Inner Circle Media

I often meet people who know their company’s website is in need of a major overhaul. But many of these folks say to me, “I’m not a ‘computer person.’ I have absolutely NO idea how websites work or where to even begin. How can we redo our website when we don’t know what will make it better?!”

Well, I’m not a ‘computer person’ either, nor am I a programmer, database expert, or techie geek. You don’t have to be any of those things to think about what makes one website better than another. The merit of your website will be judged on how easy it is to navigate, how it looks, and how easy it is to understand the information presented. To make the process a bit easier for those getting ready to redo a website, here are some questions for you and your team to ponder.

1. What are the goals for your revamped website? (What is your old site NOT doing that you wish it was doing?) Do you want to gather leads, make sales, provide customer service or better public relations?

2. Is there anything that you like about your old site? What works well? What have your customers raved about?

3. What are your competitors doing with their websites? (Jot down what you do and don’t like about their sites.)

4. What do you want to include on the new website – text, photos, video, animation, online store, database integration, discussion forum, or blog? Which items are “must-have’s”? Which items could be phased in later?

5. Are you prepared to write compelling text that will inspire site visitors to contact you, buy your stuff, download marketing materials, etc.? If your answer is “no,” then who will write your site’s copy?

6. What info on the site should be regularly updated and how will you keep it updated? (You should keep your site fresh and updated. Any web firm should give you several options for managing your site.)

7. Do you have in-house personnel who will develop the site? Or should you contract with a professional web design firm?

8. Does your company want to send updates to its mailing list when new info or additions are made to site?

9. If your company wants to sell directly, do you have credit card merchant account status? If yes, how will you handle product distribution?

10. Will you keep your current domain name? Will you buy any new domain names that might help with your site’s search engine placement? We recommend to our clients that they buy domain names that contain the words that people typically type into search engines when looking for a company like theirs. For example, www.detroitphonecompany is more search-friendly than www.abctelecom.

11. What is your budget? If you want a site that includes a lot of functionality (i.e. your site is more than just informational; it also will include a store, blog, video, and tie in with a database), what are you willing to pay for each functional component? If you have no idea what to pay, you might ask web firms to break out each component in “a la carte” fashion.
12. How will you measure the site’s success? Will you set up a system to track leads from the web? Will you check on your site’s statistics to see how many people are visiting your site, how long they’re staying, where they’re coming from, etc.? (Any hosting company should be able to provide you with a good, free/cheap stats tool, so you can check on your site’s performance.)

Once you’ve adequately answered these questions, you’ll be more prepared to tell prospective web firms what your organization needs in a site. (You should also expect good web firms to ask you variations of these questions when you sit down for your initial sales meetings.) After your team answers the 12 questions above, be sure to make a list of the questions you’ll ask to assess the web firms who want your business. In a future blog posting, I’ll give you some ideas for those questions.

Sometimes you need to get out of the office to do some thinking. Sometimes you need a place to be creative, or to meet with a client. Since Ann Arbor’s got a plethora of coffee shops in the downtown region, we decided to take the guesswork out of finding the perfect coffee shop for any reason at all.

Best coffee shop for brainstorming: Espresso Royal on Main

Ever notice how your best ideas come after a great hit of caffeine? Here at Inner Circle, we try to find that delicate balance between high energy creativity and feeling like someone is chasing us. So we do lots of brainstorming at Espresso Royale on Main, due to its proximity to our office and that Carrie and Catherine love the Morning Glory muffins. But it is a great place to get some work done—lots of tables, it’s never super crowded, the noise level is low, but not library-quiet, and you get to see Shakey Jake nearly every time you go there.

Best coffee shop for networking/running into other people: Sweetwaters on Washington

We’ve had tons of meetings at Sweetwaters on Washington, and we find it is great place to have a meeting and see lots of locals. Not only do they serve the best muffins in town (Ed’s Breads, also served at Afternoon Delight), they have those high tables in the window, so you can feel like an adult sitting with colleagues instead of hunched over those usual coffeehouse tables, so little that they hearken back to the days in kindergarten, when all you needed was a box of crayons, a blank piece of paper ripped off from those huge rolls, and the one kid who only drew his dog. But I digress…this would not be my choice to go and be quiet with myself, as I would get distracted by former co-workers, clients, elected officials, and colleagues parading through the place.

Best coffee shop for coffee

This is obviously up for debate, as people’s coffee tastes run the gamut. I’m talking straight-up, house blend coffee with nothing foaming, whipped or infused into it. Personally, I think Starbucks coffee tastes like pure coffee grounds with a little water run through it (though don’t get me started on the Chai Tea Lattes there—nothing better on a brisk day when you don’t need a huge jolt of caffeine but need something sweet), Sweetwaters’ coffee is never quite hot enough, and I can’t afford Zingermans’, which I’m sure is beyond good and probably from some mountain valley in Honduras and personally selected by Juan Valdez’s kin. I’m a huge fan of Espresso Royale’s coffee, especially their iced coffee, which is a refreshing way to start a summer day. Café Felix serves a good cup, and Beaner’s is tasty as well (their Michigan Cherry blend is to-die for).

Best coffee shop to close a deal: Café Zola on Washington

My vote for closing a deal is based on a variety of factors: do they have a liquor license? Can I order a cocktail? And, can I celebrate with a real drink? Seriously, though, while Café Zola has delicious waffles and eggs any time of day, celebrating a big deal with a something a bit stronger than coffee, or at least having the option, is important. Make mine an Irish coffee!

Best coffee shop for procrastinating: Sweetwaters in Kerrytown

Just about every coffeeshop downtown could qualify. There so many comfy chairs and dark corners to get lost in, blasé soft pop music allowing your mind to wander, and that sweet sweet smell of the barrista hard at work. For productive procrastination (e.g., I have work to do but I also need something to look at), I like Sweetwaters in Kerrytown. Not only can you get a fine tea or coffee drink, but you can gaze at the produce at the grocery store that takes over the majority of the bottom floor, contemplating what’s for dinner tonight. Take a gander at the fresh fish selection, or wonder why the Bi Bim Bop at Kozmo’s is so delicious. Or look out the window and watch tattooed, purple-haired Community High students roaming about. Another favorite adventure is to grab some java and browse through the two-storied Vintage 2 Vogue store and the eclectic store Found. Also, everyday wines is a great shop for good, inexpensive wine with knowledgeable staff. But I digress…It’s far enough away that you might not run into your boss, but close enough to pop over on a particularly slow Tuesday afternoon.

Best coffee shop for watching college kids procrastinate: Starbucks on State

If you’ve ever been into the Starbucks at the corner of Liberty and State, you know this would be the perfect place to stage a drop in a spy movie. So crowded, so noisy—it’s almost like a mini-airport. People are reading newspapers and novels, most of the patrons have heavy bags and backpacks with them, and people are constantly shouting to each other and moving to and fro about the place. It’s a great place to put in your earplugs, catch up on your podcasts, and be thankful that your days of homework are far behind you as your watch a kid in a Michigan sweatshirt reads the same page of Nizsche over and over and over.

Best coffee shop for writing

Catherine swears by Espresso Royale for doing work as she likes using the electrical plugs for her laptop. I’ve done some writing there because it is relatively quiet, but mostly in my notebook. Personally, I think anyplace that isn’t your office or home is a great place to zone out, write in your journal or planner (or into your Blackberry) and have that soothing sound of whirring coffee beans buzzing in the background. Nothing says productivity to me like a good caffeine buzz!