Many developers don’t take these needs in to consideration. Instead they pride themselves on inventing something that fits everyone. We should know, we spent years doing just that. Whilst this was successful, and we’ve produced some great sites with our Dragon CMS software, some open source applications have now overtaken what we are able to produce in-house.

Today, we help our clients identify their needs and future needs to best place them in the appropriate technology. Not the technology that best suits the developer. We continue to push our own software further for existing customers, but we now generally use open source technologies to best achieve new client’s objectives. Many of our competitors make outlandish claims about how their product is so amazing it suits everyone, but chances are it’s not true, or if it is, most likely you’re paying for features you don’t need?

Prodigy Solution Diagram

This diagram gives you an idea or the solution we would recommend for you, either as a new project or as an upgrade. Contact us for more information.

Create a plan ... and stick to it!

With so many forms of social media - Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, LinkedIn, Youtube, blogs, just to name a few - it's important to have a clear plan that ties these resources together. Many businesses risk diluting or even confusing their message in today's complex and fast-paced online environment.

So many social campaigns fail because people don't make the commitment necessary to succeed. Often business owners will sign up to a whole host of services and then find it simply too difficult to maintain, leading them to fall behind and simply give up on the process, saying they just don't have the time.

Start small

Build your own blog. Commit to posting one article a month - it doesn't have to be a huge quantity, just consistent. Blogs are still the best way of driving traffic to your site. The search engines love them.

The "snowball" effect

Your digital media strategy should clearly set out how you are going to integrate services over time. Then make the commitment and stick to it.

Attempt to use only the social media platforms you are comfortable using. Obvious choices include Facebook profile / Facebook connect, LinkedIn profile, Twitter Integration.

Commit to two relevant posts per week driving traffic back to your blog or relevant promotion. Do not simply send spam messages over Twitter - it does you more harm than good.

When it comes to social media, you need to be open and honest about the way you communicate.

Don't give up. Constantly monitor your Google Analytics to see how you are improving. Keep an eye on your competitors and what they are doing but stick to the game plan you have decided to implement. Listen to your website visitors and tailor your information to best promote your products and services.

1. Ensure you’re confident in their abilities

Obviously, you need to check out their portfolio. Often they won’t have clients in your specific industry, which is no big deal - you just need to make sure they design beautiful work, are familiar with the technology they’re using, and the sites they build are well presented and work well!  You should also speak to a couple of their key clients.  It’s helpful if they at least deal with businesses of a similar size to yours also.

2. Are they likely to disappear off the face of the earth any time soon?

Companies that have been around for a few years are more likely to be around for a few more. The web industry is famous for having low barriers to entry - so many small businesses, or sole operators go out of business, creating huge problems for their clients. Do they have a solid team of professional staff members? Decent website? Do they charge enough?

3. Do you have a realistic price quote?

If you get a quote that is considerably lower than the others it may be a sign of inexperience (they aren’t familiar with what it takes to get a good site built, and so under quote). The project may then become contentious later, when the developer invests more time than budgeted, and are very hesitant to cater for any alterations - could also become expensive for you. You should look to get a fixed price quote if you can, and ensure your proposal covers the important items you need.

4. Do you like them?

You need to be able to get along! It's as simple as that. Like any relationship, you need to understand each other, trust each other, and be able to rely on each other. Do they respond when you email or call them? Do you enjoy dealing with them? Can you get easy access to the company stakeholders or key staff members when you need to?