Ad Agencies

Many, if not most, serious businesses work with an ad/marketing agency to design their "corporate presence" (we did!). After working with that agency to create your logo, business cards, brochures, and perhaps some radio or TV ads, it's only natural to think you should also use them for your website needs. And, if you ask them, they'll most likely say that they do, indeed, "do websites."

But do they really "do websites," as in the whole nuts-to-bolts, long-term, ongoing aspect, or do they just get you started with a website that just looks good?

I like them – they like me(?)

I want to say, first and foremost, this is not a rant against ad agencies. We're pretty friendly with folks at several of our local agencies and work with them on the occasional joint project. I imagine that upon reading this article, they might think something to themselves along the lines of, "curse that Kevin for bringing up those points... but his points do have merit." 

It's also important to note that, as a specialized web-development firm, we do not delve into corporate identity-creation, print graphic design, advertising composition, or audio and video production. When our clients have need of those, we refer them to graphic designers, ad agencies, and production companies. Point being, we concentrate on our areas of expertise, and farm out other tasks to those who specialize in those tasks.

We "B" (web, get it?) interactive

Here's the gist of why ad agencies don't "get websites." The media that they're experts in is passive, be it print, radio, or even TV. And by passive, I don't mean boring and plain, but rather, that the audience can't control the media. For example, viewers can't pick which parts of a TV ad that they want to watch first – they just have to receive it in the order that it's delivered to them.

All websites on the other hand – even the simplest, static, info-only ones – are interactive because of the very nature of the web. Website visitors get to choose how long they view a page and which link to click next. This interactivity alone introduces a slew of human usability issues that are completely absent in traditional (i.e. passive) media.

For some well-researched, more objective information on this, read Jakob Nielson's (the renowned web usability guru) article, Differences Between Print Design and Web Design.

1-time vs. ongoing

Once a business card or brochure has been printed, or a radio or TV ad has been recorded and produced, it's over with. It's a done deal. Not so with websites. They break. Slow down. Need upgrading. Need monitoring and reviewing. And it's not just your website that you need to consider. Your website provider usually provides your email service too. This means that spam filtering needs to be tended to, the occasional new email account created, etc. In short, websites and email require an ongoing relationship with somebody.

Who you gonna' call?

You might be feeling a twinge of web- and email-oriented anxiety at this point, and that's a good thing (as Martha would say). When you need help with your website or email, will you call the ad agency? Do they have full-time staff dedicated to website development that know Internet and email issues inside-out? Or, do they have one of their regular (traditional) graphic artists produce websites as a secondary duty? Or do they subcontract their web work out to a freelance web designer? If so, will you contact that freelancer directly when you need help, or will the ad agency be the go-between? And, what are the freelancer's hours? Does the freelancer build websites full time or just part time on the side, on weekends and evenings?

Usability

Take a look through the ad agency's website, and then the websites listed in its portfolio. Do the sites load quickly, or do they make you suffer through the infamous (and-oh-so-1999) "Page loading..." delay? Is the navigation easy to understand, and consistent (i.e. regardless of where you are on the website, you always see the same, main navigation and menus)? Is it easy to read, or does it use small print and hard-to-see colors for the text?

Search Engine Placement

How do the agency's websites perform search-engine wise? As the most fundamental of tests, search on the name of the company that owns the website. For example, if the company's name is "North Idaho Custom Built Widgets," then a search in Google, Yahoo, or MSN should, at a minimum, list their site when you search on that company's name. And, unless they have an extremely generic name, they should show up at the top of those results!

Now, for a more practical test, search on phrases that you think that business' potential customers would use in their searches. If you don't see that website on the first page of results, it's, at the very least, a cause for concern.

Good search engine optimization is built into the very design of the website – not tacked on afterward. And, you should rarely, if ever, need to pay ongoing fees for search engine placement or "Internet marketing."

What to do

If you're using an ad agency, but they haven't started working on your website yet (or maybe even if they have), discuss the points I've brought up in this article with them. If the answers you receive don't feel satisfactory, tell them that you'd like to consider using a firm that specializes in web design. They can easily hand off your various design "elements," such as logo, color scheme, etc. to the web company. Then, the web company can incorporate them appropriately into a professional, easy-to-use, cost-effective, and headache-free website. In reality, the ad agency probably won't mind relinquishing the website development that much, since it's not what they specialize in anyway.

Then, when you do need help with email, understanding web stats, or deciphering Internet-related jargon that intrudes into your business day, your friendly neighborhood web designer will be ready to help.

This article has barely touched on some of the issues that you really should know a bit about for your website and email. To gain a fuller understanding, browse to ZolMedia.com/TechVille, and look for our previous articles that explain search engine optimization, statistics, web hosting, and spam protection. While you're at it, also take a look at our Web Usability Guidelines. Regardless of who builds your website, this information will put you on solid ground.