Lately, I’ve been running into restaurant owners whose spouses are “IT” people (often software developers) who are responsible for designing and developing the business’ website. This would be fine if the spouse were a web designer and knows about marketing, but sadly, this is usually not the case.
3 Reasons the IT spouse Should NOT be the Designer, Developer, or Webmaster
1. The website will look like it was made by a geek.
2. Updates to the business’ website will, WITHOUT A DOUBT, end up on the “honey-to-do” list, competing with mowing the lawn. If you take your business seriously (and like your relationship with your spouse), don’t let it compete with your lawn.
3. The website will not make the business shine like a good marketing & sales website should. IT people are good at putting things together, but usually not good at marketing and sales.
An Analogy
To help business owners get a better understanding of the difference between a software developer (IT) and web designer, I used this car analogy in the past:
Software developers = auto mechanics. Web designers = the auto body shop
Auto mechanics will fix your car and make everything run smoothly no matter what the car looks like on the outside, just like software developers. The body shop will make your car look pretty, no matter if your car runs or not. As a generalization, I’d say the majority of software developers are not web designers, and the majority of web designers are not software developers.
What Should You Do?
I recommend the following:
1. Allocate a budget for the website. A dollar amount will help gauge what can and cannot be done.
2. Get referrals of website designers and developers. Graphic designers are often more print-oriented and may or may not do websites. Ask people you know and trust about who developed their site and if they were happy with the company they worked with. Look at their work and make appointments with ones whose type of work you like. I believe it’s important to find people whose style matches the style you are looking for, because designers often stick to the same style.
If you plan on making frequent updates to your website, I suggest using Wordpress or another blogging engine as your website platform. At ClickEats, we created our own engine that allows owners to update their specials, menus, etc. without knowing any HTML.
3. Make appointments and interview at least 3 people. Make sure you like the person, they are professional, and they are flexible with your needs. Many will also give you financing plans that will fit for your pocket book.
4. Pick someone and sign a contract to make sure you stick to what you’ve agreed upon.
Do you have other suggestions or stories to share? If so, please tell us in the comments!
