Who says there is no money in Port Elizabeth? Come on get your hands up if you agree!
Once again I have been dumbstruck at the number of people in Port Elizabeth prepared to drop in excess of R75 000.00 on a web site along with monthly fees reaching close to R10 000.00 a month and, in return, they get less visitors than ‘lil old MyPE.
If You Build a Web Site They WON’T Come. Unless you ensure that a number of things happen during and after………….
Lets face facts, your web site must:
- Attract the Search Engine Robots,
- Provide great and constantly updated content,
- Give visitors many different ways to interact with you,
- Convert visitors into buyers,
- Make you money.
To do this your web site must at least:
- Have clean URL’s,
- Be based on a stable and clean Content Management System,
- Separate Content from Style,
- Load quickly,
- Be easy to navigate,
- Present a relatively easy upgrade path,
- Be secure,
- Offer good management,
- Be logical in layout.
These days there are many free and value for money tools to help you accomplish the above and integrate all of your Social Networking activities into your web site thereby making a dynamic and interesting showcase for your product.
The most active web sites in the world will not win Graphic Design awards but we return to them time and time again. WHY? Because they offer great content. Why mess with a winning formula?
The Golden Rule to making money out of your web site is to ensure that you have content that is relevant to your product and new content that is published and distributed to all your Social Networking channels on a regular basis.
Too many people are sucked into the ‘dop system‘ offered by Twitter and Facebook et al that offer a quick high but actually use YOUR content and images to make a crap load of money out of your hard work. The GOLDEN RULE here is to make sure that any valuable content that YOU generate must be placed on your web site first. Getting people to your web site is the main aim.
If your web designer is selling you on flashy images and graphic design and the antiquated notion that “If You Build It, They Will Come” then I only have one piece of advice for you, Forrest, “RUN”.
The way that this thing called a web site works is:
- Build a site that can be updated by the owner – use WordPress which powers almost 17% of all web sites.
- Let the owner get used to the idea of a web site whilst they explore the opportunities and gather ideas around online marketing.
- Encourage the owner to develop content that can be scheduled for publishing over a couple of months.
- The owner then promotes their own content as each gets published on the myriad of Social Networks.
- The idea here is to empower the owner to eventually administer their own web site.
The real cost of owning a web site lies in search engine optimistation, link building, developing content, social media and online marketing which all happen after the web site has been built.
Alan Straton
Latest posts by Alan Straton (see all)
- Cockroach Problems in Flats Can Need a Building-Wide Response - 18 October 2026
- Top Click Explains Who Its SEO and Google Ads Service Is For - 17 October 2026
- Sky Dental Helps Sandton Plan Cosmetic Care Before December - 17 October 2026
- H2O Guru Offers SANS1657 Bottled Water Testing for Summer - 16 October 2026
- The Gold Avenue Flags the 91.67% Krugerrand Seller Mistake - 16 October 2026
Excellent piece, Alan. Too many people are being duped into handing over their cash for something flashy, but completely dysfunctional. C
Don’t forget about the content – if it is not written well, logically structured and of immediate interest to the visitor (you have less than 30 seconds to grab their attention), all is lost. Not quite lost, the web designer enjoys his or her holiday in Mauritius.