Introduction: Today’s Websites Let You Do So Much More

The choices available to anyone setting up a website now are truly mind boggling.

You want to be sure you’re making the right choices, but you need to learn a lot of technical details in order to make decisions. There sure is a lot of jargon to wade through! Fortunately, it’s our job to know these things, since we specialize in web design and online marketing.

Just knowing where to start can make a big difference.

Even finding the right web designer or developer to work with is fraught with the unknown. It’s hard to figure out who to rely on given the wide range of opinions and information you’ll find online. How can you tell if they’re actually using the technologies that will bring you the greatest benefit? We’re sure you’ve heard the horror stories of people who’ve paid thousands to develop a great website, only to find out that it’s too difficult to manage or doesn’t show up well in online searches. We’ve heard the stories, too. In fact, we spend a lot of our time trying to fix problems that another developer has unwittingly introduced into a website. (Expensive and not fun for anyone.)

Here’s a thought to start with: Any web site, even a very basic one, must be built on today’s best practices in design and structure to ensure effectiveness.

It’s not enough to “just put something up”. Competition online is fierce, and if your website does not adhere to today’s baseline fundamentals, it could be doomed to page 146 of Google, where no one will ever see it.

And here’s the good news: Today’s websites have come a long way from the brochure ware of yesterday. It doesn’t have to be expensive to take advantage of great design. The potential for exposure is growing, and even those with no technical knowledge can easily use a website that’s set up to allow for it.

Here are a few things your website can do for you when it’s built on a solid foundation using technologies within reach today:

Show up when people search online for related terms (and not just your farm name!)
Create a good, smooth experience for visitors
Convey the personality of your farm’s unique brand
Help you stay in touch with people interested in your alpacas and farm
Let you update it easily
Expand easily when you’re ready for it to grow
Meet your ongoing budget requirements
Provide an effective anchor for any other online marketing you may choose to do, now or in the future
And even support exposure beyond your site itself, without any extra effort on your part!

In essence, today’s websites can be set up in such a way that they let you reach a bigger audience than you would have thought possible, with much less work than would have previously been required. You can also do many more basic things yourself, if you choose, making updates and growing your website easy – and thus more cost-effective.

In this guide, you’ll learn about all the website features available to you through SEO Alpaca, the premier provider of websites for AOBA and the alpaca industry. Our hope is that this guide will explain many of the questions you may have, to help you make an informed decision when it comes to setting up your alpaca web site.