Web Design in Nanaimo

Independent Business Owners Driving New Web Design in Nanaimo

We have seen a lot of change over the past two decades and have been able to witness the rise of self-employment in Nanaimo.

With an average of over 6,000 business licenses issued each year Nanaimo is seeing an increase in new business.

As many know tourism on Vancouver Island is a big segment for entrepreneurs providing everything from walking tours, whale watching, hotels, B&B’s, kayaking, diving, hiking, skiing, seaplanes, sailing and much more.

Webacom works with many tourism operators from all parts of Vancouver Island. The largest thrill is listening to the owners of these businesses tell stories about people they have met from all over the world.

Self-Employment Trend is Growing

Freedom is embedded in entrepreneurs’ brains in such a way that they do not want to be controlled by others, that being a BOSS. Please note there is nothing wrong with being a follower, it is just not in the mindset of entrepreneurs.

As more people move into self-employment they quickly find owning and operating a business and the need to be a multi-tasker is not as easy as it seems. Now you need to do sales, accounting, the work itself whatever that may be, and on top of that now you need to do marketing, a website and hope your business survives.

The latter is where we excel the best, building high quality web designs with search engine optimization that helps you find new business.

Can I afford a Website? How much time is needed to learn? And More Questions

Way back in early 2000 websites were slow to load, difficult to edit and the cost for a high-quality website was around $8,000.00.

Yes, you can still get 8K priced websites, however the prices for most small to medium business websites are substantially less.

The questions many business owners have can vary.

• Should I do it myself?
• How much time is needed to learn?
• Can it cost me my business if I do not get enough sales?
• My friend said they can do it, but this is my business, what if they do not know enough?
• Should I just get one of those free sites like WIX, Go Daddy, Square Space or similar?

Let us answer those questions for you.

• Should I do it myself?
  • TIME, that is the first question you need to answer. Do you have time to learn how to build, maintain and ensure a website can easily be found for the keywords relevant to your business? On average a 6–8-page website design takes about 30-40 hours to build and that is an experienced web designer with at least three years full time experience.
• How much time is needed to learn?
  • Web design – plus 500 hours, that is considered a junior as it represents about 3 ½ months full time.
  • Hosting/Emails – plus 20 hours, you need to learn how to setup website hosting, POP3, email forwarders and on your cell phone too.
  • Web Maintenance – plus 100 hours, you need to learn all about security, plug-ins, vulnerabilities, backups, otherwise your website can easily get hacked.
  • Search Engine Optimization – plus 200 hours, if your website cannot be found, chances are your business will not either. Googles algorithms changes almost monthly, so it is not just knowing how but how to keep up on all changes and trends.
  • SEO based Content – plus 100 hours, all websites need good quality content, and to have those pages be found in search engines you need to learn how to integrate keywords, add backlinks, external and internal links.
  • Images – plus 50 hours, you will need a good understanding of images, how to edit, compress and make search engine friendly.
• Can it cost me my business if I do not get enough sales?
  • An absolute Yes, we have seen this happen dozens of times.
  • Websites with a strong online presence are crucial to the success of all business.

This is a testimonial from a real business that tried to do all their marketing on their own, DIY. We provided some free services as empathy is important for all business owners, and it is not always about making money.

• My friend said they can do it, but this is my business, what if they do not know enough?
  • There is about a 99% chance your friend is not fully experienced enough to do the whole job properly.
  • Their intentions are good, but do you really want your business a test subject?
  • We have seen this many times, if you want to maintain your friendships, keep them as friends or risk losing them. Try telling a friend because of their favour you lost your business, because no one could find you. Many true stories on this subject.
• Should I just get one of those free websites like WIX, Go Daddy, Square Space or similar?
  • In some cases, very few, this may be an option for starting out, but only if you have 10’s of hours of free time.
  • What many do not realize these so called simple to build websites are proprietary. That means you can never leave; all your assets are never yours.
  • They are only free for the most basic websites; you will need to pay them in American dollars to remove the “free site by” on the bottom, for e-commerce and more.

Web Design Process – What Steps Are Involved to Build a Website

1. You need to register and choose a domain. (yourbiz.com) Finding the right keywords in a domain can be extra helpful in rankings and owning both .com and .ca are crucial to avoid cyber squatters. You need to understand what a “DNS” is and how to point it to the web hosting company.
2. Hosting now needs to be set up as it will house your website and control your email. Understanding PHP and Word Press web design will help.
3. A WordPress theme is installed on a test server and the color scheme based on your Brand is coded.
4. Navigation structure is now set from the Home page to the Contact us.
5. Content and imagery for each page is now inserted and formatted. Pages names a pre-configured to ensure they are search engine friendly. Content writing for most websites can take at least 16 – 40 hours dependent on the length of text.
6. Electronic forms are created usually on two pages, sometimes more. Contact Us is the most common. One form takes about 4-5 hours to build and test.
7. During this process, the customer and web designers are exchanging details back and forth making design changes based on feedback from the customer.
8. The SEO (search engine optimization) is now added. Please note at least 4-6 hours are spent prior to inserting any SEO, that is the pre research as to what keywords work for your business type.
9. The customer has now signed off and approved the web design and content. Now quality control begins, all pages, forms, content, links, and navigation are all triple checked to ensure all is working perfectly.
10. Finally, the website can now go live. That requires what we call “ftp” so all the files of the website can be uploaded to the web hosting company. The site is then submitted to Google Console for the “sitemap”.

Why Web Design with WordPress Websites?

We have been advocates of “open source” since our beginnings. Open source is a coding name that means all the code is free to use to rearrange, build upon and create new functions and versions.

Google android is “open source”, not like Apple that is very proprietary. If you are running an android phone, that is because of “open source”.

As a result, WordPress is non-proprietary, that means millions of developers around the world can contribute and build new features for the system at less cost.

There is never a “vendor lock” in with WordPress websites and it allows for self-editing.  Most customers prefer Webacom to do that on their behalf to maximize the ROI, however you can learn how to edit on your own if you have time.

Why did we pick Nanaimo as our Web Design location?

1. Proximity to Vancouver, allows easy access for larger conferences, meet ups, business meetings via float plane.
2. Cost of living.
3. Quality of life.
4. Natural Beauty.
5. Scuba Diving/Snorkeling
6. Boating
7. Music
8. Hiking
9. Close to Victoria, British Columbia’s Capital.

Why is supporting Local Nanaimo Web Design Companies Important?

1. The money STAYS local.
2. The web designers you work with are most likely your customers.
3. Most of the money spent by web designers is used locally.
4. It helps create new jobs in Nanaimo.

How to find the right Web Design Company in Nanaimo?

1. It all starts with a Google Search, what will you see in results?

Paid Google Ads start on top. You need to be aware that most paid advertisers are not LOCAL. Because we are so close to the United States many are US based and that means US currency.

We did a quick check today, March 1/2021 and this is a screenshot of the results.

None of these companies live anywhere near Nanaimo and ALL are using deceptive means to get your interest including low prices. We called many of them and by the time you add up all the services the prices exceed $5,000.00 US!

What we always suggest is to read reviews. We took one of the Ads above and investigated “The Web Founders”.

First, we need an address to check for Google My Business Reviews (Maps). We found one on their website and this is a screenshot.

As you can see it is not the actual company address, it is a coworking office space. All the reviews are about rentals not web design!

Then we started reading the content, typos all over, we then determined it is an overseas company. The final straw to show it is all smoke and mirrors is the portfolio page, crucial for web designers to show examples of their designs. https://www.thewebfounders.com/portfolio/

That web design page only shows uncompleted web design templates, no actual live sites.

Never assume, please check out anyone claiming to be in the web design industry.

Examples of Successful Web Designs in Nanaimo

Here are some examples of real web design clients that are all in Nanaimo and ALL the work was completed by Webacom in cooperation with our customers.

• Nanaimo Web Design – Metral Pediatric Dental:  https://www.metralpediatricdental.com/
• Nanaimo Web Design - SupErb Construction: http://www.superbconstruction.net/
• Nanaimo Web Design - Whitecrow Village: https://www.whitecrowvillage.org/
• Nanaimo Web Design – Mackay Precast: https://www.mackayprecast.com/
• Nanaimo Web Design - Norms Plumbing & Heating: https://www.normsmobile.ca/
• Nanaimo Web Design - Heath Law: https://www.nanaimolaw.com/
• Nanaimo Web Design – Sunray Heating: https://www.sunrayheating.ca/

Resources

• Web Design Nanaimo Portfolio
• About Web Design in Nanaimo
• Responsive Web Design Blog