The DownRiver Group

Our job, at the DownRiver Group, is to create and manage websites that properly represent and enhance a clients business, making the client more money(and justifying our reason for being in business in the first place). We build & manage web presence and make it pay off for you. And we’re good at it.

Having been at this for better than 10 years, I can give you a knowledgeable appraisal of what causes your web presence to suffer, and what makes that web presence produce.

Common Web Presence Ills & Cures

The Ill ~ Using Cheap, DIY Services
I’m not averse to clients taking their sites “in house”, or using web-based services, provided they have an educated reason & the proper personnel for doing so. A real quick way to poison your web presence, though, is to try and take on a job without the right tools & qualified personnel.
Some people, who shouldn’t, try to change their own oil.
Some people try to do their own home self-surgery.
Proper web development fits somewhere between those 2 tasks and getting it wrong can cause a mess or a world of pain and aggravation. And then it usually costs even more to rectify, nevermind the fact that, from what I’ve seen, those “cheap DIY” services offered by most are grossly overpriced.
The Cure ~ Make sure you have qualified help. You’re friends’ cousin who plays video games and always wins? That’s not really a strong qualification. Nor does knowing how to “cut and paste” from the web make someone a web designer.

The Ill ~ Refuse to update the site.
Ever been in a waiting area where they never change the magazines? Would you like reading the same magazine, everyday, week after week after week?
Sites can become stale, easily, losing you visitors, search engine ranking and money.
The Cure: Freshen up your site. Build/hosting clients of the DownRiver Group get minor weekly updates, free of charge. A couple of paragraphs of text, some new pics every week or 2 works wonders.

The Ill ~ Insist on “bells and whistles”(especially the wrong ones).
Too many people fall into this trap. Yes, you want something to engage and interest your visitor; a little (of the right thing) is good but a LOT can kill your site deader than Mrs. O’Learys’ cow.
Case in point: Flash/Splash pages.
Lots of people ask me about them and in 99% of the cases they are the worst thing a client can do. Very fun, when they work right, very bad when they don’t or are cheaply constructive. Either way, they’re expensive(and, yes, we CAN do them but let’s talk, first).
They may be appropriate for what you’re offering and you have the budget but in terms of getting found on the search engines, they end up costing you more in that regard also.
The Cure: Employ the K.I.S.S. method(keep it simple, silly). Well, keep it simpler.

The Ill ~ Mistaking the Medium
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; having a web site does not necessarily mean having a positive web presence.
Your web site isn’t a business card, it’s not a magazine, it’s not an electronic flyer or poster. It’s all of these and much, much more.
Making this mistake and not utilizing this medium properly will, at best, waste time and money. Worse, it can damage your reputation and even cause you legal problems.

The Cure: Think through what you want to achieve with your web presence. Find qualified advisors and take that advice, just as you would a mechanic, a doctor or a lawyer.

Of course there are any number aspects that can effect your web presence, for better or worse. This is just the short list of most egregious ills that we see, along with the web presence cures we apply to our clients’ sites.
Proper web presence nets profits. Contact us when you’re ready to make money with your web site.