, and I wasn't sure if I could cover all aspects of it along with other client work. I asked Ivan, "I'm not sure if I can complete the site, cards, and logo by the end of the month."

      "That's okay."

      "What do you mean? You want to go to the home show with a completed site."

      "No I don't. I'd be happy with the opening page, and a couple of the writeup pages. You can worry about some of the other details after. And over the next few months, we're going to keep improving on it anyway."

      It was then that I realized something that had been engrained in my mind over my six years as a web designer/developer was totally incorrect.

      The misconception: "A website should only be revealed to the public when it is complete."

      The truth: "A good website is never truly 'complete', and is a constantly evolving entity unto itself."

      One of the unique aspects of the Internet is that designers and developers are constantly pushing its boundaries from both the design and development standpoints, discovering new and more efficient ways to accomplish tasks, developing new coding standards, improving their graphic abilities, and taking advantage of newer technologies and programs as they become readily available to the populace.

      This, in conjunction with the continued growth of the businesses that said websites represent, creates a state whereby effective commercial websites are in a continual, Darwin-like state of evolution. Content is added; functionality is improved; new features are implemented; graphics and site layouts are tweaked and, when necessary, completely redone. All of these things considered, the question becomes: When is the best time to launch a new or redeveloped website?

      When is the Best Time to Launch a New or Redeveloped Website?

      1. Does your site meet or exceed the standards set by the competition? Every commercial website, regardless of the industry it pertains to, will have competition in some form or fashion. Analyze your competitors' websites and see whether or your not your site compares favourably to theirs.
      2. Does your website possess a unique property that will enhance your business in comparison to those of the competition? Every business needs a way to distinguish itself in order to "bring it to the front of the pack
         How To Cut Your Business Expenses
         I learned about business expenses at one of my first jobs. It was in a fast food restaurant, working as an assistant manager I was responsible for placing the orders for food and supplies. I noticed how many thousands of dollars we spent on ketchup, mayonnaise and other sauce packets. Then I watched for a while, to see how many the employees were handing out at the drive-through window.Pretty quickly, I realized that many of the employees were putting a handful of packets in the bag for customers - before even asking if they wanted any. It was time for a new policy, I decided. I informed all the employees that they were to ask the customers if they wanted ketchup, mustard or any other sauce packets. Then they were to either ask how many they wanted, or let the customer see them putting just a few in the bag, so the customer could ask for more if they wanted more.The customers were happy, and fewer packets went out that window. How many fewer? I don't remember exactly. What I do remember, is that after tracking our subsequent use of sauce packets, I discovered that the new policy was saving the restaurant
         on it anyway."

         It was then that I realized something that had been engrained in my mind over my six years as a web designer/developer was totally incorrect.

         The misconception: "A website should only be revealed to the public when it is complete."

         The truth: "A good website is never truly 'complete', and is a constantly evolving entity unto itself."

         One of the unique aspects of the Internet is that designers and developers are constantly pushing its boundaries from both the design and development standpoints, discovering new and more efficient ways to accomplish tasks, developing new coding standards, improving their graphic abilities, and taking advantage of newer technologies and programs as they become readily available to the populace.

         This, in conjunction with the continued growth of the businesses that said websites represent, creates a state whereby effective commercial websites are in a continual, Darwin-like state of evolution. Content is added; functionality is improved; new features are implemented; graphics and site layouts are tweaked and, when necessary, completely redone. All of these things considered, the question becomes: When is the best time to launch a new or redeveloped website?

         When is the Best Time to Launch a New or Redeveloped Website?

         1. Does your site meet or exceed the standards set by the competition? Every commercial website, regardless of the industry it pertains to, will have competition in some form or fashion. Analyze your competitors' websites and see whether or your not your site compares favourably to theirs.
         2. Does your website possess a unique property that will enhance your business in comparison to those of the competition? Every business needs a way to distinguish itself in order to "bring it to the front of the pack
            Wire EDM Machining
            Wire Electrical Discharge Machining, Wire EDM, is a machining process that utilizes a wire filament that carries an electrical charge through the wire and is used to cut away the hard metal elements.There are two major components required for the wire EDM machine, not the least of which is the wire used to remove the metal in order to shape the product being manufactured. The degree of precision and the amounts of materials that can be removed through successive passes are greatly determined by the composition of the wire, typically copper wire, as well as the type and strength of the electrical current. Certainly, the greater the diameters of the wire, the more material that can be cut with each pass; however, the trade-off with the larger diameter wire is that the degree of precision is decreased.Most wire EDM machines today are CNC-controlled tools. The acronym CNC stands for “Computer Numerical Control.” Rather than rely on the somewhat inaccurate and imprecise “eyeball” approach, modern wire EDM machines rely solely upon computers to guide the wires to cut away only the metal that needs to be remove
            standards, improving their graphic abilities, and taking advantage of newer technologies and programs as they become readily available to the populace.

            This, in conjunction with the continued growth of the businesses that said websites represent, creates a state whereby effective commercial websites are in a continual, Darwin-like state of evolution. Content is added; functionality is improved; new features are implemented; graphics and site layouts are tweaked and, when necessary, completely redone. All of these things considered, the question becomes: When is the best time to launch a new or redeveloped website?

            When is the Best Time to Launch a New or Redeveloped Website?

            1. Does your site meet or exceed the standards set by the competition? Every commercial website, regardless of the industry it pertains to, will have competition in some form or fashion. Analyze your competitors' websites and see whether or your not your site compares favourably to theirs.
            2. Does your website possess a unique property that will enhance your business in comparison to those of the competition? Every business needs a way to distinguish itself in order to "bring it to the front of the pack
               Why Some Business Owners Almost Always Create Winning Ads
               So you have spent your hard earned cash on a great copywriting course. You know exactly what to do and what not to do. You have collected a file full of great example ads and created a great ad for your business. You run it in the local newspaper every week for a month... But the phone does not ring, the customers don't come rushing in the door... WHY?You may have all the knowledge about copywriting, but there will always be times when your ad or sales letter just does not get that phone ringing or the customers rushing through the door. And it can get frustrating especially when you have spent hours creating the ad.But remember this:Persistence is the secret to this game!When you test and measure your advertising, you can afford to fail many times more than you succeed. As an example, let's say you invested $400 in an ad, and the phone doesn't ring, and the customers don't coming rushing through the door.You write another 4 ads and they all crash and burn as well. You don't get ANY results from them. Not one enquiry. You've now spent $2,000 and don't have any enquir
               te?

               When is the Best Time to Launch a New or Redeveloped Website?

               1. Does your site meet or exceed the standards set by the competition? Every commercial website, regardless of the industry it pertains to, will have competition in some form or fashion. Analyze your competitors' websites and see whether or your not your site compares favourably to theirs.
               2. Does your website possess a unique property that will enhance your business in comparison to those of the competition? Every business needs a way to distinguish itself in order to "bring it to the front of the pack", and the same holds true with websites. The unique property could be anything, from a custom quote request form to a never-before-seen layout to a high level of search engine optimization. It could even be as simple as effective body copy.

                  Whatever your unique website property is, it is of the utmost importance to get it to market as quickly as possible in order to derive the maximum possible benefit from it before a competitor discovers it.

                  Be prepared to expand on this unique property if necessary. One of the unfortunate aspects of Internet marketing is that, as soon as something new is discovered and proven to be successful, others will copy and/or improve said property. If possible, you may wish to consider holding back some aspects of your unique property for future development and launch as an insurance policy.

               3. Do you have a deadline that cannot be altered or "pushed back"? In the case of Award Kitchen Refacers, the home show was at the end of the month and was not going to be changed for any reason.

                  In situations like these, consider launching a smaller version of the site that can still be considered "complete" (no dead links, etc.), and then add to it later.

               4. Does it meet a satisfactory level of completion to the majority of the target market you wish to reach? Ensure that there are no links on pages that lead to missing pages or pages "under construction"; images aren't broken or missing; textual copy is clear, concise, and as free of typographical and spelling errors as possible; and that there are no potential coding issues that interfere with customers' ability to find the site via search engines, use the site, and gather the information and resources that they require.

                  At this point, a site doesn't have to be "complete" per se. It just has to be "presentable". A good developer will be able to make the changes required to improve the site with minimal impact on the usability of the existing site.

               5. Is the site structured in such a way as to allow for quick and easy changes to the style and layout of the site? Are fonts and layout styles kept separate from the content? Does the navigation bar allow room for additional options if necessary?

                  If you are a not a designer/developer, here are a few quick things you can look for to help you determine how easy your site is to update and add to:

                  • Consistent navigation, headers and footers among the va