I told a client I could update his website.....now what?

[Cereal Entrée]

Client is a loose term.

I work in a title office, and there's a gentleman who rents a room in the back for office space. He sells high ticket items in an unrelated, super-niche industry. I would consider him authoritative in his knowledge.

I was accidentally listening from my office the other day, as he talked with the girl up front while waiting on the Keurig. The banter turned to his website, and as he passed my doorway on the way to the back, I said, "hey, what's your website?"

He told me the name as I typed it in, and said, "it really isn't much", and it isn't. It's one page with a banner, a couple pics and quotes, a weird logo, some contact info, no links and no interactivity.

As a sidenote, for the last couple years I've really been on this baby boomer business kick, quietly lamenting all the great, profitable, and boring businesses out there in the real world that are destined to silently die, along with the extensive knowledge of their proprietors.

So before I knew it, I was spewing ideas about how to expand his reach, start a youtube channel, write a newsletter, integrate e-commerce into his site, and then I blurted out, "I can build you a new website". Oof

I believe I can, but I have no idea where to start. What info/passwords do I need from him? Should I update his current website or write something completely new? Do I need to learn a language (or 3), or just use a plug and play type website designer?

He's in no hurry, but he seems genuinely excited.

This is my first post, and I appreciate any advice.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[BigRomeDawg]

Go throw a Benjamin at @Fox 's Web School program and make it happen!

 

[Fox]

Client is a loose term.

I work in a title office, and there's a gentleman who rents a room in the back for office space. He sells high ticket items in an unrelated, super-niche industry. I would consider him authoritative in his knowledge.

I was accidentally listening from my office the other day, as he talked with the girl up front while waiting on the Keurig. The banter turned to his website, and as he passed my doorway on the way to the back, I said, "hey, what's your website?"

He told me the name as I typed it in, and said, "it really isn't much", and it isn't. It's one page with a banner, a couple pics and quotes, a weird logo, some contact info, no links and no interactivity.

As a sidenote, for the last couple years I've really been on this baby boomer business kick, quietly lamenting all the great, profitable, and boring businesses out there in the real world that are destined to silently die, along with the extensive knowledge of their proprietors.

So before I knew it, I was spewing ideas about how to expand his reach, start a youtube channel, write a newsletter, integrate e-commerce into his site, and then I blurted out, "I can build you a new website". Oof

I believe I can, but I have no idea where to start. What info/passwords do I need from him? Should I update his current website or write something completely new? Do I need to learn a language (or 3), or just use a plug and play type website designer?

He's in no hurry, but he seems genuinely excited.

This is my first post, and I appreciate any advice.

Hey @Cereal Entrée, welcome to the forum.

This sounds great - high ticket niche, good business within it, and a business owner who is motivated for better results.

The first place to start with this would be to have a full conversation about what is going on with the business.

You will want to roughly cover:
- the full current situation of the business
- main the main key problems right now
- focus in on the problems you think an actual website can help with
- these are usually marketing, sales, systems, and customer support/service
- also see what they problems are worth to solve
- then, on the flip side look at where he wants the business to go (the big goals)
- and... what is worth getting there

Once you have done that, you should get into pricing. If you look at the numbers from the problems side of things and the numbers on the goal side of things - then you should have a nice foundation to create a good budget for this.

BUT... since this is a business growth project (for you), you don't want to scalp people for profit yet, either. Just get enough of a good budget to do the best job possible. That means covering your own self for all the time and effort you think it makes sense to put into it - plus covering any possible extra expenses (copywriter, software, hosting help etc).

As for what coding languages to learn, it depends on what this person needs, but a lot of different options can be learned quite fast. I wouldn't worry about "how" just yet - just get it locked in with a good budget, and we can help you get it done either way.

Also, since he knows you already, that gives you a lot of trust, which should help this project go smoothly.

If you want I have a free book that will show you exactly what to do:
New Funnel: Free Book - Google Drive

^ It is in a google drive, so you can just download it.

And, I also sponsor this forum with a school that helps people start a web design business...

MARKETPLACE - AMA: How to Start a Web Design Business and Sell Websites

Hey folks, I have combined this thread with my main thread: The Fox Legends Program If you have any questions on anything, just ask me over there - thanks!

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Hope that helps - 100% you can do this.

 

[Mat79]

The main thing is to find out about his current and potential customers. Everything you do should be with the customer in mind. You don't need to make it fancy, maybe interactivity isn't even something customers would be interested in. You just have to make it easy to use for current customers and something new customers would be attracted to. I tend to believe it's best to lean towards simplicity.

You'll definitely need the login info to the site to make changes.

You might want to outsource the actual updating of the site to a third party so you don't have to worry about learning to code (although that would be a good idea). There are password management sites that allow you to share a password to give others temporary access that you may want to use.

I would also suggest putting a short video on the homepage (that doesn't play unless clicked or starts out muted). I think that's one thing that most sites are missing out on. A website is like having a salesperson available 24/7. Think about it, would it make sense for a salesperson to just had a potential customer a print catalog and walk away? That's essentially what most websites do. Having a video is a way of making the most of the chance to interact with customers.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.