KC Web Specialists, LLC.
Experts in how business gets done on the Internet 
September, 2008 - Vol 6
In This Issue
What is a Small Business Web Master?
Jott it Down
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Greetings!
Schools are back in sesssion. That's either a Boo hoo or a Yeah!!!! I guess it all depends on how you look at it :-) For me it's a mixed bag of emotions. What it does give me though is more time during the day to concentrate on writing and changing the content on my Web site. Which is always a good thing. Refine, refine, refine. Oh, and by the way....Only 103 shopping days till Christmas :-)
 
Chris Nastav
913-908-5642
What is a Small Business Web Master?
 
Just like this picture, a small business Web Master is someone with a very small ego! LOL!
 
My goal with this article is to give you some tips on what to look for in a small business Web site developer.
 
Because........ :-) There seem to be three types of small business Web site developers out there.
  1. Sole proprietor graphic artists who build Web sites that look pretty.
  2. Techno geeks who are having fun building Web sites cause they can play with all the cool new development toys.
  3. Large Web site development companies that want to provide way more site than a small business needs, but it's the only way they can make money on you.  
So how do you find the Web Master that's right for your small business? Trial and error and lot's of wasted money. No wait!!!! That's how I make decisions! LOL!
 
It's been my experience teaching Web stuff and small business applications that leads me to the following recommendations on what to look for in a small business Web master:
 
They need the ability to apply ALL the following skills to your Web site.
  • Years of personal experience running a successful and growing small business.
  • Someone who understands the important role a Web site can play in a company's marketing plan.
  • Experience writing and creating online "Buy Me Now" sales messages.
  • Someone who has the ability to communicate in a non-technical style.
  • An uncluttered visual eye.
  • Current Search Engine Optimization(SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) skills.
  • Someone who understands the difference between SEO and SEM. 
  • A person who uses Web site code that is industry standard, not fringe flavor of the month cool stuff.

Folks, last word on this topic. Building a Web site is NOT technical. Yes you have to know how to use a computer to build one, but for the  majority of the small business Web sites out there, a Web Master needs 70% business skills, 15% graphics skills and 15% technical skills. Evaluate and choose your small business Web Master based on a set of business criteria that's going to help your business, NOT their personal strengths or budget needs.

Jott it Down
 
Have you ever been driving, or walking, or doing something, when you had that awesome thought? That thing you want to remember to do. That sudden light bulb in your head idea. What if you had the ability to, just at that moment, speak that thought into your phone and the information is immediately transcribed into a text email sent to you.  When you got back to your office there's the email, with the text transcribed of what you said. Folks, that ability is here today, and man oh man is it a lifesaver for me. www.jott.com. It takes less than 5 minutes to setup. It's priced free with ad's or $3.95 per month without ads. Did you know that if you don't write that idea that's floating around in your head down in about 47 seconds you will probably forget it as you start thinking of other things.  For me, I'm Jotting my way into a better memory
Featured Web Site Accountable Plumbing
Just because it's a cool looking site that went together really quickly. I think from start to finish we were done in about a week. Cody did an awesome job with the company logo overlaid with the company name.