If you thinking of adding an 0800, 0845 or 0870 number to your website, remember that many of your customers will be using a mobile phone to call you

 You may have valid reasons for deciding on an “08” number for your website:

• You may have nationwide coverage and may not want customers to think you are limited to a single geographical area.
• You may want to offer a “freephone” service as an incentive for people to call you.
•  You may want an 0845 number to give the impression of being a larger company than you actually are.

My advice is, think very carefully before adding an “08” number to your site. More often than not, your customers will be calling from a mobile and will be paying as much as 20p/minute, even when it’s an 0800 number! They will not appreciate having to pay inflated call rates.

A successful brand will convey the right image for your company and help you attract the right clients. It is absolutely crucial that it matches the personality of your business.

When you launch your new website, have you ever thought about its purpose? What do you want to get out of it? What do you want visitors to do? I often get clients telling me: “We don’t use our website for getting business, it’s just an online brochure”. But it doesn’t matter whether you do or don’t rely on your website for new business. It’s still a vital tool for engaging with your customers. Your website should always have a call to action. 

When you’re having your website designed, have you ever asked yourself the following questions:

1. What do I want to achieve from my website? Do I want more subscribers? More sales? More enquiries?
2. Have I set any targets for achieving these goals? E.g. 25% of new business enquiries should come from my website.
3. How will I measure my goals?

A website is more than just an online brochure, it’s a vital sales tool that works around the clock, advertising your business. If you do the following preparatory work before your website is designed, it will go a long way towards ensuring a successful outcome.  

 This summer marked the 10th anniversary of Brainstorm Design. Since 2000 we have expanded from a one-man web design agency to an internet consultancy of eight, which specialises in growing businesses online. In order to commemorate this auspicious landmark, we had a drinks evening at the White Lion Pub, East Finchley. Thank you to everyone who attended!

 Website designers seem to be two a penny these days. Whenever I go to networking meetings of any description, there are a few financial advisers, a few accountants and just about everyone else seems to be a website designer.  If you are considering a career in website design, be aware, the jobs market is saturated with them.

It was recently reported that Google has started ranking webpages by the speed with which they load.