Describing web services

[NicolaSmout]

Hi Guys wonder if you can help with this?

There are so many different names flying around when describing web services it is difficult to choose the right words to describe what I do. I would like to ask from a non technical (customer’s) view point what meaning you would give to the following terms? If you saw these terms what services would you think they offered?

Web consultant / Consultancy
Web designer / Web design agency
Web developer / Web development agency
Web development consultancy

Basically if you wanted a website for your company and you were a non technical person who didn’t deal in jargon, what would you look for in their description of themselves?

Thanks
Nicola

[Vertigo_Web_Design]

Best thing to do is do some SEO keyword research and find what users use for keywords if you can get your hands on any. Then not only is that a pointer but you can begin to optimise your web site for the most popular words

[NicolaSmout]

Hi Vertigo

Thanks for the response but what I am really looking for is what a non technical customer might think, this is more for my offline advertising. While dealing with some clients recently, building websites for two local shops (a beauty salon and a hair dressers), I came to realise that some people really don't have a clue about anything technical and appreciate it if you explain things to them in plain English. The two clients in question had already paid out good money for websites and basically had been ripped off (there are a lot of con artistes out there who will sell on a cheap template website and give no customer support). Both clients were happy to pay me to replace their websites and were absolutely made up with the personal service they received, just meeting up with the client and explaining things to them made all the difference. So I want to build on this angle without being too patronising to the client.

[Vertigo_Web_Design]

When I do my keyword research that's generally what I find. There are always the typical technical phrases especially when it's B2B, but there's always a few spanners in the works so to speak.

For instance my last project was for a company that rent new york properties, generally what happens is a company will use something plural but all the top the keywords were singular - obviously if that's what your looking for you not wanting to find more than one. It's bizarre sometimes what people will use.

[Will]

I think most people are familiar with the phrase "web designer" or perhaps even "web consultant". Those with a higher level of technical familiarity might use phrases like "web developer", but the less techie would be more likely to understand what a programmer did over what a developer did.

Before I got into the IT industry, I used to wonder what a systems analyst was! :confused:

Why not ask people you come across how they would describe someone who deals with websites?