Monetization
It can’t be that Simple
When I heard someone tell me they just wanted a “simple” website (you know, like JCPenny or Amazon), my gut used to start twisting and I got the distinct feeling that Sepuku was less painful.
The thing I ended up learning, was that building a business website CAN be simple, if you always remain creative, flexible and open to new ideas.
The website for your business has a goal. There are things you want to achieve by having that site. If you keep that goal in the forefront of your mind when building your site, you will discover that it indeed is simple. The moment you decide that a specific bit of minutia (the sidebar needs to be 3 pixels to the left) is more important that your goal, your website is no longer simple.
WordPress makes achieving your business goals online even simpler. The manual coding and changing of information is no longer in the realm of just programmers. Anyone in your company can now build and maintain your website. The limits of what can be done easily and quickly have been shattered and moved farther away than anyone expected.
You don’t have to wait for the right time-frame or resources to achieve your online goals. The ability is now inherent in the system and is ready for anyone to use.
Custom applications for the web will always be new territory. They will always require a great deal of resources and time. Not every website requires the level of resources that JCPenny’s expended when building their website. You can build an online store, without having to spend the time or money that Amazon did.
You shouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel.
There are solutions that have already made having the features you want on your website simple and easy. They are getting even better every day. Being the first one on the block with a new toy is really expensive. Being the second on the block with a similar toy, means you get to knock the first guy on his butt because you have the same thing and spent waaaaaay less than he did to get it.
Being a programmer, I’ve had to rearrange my thinking about websites, because now when someone asks me for a “simple” website, I say, “oh, you mean like Ebay”.
Toff Ward
OpenSourceMarketer.com
“The moment you decide that a specific bit of minutia (the sidebar needs to be 3 pixels to the left) is more important that (should be THAN) your goal, your website is no longer simple.”
I see you have the same disease that I do. That is not than.
So true this is as I am a pixel moving centric time-waster who boasts a photo of me next to the term in the dictionary. I really like your website, by the way!!!
Hey Don,
Thanks for the feedback. We like to throw in those typos for free just to keep things real
It’s easy to spend time on these types of things because they serve to distract us from the uncertainty before us. We find comfort in straightening the pencils on our desk, but that doesn’t necessary afford us long term benefits (unless of course your being judged on how organized your desk is).
I’ve found that works best for me is to keep a short list of todo items. I prioritize those tasks for each new day and then work them one by one. If I don’t get everything done in one day, it’s okay. I just reassign the tasks to the next day or days in the week. But, the important thing is I have captured what I should be working on and that’s what helps me to focus.
Personally I like the Toodledo task manager. They have a great service and they have an iPhone app that syncs with the website. Now if I could only get Toff to use it
Great info on here guys! I look forward to meeting you IRL at the Frisco IE Meetup soon :>)
Hey Jennifer. Thanks for stopping by Open Source Marketer. Will you be able to join us Monday night for the Frisco Internet Entrepreneurs Meetup to discuss using paid marketing to get more customers? I think it would be right up your alley. We always have a lot of fun when we get everyone together. We’d love to have you there.