Website design/programming advice

Countcussy · 19 Sep 2017 at 16:56

Our company is looking at options to take our web sales and marketing to the next level. We have always used "Specialists" to help design and host our websites. Continued growth now means we are looking at other options which would allow us more control. Specifically over the design and any alterations we want to make. Currently, we have to explain to the developers what we want, get a quote for the work, and then decide if we wish to proceed. We are finding this a bit limiting, especially as they have no understanding of the industry we operate in. Our site is e-commerce and built on Opencart.
I have been asked to explore other options, whereby we have more control over the site than we currently have. Our marketing girl has worked wonders with our current site, but we all feel there is so much more potential. I have not linked to the website as I don't want this thread to look like an advert.
We are in the pumping (Water/sewage) industry, which means there are many versions of similar products, many options and add-ons, and this has proved problematic for various reasons.
Our only 2 experiences of website design have been Joomla and Opencart. Is that the problem?

Any idea where I should start? Would a bespoke site be relatively easy to look after ourselves with the correct staff/training?

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Countcussy · 19 Sep 2017 at 18:48

Thanks touch. You have it spot on in terms of what the site is. Traffic is good, but it's also an info resource for our customers and new staff. The owner just feels the site is a little dated, and is always looking to improve. Like all successful owners, he has a constant itch.
We have grown from 2 guys in a garage to having a large workplace with 7 staff quite quickly. He does not mind funding it as long as we get what we need. He does think everything is copy/paste and can be done in an afternoon though.

Countcussy · 20 Sep 2017 at 08:32

dmsims said:
Nothing wrong with Opencart. There is no product option / add on issue that cannot be solved

PM me the site and I'll take a look as well (for free )

Thank you for the info. I am sure Opencart is fine for our needs.
Maybe we need to explore Opencart training and or employment so it can be looked after in house.
That would be the ideal solution.

(I've sent you the site via trust)

Countcussy · 20 Sep 2017 at 13:21

Bes said:
You mentioned marketing as well. Are you actively using lead scoring and lead nurturing tools? You might want to look at solutions like Pardot to this end, as what you do once the visitor has left it far more important than what you do when they are on-site (Take this from someone who works in Digital Marketing and helps companies spend millions on this to great effect)...

Thanks for the response. I will find out.

Countcussy · 20 Sep 2017 at 15:57

FWIW, I actually like our website. IMO its clean, easy to navigate, and relatively "simple". For some of our customers, its perfect.
We are currently talking to a few designers and developers to get a feel for what's possible, and what may or may not work for us.
I also a agree that a flashy, all singing site does not guarantee more sales.
We realised the importance of SEO from the very beginning.

Thank you all for your thoughts. We are having a chat tomorrow and this thread gives me some much needed info.