There are a ton of sites and blogs dedicated to the topic of building a web site. However, besides “HOW” to build a site, there’s not a lot of information on “WHY” to build and what strategies you should focus.

First and foremost anyone or any business deciding to put up a website should first determine “WHY” they’re looking to install a website. Why go to the trouble at all? If there’s no value to your business in putting up a website, then it’s pointless. A lot of companies know they NEED to put something up on the web, but aren’t sure what and how.

So, how does someone that knows NOTHING about the web go about getting their web site setup? It’s a daunting task when your business is fixing bikes, installing brakes or building houses. Web technology can be overwhelming and confusing.

Let’s examine a few areas to consider when deciding to put up a web site for a small business. Most start with the notion that they need a Web Designer because that’s the term that gets thrown around more often than not.

There are as many web site "Designers" as there are business's these days. They all fall into many different categories, however, I like to categorize the ones that focus on small business owners in two distinct categories. If you're reading this and fall outside these groups, then you're probably in a niche market, specialty area and/or custom solution provider and do not work with small business's trying to make their presence, product and service known. The two categories are:

Designer - a lot of people are great designers and have an eye for how things should look. They also are usually artistic and have a different approach to life in general. Bottom line, a designer is typically focused on style, color and visual aspects of a project.
Coder - these are usually software developers that know how to code a site or make them “function”. They focus on the underlying technology. Efficiency and standards in coding are important and visual appeal is less of an issue for them. Bottom line, a coder is usually obsessed with the code and foundation of the project.

If I were to venture to guess, a large, VERY large percentage of web sites are the equivalence of “brochures”. Sites that outline the 5 W’s, Who, What, When, Where and Why. A lot of companies, both small and large publish some kind of “brochure” in a variety of sizes and shapes. The primary purpose of this is to distribute to customers and/or potential customers either through direct sales calls, networking events, shows or some other form of physical contact that allows the information to be disseminated. Brochures are still a very important part of company communication and the sales process. However, it’s becoming less important as the web is the ultimate distribution channel for such information.

So, what’s a small business person to do if they want to get their “website” up online or if they have an existing site, more productive?

There are three choices:

1) - Search the web for someone out there for them. Using every search word they can think, they find all kinds of companies doing stuff out there like “hosting” or “designing” or some form of process in putting a site online. They find a plethora of companies and just have to narrow it down.

2) - Ask around. Talk to other business owners in their industry or close to them physically. Ask who others have used.

3) - Do it themselves.

Truthfully, it’s a confusing mess between design and actually getting it done. It’s no wonder that a lot of companies that have nothing to do with technology related to the web just don’t bother. Even the cheapest offerings costs hundreds of dollars and for small business’s, this affects their bottom line and usually their family and employees.

As an alternative, The ScoopGroop, AKA, Shane Cooper and his group of employees focus on a balance by offering a Solution to a problem. We do not focus strictly on the graphics and design aspects of a web site nor do we obsess over what code, database or other technology we use. While both are important, they are not the “Primary” focus on getting a site up and running.

Our goal is to solve a problem and provide a great service at an affordable price to the small business community. We have a set formula using tried and true foundation software and database technology to “quickly” get a site up and running in a short amount of time. That technology has a large community of designers that provide extremely flexible templates that can be modified and manipulated to meet the most demanding design needs.

End result, The ScoopGroop takes “Best of breed” (old technology cliche’ I know) and really uses it to it’s advantage and ultimately to the advantage of our clients. We’ve formulated a formula that works and offers these key elements.

• Great design
• Solid foundation that offers fast, efficient and quality site edibility
• Extendibility making it flexible to be able to offer growth for future needs.
• Offer search ability that provides a formula to be found

We offer more than just pretty pictures and coding. Our goal and intent is to provide a working solution that will make your business successful, not just “On-the-Web”.